I want to be straight forward with you. I'm not going to beat around the bush or pretend like it's not the way it is. S W E A R I N G i s E V E R Y W H E R E It may or may not be in your home, but the second you step outside, you cannot avoid hearing dirty language: a car drives down the street blasting it, you hear it at the bus stop, all day long in school, on the way home,in music, it's EVERYWHERE! And despite who we claim to be, many of us Christians swear. I've even heard Christians swear at church. To be honest, I know it is extremely hard not to swear, because I used to do it. I began swearing when I was hanging around "Christian friends" who swore. At first I only swore when I was really mad. Then I swore when it sounded "cool". Then before I knew it, it was part of my everyday language. I had become so desensitized to foul language that I didn't understand how people could communicate without swearing. Swearing is just as addictive as any drug in my opinion. THEN... one day, at the beginning of my freshman year in high school, I was at my grandmother's house glancing at a book by a Christian author. I just happened to flip to a page that was talking about swearing. The author explained that God does not like swearing_which I knew. But then I read something that really made me think. The book said, that you cannot fully express yourself through swearing. For example, calling someone a swear word may show that you are angry, but it does not resolve an issue. Instead of saying "you ?!*!-!", asking that person, "Why did you do that?" makes more sense. D I S G U S T I N G Thinking about that really made me realize how stupid and pointless swearing is. Swearing also makes you look ignorant too. I was riding on the train with some friends when some girls our age got on. Not only were they loud, but every other word was a swear. I never realized how ignorant and disgusting swearing was until then. Yuck. MESSED UP WITNESS The worst thing about swearing, and what makes me regret having been a "swearer", so much, is that it messed up my witness. Yes, I claimed to be a Christian then, but I sure didn't act like one and God was not pleased. The theme for SIS-TAHS is 1 Timothy 4:12 "...but set an example...in SPEECH". For more than two years I did not set an example in speech. I'm glad God forgave me. SWEARING SAINTS? For those of you out there who are "swearing saints", I know it's hard to change, but if you ask God for help and really make an effort to do better, you can change - I did. James 3:3-12 speaks about taming the tongue James 3:10 "Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be." Tips to Kick the Habit 1) AVOID MUSIC WITH FOUL LANGUAGE. 2) ASK YOUR FRIENDS NOT TO SWEAR AROUND YOU. IF THEY RESPECT YOU, THEY WILL STOP. 3) FIND WORDS TO REPLACE SWEARS, AND FIND NEW WAYS TO EXPRESS YOURSELF. 4) PRAY. |