Why Prof@nity Matters by Alex McFarland

‎Magic Mountain, an amusement
park in Southern California, is
known for a roller coaster named X.
Coincidentally, I was there to speak at a
youth event when I overheard an X-rated
conversation—between churched teens
no less. It prompted me to address the
issue from stage. I asked, “How many of
you struggle with using bad language?”
Many hands went up. I followed up with
questions we’ve all probably considered
at some point: Is it wrong for a Christian to
use curse words? If so, why? And what makes
profanity, well, profane?
Entertainment is full of swear words,
sexual innuendo and scatological slang.
In our coarsening culture, some young
people can’t recall a time when f-bombs
weren’t part of “normal” discourse. Kids
use it because they’ve grown up hearing
it and having it reinforced by the media.
And somehow it becomes a personal
habit that even Christian teens may consider
acceptable in certain situations.
I’ve heard people argue that words
are just noises we make. They’re sounds.
They don’t really mean anything. But such
a position is contradictory. To deny the
power of language one must debate with
… words. And those combinations of letters
and sounds require meaning to be
grasped. You have to assume that, objectively,
your listener understands what
you’re saying. We can’t get around the
fact that words contain meaning.
Words also yield consequences. For
proof that language matters, consider
that we have an entire lexicon associated
with their misuse: fraud, slander, libel,
perjury, harassment, defamation. The
ways people abuse words have social,
psychological, legal and even spiritual
implications.
All to Jesus I Surrender
The Bible reminds us
that we should speak
in ways that honor God
and benefit others. Ephesians 4:29 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.” James 1:26 warns us to keep a tight
rein on our tongues, while Colossians 3:8
says, “Rid yourselves of all things such
as these: anger, rage, malice, slander and
filthy language from your lips.”
Regarding the use of coarse language
by believers, some people contend that
since Christ has made us free, how we say
things doesn’t really matter. While salvation
sets us free from the penalty of sin,
freedom doesn’t equal license. In fact, the
Bible makes it clear that Christians have
an obligation to pursue holiness (Eph.
4:24; Titus 2; 1 Pet. 1:13-15 and 2:24).
Indeed, God’s ownership of a believer
extends even to the words we use.
According to 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 we’re
mere stewards. Jesus Christ owns us lock,
stock and barrel. That includes mind and
mouth. Discipleship and spiritual maturity
require a level of obedience that should
find us yielding everything to God.
Judged by the Words We Use
Teens should submit their vocabularies
to the lordship of Christ, in part because
God is always listening. His grace
is perfect, but if words didn’t matter Jesus
wouldn’t have said, “I tell you that men
will have to give account on the day of
judgment for every careless word they
have spoken. For by your words you will
be acquitted, and by your words you will
be condemned” (Matt. 12:36-37).
We derive our word profanity from
a biblical term that means “outside the
temple.” Profane means “unholy” or “unwholesome.”
As we saw in Ephesians
4:29, some types of speech are literally
unholy. Spouting certain four-letter words
can hinder spiritual growth, harm relationships
with others and undermine our
credibility as bearers of Gospel truth.
Christians possess an advantage by
having a pure well of words from which
to draw. Years ago, as a new believer
working my way through college, a superior
noticed that I didn’t tell off-color
jokes or use foul language like others in
the workplace. Not only did this create
a witnessing opportunity, but I was promoted
to a level that no 21-year-old had
ever held in that company. My boss later
told me that my habit of avoiding profanity
convinced him that I must be honest,
and this led him to promote me.
Every communicator has thousands
of words at his or her disposal. In the
quest for individuality and self-expression,
there’s no shortage of raw material.
Teens need to talk! Comment! Express!
Emote! But only in ways that speak well
of themselves and of their Savior.