Post by Jberton on Aug 22, 2013 12:13:15 GMT -8
ON LANGUAGE USE AND ABUSE
Through the years, I have so many times heard my parents, my pastor, my Sunday school teachers, friends, and other Christians criticize people for using “filthy language.” And true, at times it certainly was abusive language that prompted their response. However, there are forms of language abuse that are so commonly overlooked by Christians that they are never giving any thought by most. Sometimes such abuse is carried on by “good upstanding Christians,” and it can be so powerful that it can destroy lives. Consider a family I once knew, that for this purpose I will call the Smiths. The Smiths were a fine Christian family. They were involved in their local Baptist church, and striving to live lives that pleased God, and were teaching there two precious children God’s precepts. However, when their family was about half raised another member of their church, for some unknown reason, told someone that Mr. Smith was a homosexual. Word so quickly spread around our Southern town, that in a matter of days Mr. Smith was forced to resign both his career as a principle with the local school system and his position as music director in their church. Needless to say, the Smiths were devastated. Before the incident was over, they came to our church, which was located in another community, seeking love and support, which they received graciously from our loving congregation. Through the years, God has blessed the Smiths, and God has blessed that loving congregation. How have we as Christians come to put more emphasis on abstaining from using “dirty words” than abstaining from the type of language abuse that destroys people?
First, let us differentiate between language use and language abuse. Language is the means by which we most often communicate our thoughts and intensions to others. If we abuse language, we use it in a negative way to either hurt other people, deceive other people, or to project ourselves above other people. The main types of language abuse in our society today are: gossip – the passing along of information without regard for truth; slander – the telling of lies against another person; curses – the pronouncement of ill wishes or judgmental condemnation upon another; lies used as tools for dishonest gain; name-calling and making fun of others – the putting down on others using degrading terms or misusing humor in order to build oneself up; and sexually immoral communication – which is well defined in the God’s word. In any case, these abuses of language are clearly sinful, because they are contrary to God’s precepts.
I believe it is of profound importance to the individual to have a clear understanding of the definition of the term “language abuse,” or in other words, “filthy language.” Without this clarity of definition embedded in the Christian’s mind, he is surely on a road that will lead him astray from God’s will by causing him to overlook certain forms of language abuse that may be present in his own lifestyle. Two of these types of language abuse are of particular concern to many believers. Many people who proclaim to be Christians participate in gossip on a regular ongoing basis. Gossip is usually full of supposition, and is, therefore, usually slanderous. Slanderers are among those listed in God’s word who will never see the Kingdom of God! Name-calling and making fun of others are equally as common as gossip. So many times we call others names and try to make people laugh at another person, either in our private thoughts or openly. These names and jokes are often degrading and/or slanderous, and, therefore, abusive. We try, thereby, to build ourselves up; but you can be sure that God will tear down the self-made man. Unless God builds us up, we fall. Using these types of language is certainly as sinful as many people believe using “dirty words” is, mainly because it hurts others and can actually damage other’s self esteem and cause depression and anxiety when they find out about it – and they quite often do.
Curses run a close third to the gossip, name-calling, and making fun of others. This is where there is much confusion about language abuse in our society, and cursing comes in forms that most Christians have never conceived. The word “curse” is commonly misused, being used interchangeably with the slang word “cuss.” We have defined “curse,” so let’s differentiate it from “cuss.” To cuss is to use language that is considered offensive to others. But should we not be more concerned about what is offensive to our creator? Granted, it is important for social reasons to abstain from any activity that commonly offends others, so as not to repel people from the gospel, but let us not place more importance on that than on language that abuses other people. Language that, in God’s sight, abuses other people is sinful, just like anything else that hurts other people. God frowns on that – big time! Granted, using offensive language, or “dirty words,” is unwise in a social and spiritual sense, and therefore unwise and sinful from a christian perspective because it repels people from the gospel.
Of utmost importance in this discussion is to understand what it is that God’s Word refers to as “filthy communication.” God forbids filthy communication (Colossians 3:8, KJV), and this is where it gets interesting. We must first determine who is speaking in this scripture. That’s easy, because the Bible is God’s Word. Therefore, it is God who is speaking. Since it is God who is speaking, then we must determine just what it is that God is calling “filthy communication.” What is filthy to God. In a word, sin. Then filthy communication must be the same thing as sinful language usage – the putting together of words to communicate thoughts or messages to others that are evil in God’s sight. The words themselves are not sinful. It is in how they are used in conjunction with other words to communicate to other people.
