Words and their meanings are not fixed in stone, but are specific to particular languages. So a word (i.e., a phonetic sound) in one language could have the opposite meaning in another language. For example, “Pete” is simply a first name in English, but it means something quite different in Argentinian Spanish.
Our contemporary Western culture has lost any real sense of the inherent spiritual power of words themselves. We tend to think of verbalized words as “just words,” and that their importance is simply what we “mean” by them.
Many of our cultural proverbs and clichés reveal how lightly we take words. We say: “Talk is cheap”; “Actions speak louder than words”; “Put your money where your mouth is”; “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.”
This was not the perspective about words in the ancient world. Throughout most of human history, people believed that spoken words had the inherent power to “bless” or “curse.” This is why the Bible takes words so seriously. For example:
- Two of the Ten Commandments relate to our use of words: “Do not take the Lord’s name in vain” and “Do not bear false witness.”
- “It is better not to vow, than to vow and break it.” (Ecclesiastes 5:5).
- “Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth. Keep watch over the door of my lips.” (Psalm 141:3)
Jesus, too, gets very serious about our use of words:
- “But I say to you, swear by nothing . . . . “Let your yes be yes, and your no be no. Anything more than this if from the evil one” (Matthew 5:34-37)
- “The mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart . . . . I say to you that every careless word that someone speaks, they will have to give an account for it at the final judgment. For by your words you are justified and by your words you are condemned” (Matthew 12:34, 36-37).
James states that our ability to control our words is a significant barometer of our over-all self-control, which is a fruit of the Spirit: “If you can exercise self-control over your tongue, you can control everything else in your life as well . . . . An unguarded tongue can corrupt your entire being. An uncontrolled tongue can set your entire life on fire, and it is the very fire of hell itself” (James 3:1-12).
The Apostle Paul also teaches about our use of words:
- “But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.” (Colossians 3:8).
- “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” (Ephesians 4:29)
- “Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.” (Ephesians 5:4)
- “But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness.” (2 Timothy 2:16)
- “Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.” (Titus 2:6-8)
When Paul explains his concern about questionable language, he seems to connect it to our missional witness in the world as representatives of the Kingdom of God.
For Christians, the specific application of these biblical teachings in any given culture can vary person to person, depending upon each person’s conscience and specific context.
In this sense, it is similar to Paul’s approach in Romans 14 and 1 Corinthians 8 to the debates in the early church about eating meat, worshiping on a particular day, etc. Paul’s teachings focus on individual conscience and agape love for others, and the same principle can be applied to cursing or swearing. In any case, agape-love calls us to always remember that part of our missional calling as God’s ambassadors in this world is to use words in ways that honor God and bless others.
