Profanity in Sunday Clothes

INTRO.: In reading the comments on this forum within the past week, I became aware of a lot of ignorance among some as to the seriousness of this issue. During this time I came across an article dealing with this issue. It is not the best I have read, but will do to get one started thinking about it....and it is short. :-D Much more could be said so I would encourage you to do a search in the Scriptures dealing with issues such as "speaketh", "heart", "idle", "tongue", "swear". It helps a lot if you have e-Sword to faciliate your search. It can be downloaded for free off the web. I would encourage all to utilize this helpful tool.

MY TESTIMONY: for whatever it is worth....I received a few angry PM because of my position on this issue so perhaps I need to share where I am coming from....

I was raised in a Christian home, attended Christian schools, church which means I was taught that profanity was sin as well as by-words running close behind. BUT that did not deter me or my friends from its usage. Sometime when I was in my teens - over 40 years ago - the LORD spoke to me in a dream about this issue. I became convicted and have worked to refrain from using any words which could be understood as profanity and/or by-words. This is where I am coming from and I am thankful the LORD in his mercy saw fit to teach me this and it is my job as a Christian to warn others.

ginnyrose

Now the article:

Profanity in Sunday Clothes

More than seventy-five percent of the Christians I know use one or more of the following expressions: "Goodness," "Goodness gracious," "golly," "gee," "heavens," "for heaven's sake," "what the deuce," or "what the dickens." There are many more that could be mentioned, but these should be sufficient.

When you say, "What the deuce," you are really saying, "What the devil." (See
Webster's New International Dictionary.)

"Dickens" is another euphemism for devil. A euphemism as described by Webster is "a way of describing an offensive thing by an inoffensive expression."

"Darn," according to the dictionary, means to "damn." Webster defines "Gosh" as a substitute for "God" used in oaths. Therefore, if we use this word we transgress the second commandment, "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that takes his name in vain" (Exodus 20:7).

"Golly" is another euphemism for the profane use of God and is recognized by language authorities as meaning God.

Many who throw up their hands in horror when they hear the word "hell" in an oath repeatedly say, "Oh, heavens," or "For heaven's sake," which is much worse, for it gets closer to God and His throne. "And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon" (Matthew 23:22).

Webster says that the phrases, "For goodness sake," and "Goodness gracious," refer originally to the goodness of God. "Gee," commonly thought of as mere slang, is listed in the dictionary with a capital letter and said to be "a form of Jesus in minced oaths." Men who are authorities on the history of words have traced these expressions to their origin.

But some people will excuse themselves and say, "I don't mean it that way when I use those words." I will gladly grant that this is true, but it is just as true that many worldly people who use the name of God in vain do not mean it, either, but do it from force of habit.

The Bible says the Lord will not hold him guiltless that takes His name in vain. We take it in vain whether we dress it in Sunday clothes or speak coarse oaths.

"If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain" (James 1:26).

You ask me, "What can I say then, if I can't use any of these words?" There are 400,000 words in the English language, and I dare say that ninety-five percent of them would be safe to have
on your lips when you are dying. ~From Young Companion, August, 1978
~by Fred Beck

Thanks for this article, sister.

For maybe the first three years of my Christian walk, I would say much of these "expressions". Usually to express surprise or frustration. I would sometimes even use them while preaching! Well, one evening while we were having a barbeque at my pastor's house, I was joking around with the youth, saying those phrases...and my pastor was flipping the burgers, listening.

Later that evening, he gently commented that when he grew up in the 1950's, the stuff he heard us saying used to be considered cuss words. Serious Christians didn't say "My Goodness!" or even "Gee, I don't know-" or "Whoa!" He said that the discerning Christians understood them for what they really were: cover-ups, euphimisms for taking God's name in vain.

Humbled, I gave it some thought, and saw he was right. I soon became deeply, deeply convicted. It was true! It was if the Holy Spirit spoke to me that night and verified everything my pastor said. I heard in my spirit, "It's time to grow, Paul. It's time to go to new level. That's why I am revealing this to you. What used to sound harmless to you is no longer such. You must chage your reckless speech habits, and be completely holy as I require you to be."

Brethren, it is possible to drop these cloaked phrases from our vocabularies if we yield to the Spirit and [i]confess[/i] that they are, indeed, unclean manners of communication. I feel that someone reading this right now is getting the same revelation from God as I did that night! In time, this vain habit will be broken, be assured. Just press on and endeavor to be holy in all manner of word, thought, and deed. And if you slip and mess up, don't beat yourself up. Just confess your error, repent, and continue on toward the high calling in Christ Jesus.

God gets serious with his children when his children decide to get serious with him.

Brother Paul

(edit) Notice that nobody was beaten over the head that night, or sharply rebuked. Pastor Volkert was a wise man of God who understood the principle of a word fitly spoken being like apples of gold in pictures of silver. I was at the right maturity level, and the occassion for hearing this transforming truth was prime for Spirit illumination. All he had to do was indirectly mention it, and the Holy Ghost drove it powerfully home and personalized it in my own spirit.

These words have been always sobering for me:

[b]Mat 12:36[/b] But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

Fine article, brother.

You mentioned a word that I never knew was considered an unnecessary one: Whoa. I grew up in Amish country where there were many horses - and we also owned a couple in our lifetime - and the word "Whoa" was used to tell an animal to stop as giddyap meant "go". But if this word "Whoa" is offensive, I must needs drop it from my voacabulary...

Thanks for the enlightenment.

ginnyrose

A most sobering article indeed. I too was convicted of using words like "that sucked", "what the heck", and "darn". May we truly clean up our spiritual lives, even if it seem trivial in our sight.

Thank you for posting this article.

God Bless

TJ

Yes, thank you so much Sister. There must be a raising of standards. Like Jeremiah the Lord wants us to "seperate the precious from the vile", if we do this we can be His mouth piece.

Hpw the dear Holy Spirit is grieved by so much in the lives of Christians that we do not even know is wrong. Let us join in the prayer of the psalmist asking God to search us and show us our sins. We will be suprised what He shows us, if we gave Him time to turn over our wicked hearts and show us our state.