I hate sounding like an old fogey…  like my MOM!  Lol  But here I am!  I remember my high school graduation night in 1976.  I was with my best friend.  We were dating guys who were each other’s best friends and we were on our way to meet them.  I can’t  remember the conversation, but I remember saying, “Damn it!”  I gasped and put my hand over my mouth.   I had stunned myself!  My friend was driving and she gasped and looked at me with disbelief.

After that I would use the “D” word sparingly.  Once the abuse in my first marriage started, I would use the “F” word as a warning to him and for myself that I had reached the end of my rope.  If that word came out of my mouth, it wasn’t because I was about to explode, it meant I was in the middle of an explosion!  Was it right? No.  Scripture gives us the following verses (among many more):

• Colossians 3:8 ESV ‘But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.”
• Ephesians 4:29 ESV “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”
• Matthew 12:36-37 ESV “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
• Matthew 15:10-11 ESV “And he called the people to him and said to them, ‘Hear  and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.'”
• James 3:10 ESV “From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.”
• James 1:26 ESV  “If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.”

To this day, I still struggle with reaching that level of rage and it’s usually when faced with false accusations or something being totally unfair.  I will walk out of the room before allowing myself to use that word.  I do NOT want to lose my witness, especially with loved ones…  and they’re usually the ones we’re the most comfortable around and allow our mouths to run out of control, right?

Today, I hear 12- and 13-year-olds using the “F” word where I wouldn’t have even used the “D” word at the age of 18.  It’s used as an adjective to enhance a verb.  So if the worst word in history is being used in mundane conversation, how do we know when anyone has reached the end of their rope?  When they pull a gun?  When they attempt suicide?

God tells us in his word how He wants His people to talk.  In order to attract a Godly man, mustn’t  our speech reflect our lives?  Shouldn’t our walk be transparent?  If we want people to want what we have found in Christ, shouldn’t our speech be pure? Give it a try for a few hours, a few days, a few months and the rest of your lives.  God expects it and so does your godly man.