Haven’t you noticed lately how almost everyone cusses like crazy? Politicians, musicians, radio hosts, co-workers, entertainers, and people like us. Enough already with the nastiness. It’s terribly unbecoming. According to my friend Ty Dodge’s blog, Spencer W. Kimball put it this way: “Profanity is the effort of a feeble brain to express itself forcibly.”

And if you think about it, what comes out of the mouth, according to the most excellent Source ever, is a mirror-like reflection of the heart. It’s a condition of spiritual sickness that’s manifested through human language.

“The good man brings good things out of the good treasure of his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil treasure of his heart. For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.” -Jesus

Is swearing really such a big deal? In addition to the Dad’s best brownies story above, I’d like to address it this way: How harmful do you think the following are?

Anger?

Wrath?

Malice?

Slander?

I’d say they’re pretty detrimental. According to Paul, the next item on the list is “obscene speech.” You can see for yourself in Colossians 3:8: “Rid yourselves of all of them: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene speech from your mouth.”

Your words can either bring life or cause harm; they are never neutral. Proverbs 15:4 states, “A soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.” Likewise, 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, so that it may benefit those who listen.”

If you want to stand out from the crowd—“Come out and be different,” says the Lord—consider living out a Christian ethic in your speech. I struggle here. But if the Holy Spirit can meet me on this, I believe He can meet you too. Together we can strive for a higher standard. I’m dedicated to making the effort. What about you?