Flash forward to a couple years ago, as I met with a pastor friend, he threw in a couple four-letter words. I was shocked. I wasn’t bothered by them, but I didn’t expect to hear them out of his mouth.

Did he really speak like that in his personal life?

Whether you call them cuss words, curse words, dirty words, obscenity, colorful language, off-color words, or simply ‘how you talk’, should Jesus’ disciples/disciple maker’s use them?

Everyone uses curse words sometimes, right? So, what’s the big deal? And what other words are appropriate when your hammer misses the nail and hits your thumb? Or when another driver cuts you off? Surely Jesus is more concerned about bigger things than our word choice, right?

Most people have never thought about it, but our words are important. Jesus, Paul, and James all address the issue of obscenity/unwholesome language in Scripture.

Jesus redefines purity for the Pharisees. While the Pharisees were focused on remaining pure by focusing on what went into their mouths, Jesus told them to focus on what comes out (Matthew 15:11-19). In Luke 6:45, he communicates the message by saying, “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stores up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”

This rationale is what I call the “Principle of Origin”. Our words reflect what’s in our hearts. If we are holy and clean, then our language should be too.

In Ephesians 4:29 and 5:4, Paul communicates about our speech. In the first passage, he says we shouldn’t use unwholesome talk, but only what’s helpful for building others up. In the second he says, there should be thanksgiving, not “obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking”.