The Faithful Wanderer

Is Profane Language a Sin?

I know Christians who have expressed confusion about profane language. (Or cursing, cussing, swearing, whatever you want to call it.)

They often ask, “Is profane language is a sin?”

Obviously it’s not good, whether you are a Christian or not. They are dubbed ‘no-no words’ for a reason.

But can Christians cuss, swear, curse, use profane language?

Yup. They are totally capable and allowed to. But is it a sin? Is it something God looks down on, like adultery or stealing or murderering?

Well, it is not listed in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 34), but if you read Matthew 22 34:40, you see that the two greatest commandments are about love.

And calling people b***h, a** or motherf****r? Not sure about that, but I’d say that it’s not love.

Paul also writes in Ephesians, ‘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. ‘ (Ephesians 4:29 NIV)

If it’s not love, it’s not good. And this is something we are all very guilty of, myself especially.

A verse in James 3 talks about the importance of letting love come from the tongue, not love and hate.

‘With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. ‘ (James 3:9-12 NIV)

This part is especially true—how can we use the same mouth that hates other people and use it to praise God? It’s basically the equivalent of using a dirty, stained plate to serve the queen of England. (Except it’s different because we’re talking about the God of the universe and not the queen of England.)

But you get what I’m saying. We’re gonna make mistakes, but personally I think that profane language is a choice, and then that choice becomes a habit, and that habit becomes a reflex, and that reflex becomes a part of you.

And in all honesty, a mouth that is constantly cursing and needing to be bleeped out isn’t all that attractive. So take the time to think about what you’re saying. I know that’s something I definitely need to work on. :)

Thanks for reading, have a great week!
~Willow

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Willow
Check out my blog to read about mental health, faith, writing, writing competitions, and more!

11 responses to “Is Profane Language a Sin?”

  1. Cally May Avatar
    Cally May

    This is an interesting topic that I’ve been struggling to understand as well! I really like what you’ve said here.

    I think that, as Christians, we are to live a life that is set apart from the world around us. And personally, when I hear people cussing, I don’t automatically think “wow, they’re probably a Christian!”

    I work at a farm, and pretty much all of my coworkers cuss, except for maybe two. And both of them are Christians. It’s very noticeable for me, especially when everyone around us is using this kind of language, to tell that we are different in some way.

    Every single facet of our lives should display that we love God. Even non-believers think that those are “bad words”. Saying them as a Christian can undermine our message.

    In Matthew, when Peter is denying Jesus when He’s going to be crucified, the third time that Peter is accused of being a disciple, it says that he cursed. Here’s the passage:

    “After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, “Surely you are one of them; your accent gives you away.” Then he began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!” Immediately a rooster crowed.”
    ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭26‬:‭73‬-‭74‬ ‭NIV‬‬

    I think this is super powerful. Only when he was frustrated and truly wanted to “sell” that he wasn’t a disciple of Jesus, Peter cursed.

    As for it being a sin, I can’t say for certain. Personally, I always feel convinced after using such language, but that may be just a personal conviction.

    Great post, Willow! Happy late Easter, too! He is risen! ❤️

    Liked by 6 people

    Reply
    1. Willow Avatar
      Willow

      I agree with all that you said! Yes, the part of it being a sin is still something I’m unsure about, but I agree, I often feel guilty and convicted if I swear.

      Thanks for sharing your thoughts, and happy Easter to you too! He is risen indeed!💛

      Liked by 4 people

      Reply
  2. Asia015 Avatar
    Asia015

    Interesting post! 👍

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  3. Avatar
    Anonymous

    this was so well written! I feel like this is something that not many people address and talk about in the writing/Christian circle.
    thank you for choosing to writing about it!

    ✨

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Willow Avatar
      Willow

      Thank you so much! I agree, thanks for sharing your thoughts!🙃

      Like

      Reply
  4. Carson Avatar
    Carson

    I guess you’re right. I cuss too much, and that’s something I need to work on.

    What about if you’re not talking about someone but you’re just frustrated? Like, oh cr*p or something like that.

    Thank you very much!

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. Carson Avatar
      Carson

      I’ve never been the type to curse at someone, but I’ve been the type to curse in frustration in general.

      Liked by 2 people

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      1. Willow Avatar
        Willow

        Right, I’m the same way.

        Liked by 1 person

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    2. Willow Avatar
      Willow

      Yeah, good question. I’m obviously not an expert but in James 3:9-12 it talks about praising God with a mouth that also cusses. I think (personally) that it’s still a not-good thing to cuss, right? But it’s obviously another thing we can get forgiveness for. I personally say ‘crap’ a LOT, but I try to let that be my replacement for ‘sh*t’ or something worse😅

      Overall I think cussing isn’t good because it doesn’t come from God, but like all things that don’t come from God, if we do them, we can still get forgiveness. (Take all my thoughts with a grain of salt though! I’m still figuring this out for myself and even though I say these things about cussing, I use profane language in my mind a lot. Working on that, though!)

      Not sure if that made sense, but yep!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. Carson Avatar
        Carson

        Yes, I think that it did clear it up. So essentially cursing is like a sin that, though it is not right, is a product of our flawed nature, and we are forgiven for it by having faith in Jesus, if I understand correctly?

        Thank you!

        Liked by 1 person

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        1. Willow Avatar
          Willow

          I would say that’s correct!
          No problem!

          Liked by 1 person

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