A theology of cussin’

In my last post I asked how we are to apply Paul’s teaching from 1 Cor. 13:5 that love does not needlessly violate the “fashion” or “established standards” of the culture and still follow the instruction to not be conformed to this world (Rom. 12:2)?

One of the keys to the answer is the word “needlessly.”  For example if the fashion or established standard of the culture is to dress immodestly you must violate that standard because God’s word clearly says not to dress immodestly (1 Tim. 2:9).

However If I refuse to wear close-toed shoes when I officiate a funeral because I prefer to wear sandals, I have needlessly violated the established standard of the culture (as much as I have searched Leviticus for a verse that says I must wear sandals to a funeral, it’s not in there — although I’m sure Jesus wore sandals to Lazaras’ funeral).

Let me give another example.

Have you ever wondered what qualifies a word to be labeled a curse word?  There are actually two reasons:

1) When we trivialize a word that God sees as weighty and eternal we make it a curse word. If we use God’s name in any other way than to address Him or refer to Him with a sense of respect and awe we have just done the verbal equivalent of  spiting in the face of God.

Jesus speaks of hell as a real place of eternal suffering and damnation as the horrifying  eternal fate of those who have rejected God’s mercy. When we use  “hell” to emphasize our “no” and “damn” to emphasize our “good” we have stripped these word’s of their sacred weight and importance, dishonored God and desensitized ourselves to that which should never be common.

Before the air gets too thin up here on my high horse, let me state that I would have already been damned to hell (and I’m using theses words in their most Biblical sense) for the way I’ve used these words were it not for God’s mercy.

I think it’s time to move on to the second kind of cursing.

2) Some words are established in a certain culture and time as curse words.  For example when I was in 2nd grade, why did my mom smile when I used the word “poo poo” referring to something my little niece did and violently wash my mouth out with soap when I used the word “s**t” to describe something my big sister did (I’m hoping the strategic use of asterisks will keep my mom from feeling the need to get permission from Jesus to visit me from heaven with a hefty bar of Dial soap).

Who gets to decide this?  Is there some guy named “Billy-Bob” in a government cubicle somewhere who decides which words are appropriate to describe excrement (my apologies to any biology majors I may have just offended who actually know what “excrement” means)?

But regardless of who gets to decide, I know the words that have been established in my culture as curse words (and so do you) and if I use them so I can sound “edgy” or get someones attention I am needlessly violating the established standards of others and not acting in love.

I know you may disagree and I’d love to hear your perspective. But until then, I’ll be using the phrase “poo poo” when I leave the bathroom and I’ll be wearing real shoes when I arrive at a funeral.