Dirty Mouth? Clean It Up!

A lot of people find it hard to communicate without throwing in some swear words. Is this a problem? Does it matter to God? How can we change?

Perhaps you’ve seen the commercial: Chewing gum is portrayed as a cure for those with filthy language in an ad presented by an attractive woman.

However, a dirty mouth is not something to be taken so lightly, and the remedy is less simple than a piece of gum.

A while ago I sat talking to a college acquaintance of mine. It was a drawn-out conversation with little meaningful substance—considering I no longer remember what it was about. I did not know this particular man very well; however, sadly, within two minutes he had already left a sour impression.

Between every five words he spoke certain words would slide out—words that I wish had been censored. He swore a lot, mostly using profanity as a replacement for adjectives.

The contrast between our speech was evident, and he soon voluntarily began defending his language. With much enthusiasm, he claimed that, because curse words have various definitions and historical significance behind them, it is senseless of people to be offended in the first place.

Could his stance really be deemed acceptable? Does our vocabulary choice really make that much of an impact? Though he was passionate, my acquaintance’s reasoning was flawed in many different ways.

Historical significance

While often swear words come from older pasts, most of these word’s current definitions are modern inventions within the last few hundred years. Actually, according to my research, all the “historical references” my acquaintance made were actually inaccurate.

However, historically these words were considered “curse” or “swear” words because many people thought that these words had magical powers that would curse whoever spoke them. This is another reason to discourage their use.

Stop being offended?

Though swear words are being accepted more commonly as mainstream in the media, there are still many circumstances in which people consider curse words offensive. For example, swearing in front of children is rarely encouraged, and there are very few people who would not modify their language during an important interview. The way we communicate says a lot about us, and every word we speak is being shaped into a collage of impressions and a reputation.

Words have power! However, they don’t have power in the magical sense many ancient cultures supposed. According to HowStuffWorks.com’s article on swearing, swear words are more than just inappropriate groups of syllables commonly found offensive.

According to medical studies, patients who have had brain traumas and are no longer able to speak are sometimes still able to say swear words.

Why would this be? Because swearing is linked deeply to emotion. So much so that swearing is not associated with the same area of the brain that all other words are placed for communication, but stored with the intense emotions to which they are associated. Swearing is not a matter of words but a matter of emotions and, subsequently, the heart.

God already knew this before scientists discovered this phenomenon:

“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45).

As God’s inspired words explain, the words that you say are merely an echo of candid emotions. The words we say reveal our heart.

Proverbs says: “The mouth of the righteous is a well of life, but violence covers the mouth of the wicked” (Proverbs 10:11).

There is a stark difference between a well of life, encouraging and helping others with our words, and a violent mouth, causing pain to others.

Clean it up!

God wants pure hearts in His people, and that means pure emotions and words. An acronym or two on Facebook or letting a word slip here and there with friends may not seem like a problem, but it matters to God.

How can we clean up a “dirty mouth”? God, once again, gives instruction and hope in His Word:

“Let my prayer be set before You as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips” (Psalm 141:2-4).

Our hearts are imperfect, but God offers to help those who would like to overcome if they ask Him for help. Daily we have the opportunity to make good impressions on others with the things we say. With God, an impure heart can be cleaned up and, though the results might not be instantaneous like in the commercials, the outcome can be “fabulous!”

Vivienne Villaescusa attends the Salt Lake City, Utah, and Raleigh, North Carolina, congregations of the Church of God, a Worldwide Association, and is currently pursuing a degree in dance education at Brigham Young University.

For more about our words and the Third Commandment, see our article about profanity and the Third Commandment on the LifeHopeandTruth.com website.