The Bible says we aren't to speak with foul speech nor coarse jesting,( joking). I want to look at the foul speech part. Where did our society get the idea that a handful of words are 'curse' words? Some words were names for animals,( ass and bitch) and then became adj's for ppl who have the same behavior as these animals,( stubbornness and viciousness or nastiness). The 's' word is the same as saying poop, or crap...and also has a different meaning now, of simply showing agitation. The famous 'f' word, as far as I know..started out with sexual connotations and now can be used as an adj. or adv. in front of something we mean to portray badly or something that we feel is so good, cool, amazing, sic, rad, etc. that we use the 'f' with 'ing' to give special emphasis. Why do I go through all this? I am trying to show that it's really silly in most cases to even bother saying that these words are so bad. It's only because our society has labeled them that way, that we have to be cautious. However, when these words are used as insult or in a derogatory way....shouldn't we not only ban them but also include in our banning of words, anything else that is insulting, or degrading? God asks our speech to be seasoned with blessings, grace, truth, etc. So, if we call someone an idiot, moron,( my personal fav.) or anything else..shouldn't those words be just as bad as the others? If bonehead, butthead, retard, loser, nerd, jerk, are insults why are they not as bad as calling someone an 'a-hole'? So, what I'm really saying is...it not's the word/s, it's the motivation. And, that means, that not only are some of these words def. still on the 'no-no' list, but many others should be as well. When we are tempted to call out a name to someone who cuts us off, who gets pushy, who starts gossip etc., maybe instead we should remember all the times that we deserve the same treatment and try to see ppl as souls created by God, special to Him and worth our time to be kind and patient and loving. This is an 'ouch' area for me, because I'm not good in this area. But, I want to try to be full of grace in my speech. And, honestly, if you speak to me and use some of the words that are labeled as 'bad', I don't get hung up on that...I am looking to know who you are, and share with you and listen to you and hopefully have a relationship with you instead of getting all judgmental about your word choices. But, I am on a journey to change what is really important to change...not necessarily the word choices but the motivation behind the words. We don't all agree on what words are appropriate, but we can agree that God wants us to speak life and not curses.