We have already defined the most common ways language is used sinfully. But it is important to notice that none of these involved the use of single words independently from other words. So then how is it that people in our society have come to refer to individual words as “dirty?” How can a single word in itself be dirty? Are not some words considered “dirty” in some parts of the country, and other words “dirty” in other regions? I find this level of human reasoning to be ignorant! Granted, some words are certainly more sensitive than others, but they all have their proper place in our language.
The reality is, words do not stand alone, but rather they are used in conjunction with other words to form complete thoughts. That’s how language works. In that sense, single words are benign of complete thoughts, and cannot be dirty. Words like “sh**” and “f**k” are considered dirty and sinful by most Christians, but in reality they have the same true meaning as “manure” and “intercourse.” Some of our more sensitive words are commonly and carelessly used, not for their true meanings, but for alternative meanings, and are therefore no longer the same words in reality. For example, if I say, “I’m beat!,” I am not saying I have been physically beaten. I am saying I am tired. In the same way, if I say, “I am tired of that sh**!,” I am not referring to manure. Rather, I am changing the meaning of the word “sh**” to mean, say, “those things I find irritating.” Or if I say, “That’s a bunch of sh**,” I am really saying that it is untrue, not that it is literally a large quantity of manure. To judge that a person has sinned because he has used a sensitive word in that sense, is poor reasoning, and is, in itself, a sin because it is judgmental. So tell me, now who has sinned? God gave us the ability to reason so that we would be able to come to Him. We are responsible for using our reasoning to know how to please Him. I do not believe that God is pleased with such careless reasoning, any more than he is pleased with the careless and unwise public use of offensive slang terms. I do not take this stand on the use of single “dirty words” to say that it’s ok to use them, but rather to demonstrate that the emphasis on language abuse has been shifted to what should have been benign language use to start with. In other words, most Christians have come to believe that bad language is nothing more than saying “dirty words,” when the real problem lies among the reeds, unnoticed, like a crocodile waiting for its prey.
I believe these things within full faith in God. I also believe that, given the status quo concerning these matters (the social taboos that have been placed on certain words), that it is not wise to use the “dirty words.” A christian would certainly do much harm in his world to the spreading of God’s gospel message if he were to exercise his freedom in Christ to use these tabooed words freely. I do not believe that it is a sin in itself if he choose to use a “dirty word,” just unwise. Certainly it is unwise to practice anything that you know can be a hindrance to the spreading of the gospel, and therefore sinful. For example, given the beliefs of most Americans, it would be unwise to, and we ought not, use “dirty words” as an integral part of our language usage, as it would be incommensurate with our goal to spread to gospel. It would definitely repel people from the gospel, and would be, therefore, foolish.
My concern in these matters is not about the freedom to use the tabooed words. Rather, it is about helping people understand that there are forms of language abuse commonly used among God’s people, and many of them have no idea that they are doing wrong in God’s sight. I have seen the lives of good God-fearing people ruined by slanderous gossip. I have heard so many people name-calling and putting down on others, when they were not without flaw themselves. All humans have sinned and fall short of God’s glory. Who am I to put down on some else. Yet the same people would quickly inform you that you had sinned if you said a “dirty word.” Ignorance! If I call someone a sinner, am I not also a sinner? If I call someone a jerk, am I not also a jerk in some way in God’s sight? Have I never been a jerk to someone else? Oh boy, if you only knew! If I say to someone, “Go to hell!,” I curse; but do I not deserve the same curse under God’s judgment? What if I say, “Drop dead?” Is that not a curse in the true sense of the word? If I say that old So N. So will get what he deserves one day, do I not have a gleam in my eye as I speak, and does that not imply that I am a better person than he and do not deserve punishment for my own sins? And what if someone says of the man who has stolen, “He can pay for it now, or he will pay for it later!” Are they not really hoping that he will pay for it later – in Hell?! Such thoughts and words are evil because they are polar opposites to God’s will. These are the kinds of language abuse so common among Christians, yet they seem to go unrecognized by most Christians as sins. Dirty words? Grow up (in Christ, that is)! We have bigger fish to fry than that!
The real issue in abstaining from filthy language as God commanded us is not about cussing. It is about gossip – the passing along of information without regard for truth; slander – the telling of lies against another person; curses – the pronouncement of ill wishes or judgmental condemnation upon another; lies used as tools for dishonest gain; negative name-calling – the putting down on others using degrading terms in order to build oneself up; and sexually immoral communication. Let every believer open his mind and examine his own language usage to see if it contains “filthy communication” as defined by God, Himself, in His infinite wisdom, rather than that as defined by the world.
