Pastor Dan Mangler's Sunday Sermon

From Your Mouth to God's Ears

Jeremiah 15: 19b

August 28, 2005

From Your Mouth to God's Ears

"If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless, you shall be as my mouth." (Jeremiah 15:19b)

A dentist or dental hygienist will tell you that the mouth is probably the "dirtiest" part of the human body. It is a breeding ground for all manner of bacteria brought into the mouth in the foods we eat and the air we breathe. Diseases of the mouth are among the most prevalent health problems in the world. For example, 90 per cent of all American children already have dental decay by four years of age. Glossitis (tongue disease); gingivitus (gum disease); caries (tooth decay); canker sores (ulcerous disease of the inner mouth membrane) are but the most common diseases that fester from bacteria that enter and lodge in the mouth. The mouth is, indeed, a hangout for all manner of foul infestation.

The human mouth is also the habitat of another kind of foul infestation - our manner of speech. And while profanity may not be the worst of our sins, or even the worst of our verbal sins, it is not as innocuous as some seem to think. The consequences of profanity are greater than we realize

Profanity has spread rapidly the past couple of decades and, according to many, has reached epidemic proportions. Profanity and vulgarity have always been a part of the English language, but of late they are increasingly in evidence on the printed page and in the electronic media. Words that used to appear in literature as a letter followed by a series of dashes or asterisks are now spelled out in full, and words that once were bleeped are now spoken without shame. We have come a long way since Clark Gable had to get permission from the movie industry's censorship code to say on screen, "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a ...."

An article was published in a U.S. News and World Report magazine some years ago entitled, "The Cussword Comes Out of the Closet". Its lead sentence reads, "Once condemned by polite society, use of profanity has become a routine part of everyday life. Many experts see the trend as irreversible." It continued: "Walt Whitman wrote, 'I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear.' Swearing is the sound now heard across America, and the poet's carols have turned to curses.’ The four-letter word has emerged from the barrooms and barracks and can be heard and seen almost everywhere - in conversation at restaurants, on bumper stickers, in cheers bellowed at sports events, on television and in movies. Some forms of profanity, unthinkable in public a generation ago, now can be heard regularly (everything in the movies; milder forms on television). A listener to casual conversations these days hears curses ranging from the slightly vulgar to the very obscene regardless of the age, sex, race or social status of participants."

Should we care? I believe we should. I think we should challenge those who would defend profanity, and even promote it.

Let me summarize the arguments of those who defend, and even commend profanity. Sigmund Freud once suggested that cursing was the beginning of civilization. "The first human being who hurled a curse instead of a weapon against his adversary," Freud once remarked, "was the founder of civilization." The argument goes something like, "Since verbal abuse is less harmful than physical abuse, cursing or swearing is good.

A psychologist from the University of Southern California Institute of Safety and Systems Management asserts that “Profanity is the essence of being human” and that “foul language is a valuable safety valve that helps society function without too much frustration.” He argues that too little swearing is as bad as too much. Used judiciously, he says, four-letter words can salvage self-esteem and save one's ego from extermination. "The person using them", he says, "is proving that at least he has a mastery over something, if only his own mouth. He is verbally hitting below the belt. It's a way of feeling powerful when one feels helpless." In another article this same psychologist is quoted as saying, "Swearing is an overt action, and when under strain it releases tension. The whole purpose of swearing is to achieve a sense of mastering. If someone cuts across in front of me on the freeway and I cuss him out, it shows to me I'm a better person than he is and regains some of my ego status." Swearing, therefore, is therapeutic.

All of that sounds quite convincing, until it is measured against a higher standard, the biblical standard. Not only is cursing and swearing condemned in the Bible bad language must pass your lips..." Eph. 4:29; and in Col. 3:5,8 "Put to death therefore…foul talk), and not only does Luther, explicitly forbid it in his explanation of the Second Commandment - you shall not use the Lord's name to "...curse, swear, lie or deceive), but the very reasons some put forward to defend swearing or cursing come under biblical judgment.

Freud concluded that swearing is the mark of civilization because with it we hurl words instead of weapons. Even if we agreed that words hurt less than fists, an argument that many child psychologists reject, verbal abuse would still not be God-pleasing. It would not be evidence of a civilized people. Do you remember what Jesus said in Matthew 5: "You have heard that it was said to men of old, 'You shall not kill; and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment.' But I say to you that every one who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother shall be liable to the council, and whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be liable to the hell of fire."

Mason, the psychologist quoted above, argued that the whole purpose of swearing is to achieve a sense of mastering. "If someone cuts across in front of me on the freeway and I cuss him out, it shows to me I'm a better person than he is and regains some of my ego status (read "pride"). Again, this is a completely foreign element to the biblical witness. Our ego status does not come from being able to hurl four-letter epithets at a rude driver who infringes on our right-of-way. Our "ego status", or personhood is guaranteed by our status as children of God. We do not have to "regain it", because no one can take it away.

Those who defend swearing say they do so because it gives vent to anger; and that is the very reason I believe we should forsake swearing, because it is an extension of the evil that is in us.

When Jesus' disciples were criticized for not washing their hands before eating, Jesus' replied to the Pharisees, "It isn't what goes into a man's mouth that defiles a man, but what comes out of a man's mouth, this defiles a man." In Matthew 12:33, Jesus said, "...out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." To those who say, "They're only words", I would remind that words are the primary way we communicate our most precious thoughts — our feelings about ourselves, about each other, about life. Ugly words betray ugly thoughts and feelings. Ugly thoughts and feelings don’t need not be vented; they need to be healed.

I have one of those chicken and egg questions (what came first, the chicken or the egg?). In this case, what comes first, the correcting of speech or the healing of the heart? There are those who would argue that conversion of the heart will remove ugly speech. This, of course, is true. But let me suggest that the opposite can also be true, that as ugly speech is removed, the feelings that gave them rise can be healed. I have scientific, biblical, and anecdotal evidence to support that.

First comes the scientific. It used to be believed by psychologists that venting anger reduced violence. Evidence is now being gathered that venting anger might even fuel violence. Venting anger, far from pouring water on the fires inside, actually pours fuel on them. If we denied the fire the fuel, might it just burn out? If we take away the words of anger, which most swearing is, might not the result be reduced anger?

Second comes the biblical. There is a suggestion in James that by controlling ones tongue one can control ones entire being. "If we put bits into the mouths of horses that they may obey us, we guide their whole bodies. Look at the ships also; though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, a very small rudder guides them wherever the will of the pilot directs. So the tongue is a little member and boasts great things." (James 3: 3-5a)

Third, the anecdotal. I find that when I give vent to ugly feelings with ugly words, the ugly feelings remain, and even grow. But if I can deny myself those ugly words, I find the ugly feelings soon pass.

Swearing is not the worst of our sins, but neither is it as innocuous as some would believe, and certainly not as beneficial as still others might claim. Swearing is an outward expression of ugly inner thoughts and feelings. We will be far better off if we confront those ugly inner feelings with the healing word of Christ. God was vitally concerned with what Jeremiah said: "If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless, you shall be as my mouth" He is no less concerned with the words that we utter. Might we be guided by the words of St. Paul in Colossians 4:6, "Let your conversation be always full of grace."

May the peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen.