Watch Your Language

"Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile." (Psalm 34:13)

 Too often people use cuss and swear words when they speak. Even if they aren’t angry or mad, it will just use them as part of their regular vocabulary. This doesn’t make God happy; in the Bible, we aren’t supposed to swear at all. Also, we should glorify God as much as we possibly can, and swearing is in no way honoring to God. There are many verses that talk about swearing and taking God’s name in vain.

 These two verses talk about taking God’s name in vain. You should never take the LORD’s name in vain, as it is a commandment from God to not do so. To take the LORD’s name in vain is to use God’s name when you are not speaking about or to Him. "And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD." (Leviticus 19:12) and the other verse is one of the Ten Commandments: "Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain." (Exodus 20:7) There will be consequences for what you say. God says that if you take his name in vain, you will not be guiltless. Which means you will be found guilty.

 Some verses that talk about swearing and cursing are: Leviticus 5:1, Psalm 109:17,  and James 5:12. "And if a soul sin, and hear the voice of swearing, and is a witness, whether he hath seen or known of it; if he do not utter it, then he shall bear his iniquity." (Leviticus 5:1). If you fail to speak up about a sin, or to testify to it, you are considered guilty of the same sin. "As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him: as he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from him." (Psalm 109:17). To curse is to vocally wish evil upon someone else; it can also mean to blaspheme or use foul language. I think in this verse the former definition of cursing should be used. If you take pleasure in cursing others, then you will be cursed yourself. If you curse, you do not delight in blessings, and the blessing you could have received will be far from you. Last but definitely not least is the popular verse on swearing in the New Testament: "But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation." (James 5:12). You should never swear for any reason. When you talk, if you say “yes,” you should mean it; if you say “no,” you should also mean “no.”

 If something truly angers us, there are enough words in the English language that we can say without being offensive to others. We can describe how we feel to someone else, and not yell cuss words at them, because ultimately it does nothing to improve your anger or relationship with the other person. In Proverbs it says: “Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones." (Proverbs 16:24) When you are kind and talk pleasantly to other people, it brings a positive impact.

 Check out this great post written by another author on our blog. Even if we aren’t using foul language, what we say can hurt and even destroy other people:

https://screaminggoat.wixsite.com/refuge-writing/post/watch-your-tongue

"Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers." (Ephesians 4:29)

All verses used are from the KJV