Through the years, I have so many times heard my parents, my pastor, my Sunday school teachers, friends, and other Christians criticize people for using “filthy language.” And true, at times it certainly was abusive language that prompted their response. However, there are forms of language abuse that are so commonly overlooked by Christians that they are never giving any thought by most. Sometimes such abuse is carried on by “good upstanding Christians,” and it can be so powerful that it can destroy lives. Consider a family I once knew, that for this purpose I will call the Smiths. The Smiths were a fine Christian family. They were involved in their local Baptist church, and striving to live lives that pleased God, and were teaching there two precious children God’s precepts. However, when their family was about half raised another member of their church, for some unknown reason, told someone that Mr. Smith was a homosexual. Word so quickly spread around our Southern town, that in a matter of days Mr. Smith was forced to resign both his career as a principle with the local school system and his position as music director in their church. Needless to say, the Smiths were devastated. Before the incident was over, they came to our church, which was located in another community, seeking love and support, which they received graciously from our loving congregation. Through the years, God has blessed the Smiths, and God has blessed that loving congregation. How have we as Christians come to put more emphasis on abstaining from using “dirty words” than abstaining from the type of language abuse that destroys people?
First, let us differentiate between language use and language abuse. Language is the means by which we most often communicate our thoughts and intensions to others. If we abuse language, we use it in a negative way to either hurt other people, deceive other people, or to project ourselves above other people. The main types of language abuse in our society today are: gossip – the passing along of information without regard for truth; slander – the telling of lies against another person; curses – the pronouncement of ill wishes or judgmental condemnation upon another; lies used as tools for dishonest gain; name-calling and making fun of others – the putting down on others using degrading terms or misusing humor in order to build oneself up; and sexually immoral communication – which is well defined in the God’s word. In any case, these abuses of language are clearly sinful, because they are contrary to God’s precepts.
I believe it is of profound importance to the individual to have a clear understanding of the definition of the term “language abuse,” or in other words, “filthy language.” Without this clarity of definition embedded in the Christian’s mind, he is surely on a road that will lead him astray from God’s will by causing him to overlook certain forms of language abuse that may be present in his own lifestyle. Two of these types of language abuse are of particular concern to many believers. Many people who proclaim to be Christians participate in gossip on a regular ongoing basis. Gossip is usually full of supposition, and is, therefore, usually slanderous. Slanderers are among those listed in God’s word who will never see the Kingdom of God! Name-calling and making fun of others are equally as common as gossip. So many times we call others names and try to make people laugh at another person, either in our private thoughts or openly. These names and jokes are often degrading and/or slanderous, and, therefore, abusive. We try, thereby, to build ourselves up; but you can be sure that God will tear down the self-made man. Unless God builds us up, we fall. Using these types of language is certainly as sinful as many people believe using “dirty words” is, mainly because it hurts others and can actually damage other’s self esteem and cause depression and anxiety when they find out about it – and they quite often do.
Curses run a close third to the gossip, name-calling, and making fun of others. This is where there is much confusion about language abuse in our society, and cursing comes in forms that most Christians have never conceived. The word “curse” is commonly misused, being used interchangeably with the slang word “cuss.” We have defined “curse,” so let’s differentiate it from “cuss.” To cuss is to use language that is considered offensive to others. But should we not be more concerned about what is offensive to our creator? Granted, it is important for social reasons to abstain from any activity that commonly offends others, so as not to repel people from the gospel, but let us not place more importance on that than on language that abuses other people. Language that, in God’s sight, abuses other people is sinful, just like anything else that hurts other people. God frowns on that – big time! Granted, using offensive language, or “dirty words,” is unwise in a social and spiritual sense, and therefore unwise and sinful from a christian perspective because it repels people from the gospel.
Of utmost importance in this discussion is to understand what it is that God’s Word refers to as “filthy communication.” God forbids filthy communication (Colossians 3:8, KJV), and this is where it gets interesting. We must first determine who is speaking in this scripture. That’s easy, because the Bible is God’s Word. Therefore, it is God who is speaking. Since it is God who is speaking, then we must determine just what it is that God is calling “filthy communication.” What is filthy to God. In a word, sin. Then filthy communication must be the same thing as sinful language usage – the putting together of words to communicate thoughts or messages to others that are evil in God’s sight. The words themselves are not sinful. It is in how they are used in conjunction with other words to communicate to other people.
