Matthew 5:21-22
"You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brotherwill be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell. (NIV)
I figure Raca is the equivalent of "F-you!" Whenever someone said a wordy dird, most Christians that I know go nuts. It's almost as if the person had commented the unpardonable sin by using a four letter word and we as Christians generally make a value judgment of the character of the person that used the word. If I read the passage right, it is not the word choice that is important, but rather the intent of the speaker and the way words are meant to be received. People in general and Christians in particular have become very skilled treating people like garbage without using the magic words as if the magic words are missing then the words don't hurt.
I spoke a professor at college about my thoughts and he said I was right, but that he chose not to swear because it made a person sound unintelligent. I have also learned that some people swear because they have learned that language pattern from birth, but that doesn't indicate anything about the character of the person, rather that their word choice is appropriate to their upbringing and culture.
I guess my point is that you can not tell anything about someone's character by their vocabulary. One has to consider their actions and the intent of their words. Also that we can be meaner to each other than we pretend to ourselves.
2 comments:
Well, according to your professor, I'm dumb as a rock because I'm pretty sure that I cuss more than that co-worker of yours.
I like your theory better. Personally, I don't think God will strike me down for dropping a damn or a hell or even an occasional f-bomb (although society, well, they don't like that last one.). On the other hand, I do not like gd or jc used as curse words. Those hurt.
Your points are worth further discussion. I recently met with the leadership team at my new church because they asked me to start writing a blog for them (excitement!). One of the leaders said he'd like to keep it real and raw, and that he wouldn't even mind if I used swear words. Immediately I said, "I probably won't use swear words...yeah..I probably...won't."
I didn't judge his character as "bad", but definitely as more "liberal." I admit, I let a cuss word fly when I stub my toe, and I often search for "expressive" words that are borderline swearing, but I try to limit swearing as much as possible in order to sound more intelligent than I am.
But your post makes me think of how I use my attitude of sarcasm and surliness in place of swearing. I think I treat people disrespectfully without using disrespectful language. I appreciate this topic because it does bring to mind some issues.
Post a Comment