Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. – Proverbs 4:24

Today’s Scripture Reading (September 23, 2019): Proverbs 4

Recently, I have been drawn into the “foul language” conversation. I was brought up in an environment where the language discussion centered around whether or not “shoot” and “darn” were allowable in polite conversation. There was no discussion on whether the actual swear words were wrong; that was assumed to be true. But the times have changed. I know Pastors who use language in private that would have earned me a lengthy grounding in my childhood home. More and more people sitting in the pews are questioning our definition of “foul language.” After all, they work in environments where the language is far different from what might be heard in church on Sunday morning. And as I dealt with a “foul language” complaint centered around one of our small groups, I was asked the question that I didn’t want anyone to ask me; “What does the Bible say?”

The problem is that foul language is culturally, not biblically, defined. George Carlin made headlines with his “Seven Words You Can’t Say on T.V.” But the Bible doesn’t have a corresponding section. And what makes this an even more difficult problem, as Carlin maintains, is that no one can give you a list of these forbidden words, and if we do come up with a list, my list might be different from your list. I might add that language also changes with time. Carlin could have added to his routine that one of his “Seven Words” is actually written down in the King James Version of the Bible. You may not be able to say it on television, but you can read it on Sunday morning. We can point to comments like this one in Proverbs which instructs us to keep our mouths free from perversity, but the definition of perverse language is left up to us.

So what does the Bible say? The biblical prohibition on our language centers around two issues. Don’t throw dirt on the name God and don’t tear anyone down. These things are perverse. And the problem that the church has is that we are so busy avoiding the “Seven Words” that we miss the intent of the biblical prohibition. We don’t use the name of the Lord in vain by saying “God” or Gawd,” but at the same time we won't hesitate to complain about other church members or things we don’t like in the church. We complain about the focus or the music of the church, essentially allowing dirt to fall on the name of God. Church gossip has long been a problem in Christian culture, which violates the other language ban; Do not say anything that will tear someone else down. Essentially, if you can find a way to use the F word to encourage someone, then the result might be culturally wrong, but it won’t be biblically problematic.

But if you want to keep perverse language out of your dialogue from a biblical point of view, then you need to follow the advice of Paul to the Church at Ephesus. “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen” (Ephesians 4:29). But the problem with Paul’s advice is that that is much harder than just avoiding Carlin’s “Seven Words.”     

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Proverbs 5