Swearing In

The comment section for one of Abe's recent posts gradually abandoned the main thread and became a discussion about swearing. Fair warning: Don't visit that thread if you mind reading various profanity. Some would debate even that caution because they would say that this thread does not include profane comments or words, according to their own definition of what can be considered profane.

Yesterday, I happened to mention that discussion at the new cell group that I joined this week. The immediate consensus of the majority was that various words and phrases besides explicitely taking the Lord's name in vain are definitely considered swear words. One verse that was quoted to defend this position was Ephesians 4:29 which says, "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."

In Abe's cell group (which recently disbanded, may it rest in peace) we discussed this question before as well. The general conclusion in that case was more of a live and let live approach, with people indicating that they may or may not swear but that they try not to impose that principle on others. In this group, we preferred to keep swearing to a minimum but had a difficult time challenging other people if they swore. That was made even trickier because non-Christians would sometimes come and we would sometimes question the desire for clean language versus the desire to reach a non-Christian.

There is another group of 20-something Christian guys that I hang out with periodically and the general consensus there is that swearing is common, funny and should be used as often as anyone likes. In this group the two guys that do not swear (one being me) are definitely the odd men out and only the feeblest attempts are made to curb the amount of swearing heard during an evening. As opposed to the other groups I have found that, in practice, swearing in most forms is regularly encouraged here.

So in just these three groups of Christian young people I find three different approaches and views about swearing. Please feel free to chime in with your own opinion here. So what's my point, besides allowing further discussion about this issue?

I was surprised at how at ease and even happy I felt in my new cell group by simple virtue of the fact that I didn't have to get into large theological and/or philosophical debates to decide how to approach this issue. I could attribute that feeling to the mere fact that I agree with the group and that usually makes a person feel good. More than that, though, I really appreciate the show of Christian principle and real leadership.

In my Christian life, I want to aim for a standard that is higher and better than what this world declares is wise. I do not want to be satisfied with my life as it is, and I do not want to held back in this effort by my own Christian friends. I want Christian friends that will challenge me to go for the gold and not to settle for anything less. It's inspiring! I feel inspired.

Disclaimers: Don't take this as a slam against anyone. I was a part of each of these groups as much as anyone else was, and so I share/shared equally in the responsibility we had to each other. And if you happen to think that all forms of swearing is fine then go ahead, but I disagree with it and I will try to call people on it when they swear around me. As long as we don't beat down anyone with a 2x4 of holy judgement then we'll get along fine.