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Return To The Online Bulletin
Main PageMatthew 12:32-37
All too often, folks will say things without thinking beforehand. Some words will just fly off the tongue which, if some thought was given at all, would have been left unsaid. Truly, if we understood some of the things we say in our everyday speech, we would be ashamed of ourselves. It behooves us to choose carefully the words we use in expressing ourselves. As the Lord says, "...by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."
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Respect And Reverence For God
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There is none due more respect that God. He is our Creator and Sustainer. He is the One who has loved us enough to send His Son to die on our behalf. Our conversation concerning Him ought to be a conversation of reverence. Consider how much respect you would give to a world leader. Would you misuse the individual's name, especially in their presence? The Scriptures teach us to show respect to those who are leaders of nations. How much more respect is the Creator of all things due?
The Bible teaches us to revere the name of God. As Jesus gave the disciples an example of prayer in Matthew 6, He said, "...hallowed by thy name..." Holy, sacred and reverend is the name of God. Deuteronomy 5:11 commands that God's name not be used in vain. His name is not to be counted worthless or empty. It is the name of the Almighty. Neither is His name to be profaned (Leviticus 19:12). The word profane infers to pollute or define in some manner. It means to wound or slay; to stain or prostitute. How careful we must be when it comes to the name of God.
It is sad to hear the disrespectful way that many people today use God's name. From playgrounds to factories, you are likely to hear countless times a day the phrase, "Oh my God!" Even more unfortunate is when such a phrase is heard from the mouth of a Christian, whether young of old. The phrase is void of respect for God. It profanes His holy name. It makes God's name to be a worthless repetition. It does not hallow His name.
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Cursing And Swearing
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Cursing is to use profane and disrespectful language against someone or something. It is a wicked and base way of talking which only results in harm. The Scriptures strongly condemn cursing. In Romans 3:11-18, it is listed as being an attribute of the wicked. In Mark 7:10, Jesus refers to the Old Covenant law, which commanded that one not curse mother or father. The result if one did --- death! In Ecclesiastes 10:20, Solomon admonishes not to curse the king.
The apostle Peter was guilty of cursing and swearing. After denying Jesus twice, it was again mentioned of him that he had been with Jesus. We are told that he cursed and swore that he was not (Matthew 26:73-75). His speech was detestable. It was not becoming a follower of Christ. It numbered Peter with the wicked.
There is absolutely no excuse for the child of God to curse. Ah, but I stubbed my toe, and it just came out. Is there something wrong with saying, "Ouch!!" instead of cursing? There is no excuse for a Christian to speak evil of others, be it father or mother, the king, the rich --- anyone. James, speaking about the tongue uses the analogy of fresh and salt water. Both cannot come from the same spring. Neither can praise and cursing come from the same tongue (James 3).
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Inappropriate Talk
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The Scriptures deem some types of talk to be inappropriate and sinful. Among these is profane speech. Again, something which is profane has the idea of defiled or stained. Paul listed the profane among the evil in 1 Timothy 1:9-10. He admonished Timothy to avoid profane speech, and those who use such (1 Timothy 4:7; 6:20; 2 Timothy 2:16).
In Ephesians 5:1-4, Paul reveals three types of inappropriate
talk. He speaks about:
1 - FILTHINESS - things that are obscene,
morally corrupt, offensive, dirty;
2 - FOOLISH TALK - absurd, stupid talk lacking
in taste and leading to corruption;
3 - COARSE JESTING - vulgar humour.
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Euphemisms
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A euphemism is a substitution of some inappropriate words with other words considered to be more "polite." A good example, outside the realm of inappropriate language would be calling a garbage man a "sanitation engineer." It sounds better, but means exactly the same thing.
Many of us are guilty of using euphemisms without even knowing it. Some have become so commonplace that we say them without realizing that such is a euphemism. Below are listed some common euphemisms. If you use any of these, I would encourage you to stop, as they fall in the realm of inappropriate talk.
1 - Euphemisms used
for God's name: gosh, golly, goodness....
2 - Euphemisms used for Jesus' name: gee, geez,
gee-whiz, jeepers...
3 - Euphemisms used in cursing: darn, dang it,
heck, dog gone it, jerk...
4 - Euphemisms used for inappropriate talk:
shoot, frig, phewy, fruit...
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Bridling The Tongue
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We must have our tongues bridled. One's "religiousness" is made vain by a waggling tongue (James 1:26). Much of the third chapter of the book of James is devoted to discussion of the tongue. It is one of the smallest members of the body, but can do more harm than any other. The tongue needs to be tamed. But James emphatically declares, "No man can tame the tongue!" No, no man can, but God can. Thus, let Him put the bridle in. Let Him tame the tongue, that it might not give both blessings and cursings.
Be careful what you say! Let no corrupt speech proceed from your mouth, but rather those things which are good for edification (Ephesians 4:29). Let us look to Jesus as a pattern of how our tongues ought to be (1 Peter 2:21-23).
In this week's Answering The Athiest: Snakes don't eat dust, but Genesis 3:14 seems to say they do. Is there a contradiction? Visit http://AnsweringTheAtheist.faithweb.com/20010722.htm