THE CURSING TONGUE

The Cursing Tongue

Out of the same mouth proceed

blessing and cursing. My brethren,

these things ought not to be so.

James 3:10




Evie, faithfully attends prayer services, visits shut-ins, fasts for extended periods. However, she regularly uses four-letter words in her conversations. When a fellow coworker confronted her about her use of such non-glorifying expressions, she responded,“These words are in the Bible.” I have heard others snicker about her hypocrisy behind her back. Why does Evie use expletives as freely as she drinks water? Because she has not allowed the Holy Spirit to tame her tongue. James, the brother of Yahusha, explained it this way:




No man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly

evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless

our God and Father, and with it we curse

men, who have been made in the similitude

of God (James 3:8-9).




Using profane, obscene, or vulgar language is

unbecoming to a child of God. I believe people use

profanity for various reasons. First, they often lack

an adequate vocabulary with which to express themselves and therefore feel they must curse for their words to have impact. Those who are challenged in this area must start to develop a communication style that is direct, clear, and without hostility. They may find that expletives are unnecessary. Secondly, some people resort to profanity to release their extreme frustration with a situation. They have developed an ungodly pattern of expressing their displeasure and need to retrain their responses. They would do well to decide in advance upon some alternate words to use when they find themselves reaching the peak of frustration.




While I wholeheartedly believe that profane words

should not come out of my mouth, I often found

myself thinking, though not saying, them on many

occasions. When I would stub my toe, break something of value, upset a stack of papers, spill a drink, have an encounter with an extremely difficult person, or confront any other frustrating situation, I would silently use profanity. I was quite troubled, especially as a Bible teacher, that such words came to my mind in these situations rather than an exclamation such as “Glory” or some other God-honoring phrase. I took the matter to the Lord in prayer.“Lord, I understand according to Luke 6:45, ‘A good person produces good deeds from a good heart, and an evil person produces evil deeds from an evil heart.




Whatever is in your heart determines what you say’. Would You please take the four-letter words

out of my heart and replace them with Your expressions? I thank You in advance for purging me of profanity and for allowing the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart to be acceptable in Your sight.”




Understanding that profanity resides in the heart

helps us to reject the idea that a curse word “slipped”

out of our mouth. The reality is that it slipped out

of the heart. Only God can cleanse a person’s heart.

If you are challenged with profanity, ask God to

purify your heart and your mind. Remember that

words are verbal thoughts. We must practice the

mental discipline of casting down profane thoughts and using words that bring life to our innermost

being and to others.




Today’s Affirmation:

Cursing does not proceed out of my

mouth. Today I give God full charge

of my tongue. By His grace I will only

speak words that will bring honor to

His name.