Profanity is one of the things that we cannot escape in our world today. Any time you go out in public it is almost guaranteed that you will hear cussing at some point. For Christians, we are called to live in but not be of the world. However, what is the proper response we can have to a topic like swearing?
There are proper and improper ways to react to profanity. In a recent heartwarming video of Dr. Ed Newton of Community Bible Church in San Antonio, TX, viewers can see his response when someone curses in the middle of the service.
“I’m going to need you to stop cussing, alright, can you stop shouting out cuss words, is that alright?” Newton politely asks.
Newton also mentions that if the conversation would have happened one-on-one, he wouldn’t have corrected Anthony, the man who shouted. However, because of the public setting with children around, he wanted to address it head on. The response though was given in love and Newton soon discovered Anthony was homeless and had been brought to church by another member, Michael.
Just that day Anthony was planning on taking his own life when Michael showed up, giving him some food he bought with the intention to give to a different homeless person he had passed by. This prompted Newton to tell the story of Jesus leaving behind the 99 sheep to find the one that had been lost along with the parable of the prodigal son.
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“We’ve got to help Anthony get back up on his feet. We have a responsibility,” Newton says.
This brought church members to flock to the front, ready to give out of their own wallet what they had.
Newton’s example, while not accepting the use of profanity, showed a genuine concern for the person behind the words so that he could receive the help he needed.
On the flip side from this story is Pastor Perry Noble who appears to have used profanity just because he wanted to. Discussing the lack of care many people have for the lost, Noble used profanity to describe this lack of empathy.
“There’s some people in this room more bothered by the fact that I just said the word…than you are worried about the people who are going to hell,” Noble said.
Cursing does not have to be part of the Christian’s vocabulary to make a point of reaching out to the lost. We can remember Ephesians 4:29 as we go about our daily lives: “Let no unwholesome word proceed out of your mouth, but only that which is good for building up, that it may give grace to the listeners.”
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Abby Trivett is marketing copywriter and coordinator for Charisma.
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