We have already defined the most common ways language is used sinfully. But it is important to notice that none of these involved the use of single words independently from other words. So then how is it that people in our society have come to refer to individual words as “dirty?” How can a single word in itself be dirty? Are not some words considered “dirty” in some parts of the country, and other words “dirty” in other regions? I find this level of human reasoning to be ignorant! Granted, some words are certainly more sensitive than others, but they all have their proper place in our language.
The reality is, words do not stand alone, but rather they are used in conjunction with other words to form complete thoughts. That’s how language works. In that sense, single words are benign of complete thoughts, and cannot be dirty. Words like “sh**” and “f**k” are considered dirty and sinful by most Christians, but in reality they have the same true meaning as “manure” and “intercourse.” Some of our more sensitive words are commonly and carelessly used, not for their true meanings, but for alternative meanings, and are therefore no longer the same words in reality. For example, if I say, “I’m beat!,” I am not saying I have been physically beaten. I am saying I am tired. In the same way, if I say, “I am tired of that sh**!,” I am not referring to manure. Rather, I am changing the meaning of the word “sh**” to mean, say, “those things I find irritating.” Or if I say, “That’s a bunch of sh**,” I am really saying that it is untrue, not that it is literally a large quantity of manure. To judge that a person has sinned because he has used a sensitive word in that sense, is poor reasoning, and is, in itself, a sin because it is judgmental. So tell me, now who has sinned? God gave us the ability to reason so that we would be able to come to Him. We are responsible for using our reasoning to know how to please Him. I do not believe that God is pleased with such careless reasoning, any more than he is pleased with the careless and unwise public use of offensive slang terms. I do not take this stand on the use of single “dirty words” to say that it’s ok to use them, but rather to demonstrate that the emphasis on language abuse has been shifted to what should have been benign language use to start with. In other words, most Christians have come to believe that bad language is nothing more than saying “dirty words,” when the real problem lies among the reeds, unnoticed, like a crocodile waiting for its prey.
I believe these things within full faith in God. I also believe that, given the status quo concerning these matters (the social taboos that have been placed on certain words), that it is not wise to use the “dirty words.” A christian would certainly do much harm in his world to the spreading of God’s gospel message if he were to exercise his freedom in Christ to use these tabooed words freely. I do not believe that it is a sin in itself if he choose to use a “dirty word,” just unwise. Certainly it is unwise to practice anything that you know can be a hindrance to the spreading of the gospel, and therefore sinful. For example, given the beliefs of most Americans, it would be unwise to, and we ought not, use “dirty words” as an integral part of our language usage, as it would be incommensurate with our goal to spread to gospel. It would definitely repel people from the gospel, and would be, therefore, foolish.
My concern in these matters is not about the freedom to use the tabooed words. Rather, it is about helping people understand that there are forms of language abuse commonly used among God’s people, and many of them have no idea that they are doing wrong in God’s sight. I have seen the lives of good God-fearing people ruined by slanderous gossip. I have heard so many people name-calling and putting down on others, when they were not without flaw themselves. All humans have sinned and fall short of God’s glory. Who am I to put down on some else. Yet the same people would quickly inform you that you had sinned if you said a “dirty word.” Ignorance! If I call someone a sinner, am I not also a sinner? If I call someone a jerk, am I not also a jerk in some way in God’s sight? Have I never been a jerk to someone else? Oh boy, if you only knew! If I say to someone, “Go to hell!,” I curse; but do I not deserve the same curse under God’s judgment? What if I say, “Drop dead?” Is that not a curse in the true sense of the word? If I say that old So N. So will get what he deserves one day, do I not have a gleam in my eye as I speak, and does that not imply that I am a better person than he and do not deserve punishment for my own sins? And what if someone says of the man who has stolen, “He can pay for it now, or he will pay for it later!” Are they not really hoping that he will pay for it later – in Hell?! Such thoughts and words are evil because they are polar opposites to God’s will. These are the kinds of language abuse so common among Christians, yet they seem to go unrecognized by most Christians as sins. Dirty words? Grow up (in Christ, that is)! We have bigger fish to fry than that!
The real issue in abstaining from filthy language as God commanded us is not about cussing. It is about gossip – the passing along of information without regard for truth; slander – the telling of lies against another person; curses – the pronouncement of ill wishes or judgmental condemnation upon another; lies used as tools for dishonest gain; negative name-calling – the putting down on others using degrading terms in order to build oneself up; and sexually immoral communication. Let every believer open his mind and examine his own language usage to see if it contains “filthy communication” as defined by God, Himself, in His infinite wisdom, rather than that as defined by the world.
