'Foul language' hurts my ears. Physically hurts them. It's hard to explain and it hasn't always. There was a time when I was far from God that my mouth and that of a sailor would have been hard to distinguish. These days, I don't appreciate the company of a person that punctuates conversation with ugly words. It's as thought I don't know how to respond. I remember growing up, we weren't allowed to use words like 'butt' and 'crap.' I thought that was ridiculous. Now I know why those guidelines were put in place. It's about the attitude. I used to laugh at my dad. I would say 'dang' or 'darn' and Dad would tell me not to curse. Dad...(he also says the speed limit is merely a suggestion. It means you can go up to said limit. Precious)
I just read a piece of Piper from his book 'Taste and See' about what he calls, rightly so, prison language. The scripture he quotes is Matthew 12.34: Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.
Here are some points he makes that I agree with and/or have never considered:
There is a kind of macho ego-satisfaction that comes from pointless swearing and foul, sacrilegious talk. The thing that makes it macho is that offensive language feels assertive and virile. So if you are weak and insecure, one way to camouflage it is to pepper your conversation with social no-no's.
'Foul talk' and 'coarse jesting' are a pitiful attempt to fill a void which God meant to be filled with gratitude to him and love to others.
Behind foul talk is a gaping void where God's grace belongs, and behind coarse jesting is the gaping void where joyful gratitude belongs. It is a God issue.
Isn't that so true?? It really is a God issue. I am sorry for people who use such language. They are lacking.
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