Real Men Don’t Swear

Apparently, foul-mouthed guys help sell movie tickets and attract a TV audience. But in real life, cursing and swearing just make you sound mean, boring and out-of-control.

From the movies and TV, you’d think that swearing makes you tough, powerful or funny. But think about the people you know who can’t get a sentence out without some form of profanity or cursing. Why is it that they often seem shallow, weak and pathetic?

What does God say about swearing?

In giving the Ten Commandments, God thundered out, “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain” (Exodus 20:7).

One of the most common sins is using God’s name lightly—without respect and honor. If you are using God or Jesus Christ’s name in every sentence or in anger or to condemn someone, that is breaking the Third Commandment. The people who changed how they said His name just slightly to make it sound more socially acceptable or funny (euphemisms like “gol durn”) missed the point. That’s still treating His name disrespectfully.

People who use God’s name to emphasize what they are saying rarely think about either the truthfulness of what they say or the disrespect they are showing to God.

But is cursing, profanity and blasphemy using God’s name the only thing God tells us to avoid? What about all the four-letter biological terms?

• “But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth” (Colossians 3:8).
• “Entirely out of place is obscene, silly, and vulgar talk; but instead, let there be thanksgiving” (Ephesians 5:4, New Revised Standard Version).

God rules out dirty language and off-color humor. He sets the bar very high: “No corrupt word” or “unwholesome talk” (Ephesians 4:29, NKJV and New International Version).

In fact, we are accountable for “every idle word” (Matthew 12:36), so we should not curse or swear at all. Not even to try to prove we are being truthful.

Jesus Christ said, “Do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one” (Matthew 5:34-37). Our lives should be so honest that our “Yes” means more than a boatload of oaths.

But even one of His closest disciples fell back into old habits when facing a life-threatening crisis. Peter, watching from outside while Jesus was being beaten, was identified as one of Christ’s followers. “Then he began to curse and swear, saying, ‘I do not know the Man!’” (Matthew 26:74).

Peter’s fear tempted him to lie and to swear. He momentarily forgot Christ’s commands and sinned. But soon the weight of what he had done hit him, and he repented bitterly.

Repentance and change

Like any sin, swearing can be repented of and forgiven. Repentance means a commitment to change. It means seeing this sin as God sees it and seeking His help to stop doing it.

For many men, swearing has become a habit. Like any habit, it can be broken with God’s help. If you have any habit-breaking tips, please share them on our Facebook.com/cogwa page. We plan to write more about overcoming bad habits in future blog posts.

Mike Bennett deeply regrets a fairly recent encounter with one too many unmanned toll booths when he dropped the coins on the ground out of reach and said something in frustration under his breath.