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Before you start swearing at me in your head for telling you to stop swearing, let me stop and tell you that I am sharing this message because this is a habit I am trying to break myself.
I never viewed use swear words as something serious until the last few years.
I decided to stop swearing when I learned that foul language is a reflection of the heart, ouch.
Swear words would come out of my mouth when I was under deadline in the newsroom. If you don't know me, I'm a former TV news anchor. Let's just say, the job could get stressful. I'm sure many of you can relate, I would get really hyped up under deadline for a very high stakes story and the words would just come out of my mouth. It was often a form of stress relief, when I had only minutes to finish writing, get hair and makeup ready often racing to the news set. More recently it comes out when I'm telling a story to a friend with passion, with humor or when I'm mad about something. Sometimes I use swear words almost as an adjective and I find a lot of my peers do the same. Phrases like, "I'm so f-ing excited" or "I'm so f-ing mad" are sadly, pretty commonplace.
The fact is we hear swear words a lot. They're in our music, on TV and some people use the worst one - the f word- to emphasize happy, sad or angry feelings. Sometimes swearing makes something more humorous. It's almost as if we've become out of touch with the reality that swear words are filth, the kind of language you hear in prisons.
What's really sad is that for years I actually bought into the idea that swearing meant that you are a smart, successful person. There's actually a news article about a study that supposedly found swearing can mean a person has a higher IQ. I remember reading this CNN article and thinking, see I'm smart!
Now, I see the article differently. I believe it serves as worldly validation for what is actually just a bad habit. How did I change my mind? I went and read what the Bible says about swearing and our language.
I broke down what I learned into 10 takeaways:
10 reasons to stop swearing (for Christians and non-believers)
The Bible is clear that swearing is not good for us. Because I know some of you here may not be religious or may be of different religions, I also have some reasons that are not Bible-based.
Here are key takeaways from the Bible about both swearing and our words:
1.) The Bible explicitly warns against swearing, cussing and foul language. Colossians 3:8 says, "But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips."
2.) The Bible warns us to be careful with our words in general. Proverbs 18:21 says, "The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences."
3.) The Bible encourages us to use language that is uplifting and lovely. 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, that it may benefit those who listen.”
4.) The Bible says wise people think carefully before they speak. Proverbs 16:23 says, "From a wise mind comes wise speech; the words of the wise are persuasive."
5.) The Bible says filthy language, unfiltered talk and gossip is a reflection of the heart. Luke 6:45 says, "A good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks".
If you are not sold on what the Bible says here are some other common sense reasons ditching swearing is a good idea:
6.) You can't swear in certain settings- Most educational settings and some public forums don't allow you to swear as a guest speaker. I wasn't aware until a friend from college posted about this on Twitter, but cuss words apparently aren't allowed in Ted Talks.
7.) You shouldn't swear in front of children- Shouldn't in front of our own kids and definitely not in front of other people's kids.
8.) Some people find swearing unattractive- Using swear words can be viewed as harsh and aggressive. My own husband told me he hates when I swear! My deep respect for his opinion is one of the many reasons I am trying to remove it from my language.
9.) It can get you into trouble at work- One of my former bosses actually had a swear jar in the newsroom. In most workplaces swearing is considered unprofessional at the very least.
10.) Swearing can cause you to lose relationships- Swearing in conversations can be a huge turnoff to someone and you may not realize it! Swearing in conversation can come off as overly aggressive. Swearing at someone, name calling and the like is considered crossing a line and verbally abusive.
Would love to hear your thoughts on all of the above. Feel free to reach out to me through my contact page and social media.
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