Words are only symbols for the meaning that we attribute to it, and they only carry the meaning that we give to them. Language is kind of random like that. It's why, in the 90s, teenagers could get away with using the word "bad" to refer to something something good, or "wicked" as something super cool. I can make up any word and give it any meaning i want (this is actually kind of fun, if you get a good word and it catches on with friends).
And we get so worked up over the little things like words someone once defined as "swear words," and don't bother worrying about the meaning (or lack of meaning) we attached to the rest of our vocabulary. Which is a worse sin, if i say the word "fuck," or if i say "Jesus is Lord" without really meaning it? Our words either don't carry any weight at all, or we've given too much weight to the wrong ones.
Stop worrying so much about swearing. It has no meaning except for what you give it, and it has no power unless you choose to submit to it. Worry instead about the words you say, and be deliberate in your speaking. When we lack meaning in our words, we can deceive ourselves and others, and it leads to a life of hypocrisy where we say one thing and do another. Be deliberate in all that you do, but i think a great place to begin this is with the words that we say. Maybe it starts with not saying anything at all.
*Disclaimer: Unless it's funny or circumstantially called for, i think swearing is really stupid as well. In light of 1 Corinthians 10, in which Paul advises that "Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial," and talks about working to not offend brothers even if your conscience is clear, i do not regularly swear, because many Christians do take offense to it and see it as a sin. But what really gets me is when those who do take offense get so worked up about such a tiny sin, and that was the point of this post.
After some experiences with people whose lives are really messed up, I have allowed myself to swear when I really mean it. Some things deserve and require really strong words.
ReplyDeleteI don't mean to offend, but this world we live in isn't "screwed up" from the fall, it's fucked up. Sin in people's lives isn't "stuff," it's shit.
We have so many strong bad words, and we should be using them correctly. But where are all of the strong good words? Perhaps we have some, but we're too embarrassed to use those too.