OPEN: Words have meaning. (We showed a video clip by www.vidangel.com/ that explained the impact of curse words on our families using paint balls fired at a family watching TV to visualize the sharp increase of swear words in our “entertainment” mediums)
(You can find the video we used at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJIf4m5YV04)
“Every word has IMPACT”
One scholar noted that we live in a culture that has become increasingly vulgar. “All forms of media have become saltier... The incidence and the severity of curse words on primetime television increased sharply from 1990 to 2005, for both cable and broadcast networks. (And the use of profanity) in books has exploded since the 1960s. And by some estimates, people curse nearly twice as much on Twitter as they do in spoken conversation.” (Michael Adams, an Indiana University English professor and author of “In Praise of Profanity’)
Now, what’s interesting, is the response that many people have to that level of vulgarness. On YouTube (where I got this video from Angelvid)) they have a comment section. Several people responded to what you just saw… with posts like these:
“Grow up! They’re just words.”
Someone else wrote: “Everyone takes curse words as a bad thing… but to me they shouldn’t have their own classification. They’re just words used to put extra emphasis on a point someone is trying to make.”
THEY’RE JUST WORDS!
This is the kind of “fake news” we’re discussing today. This idea that curse words are just words is a concept that is creeping into our churches. To illustrate that, let me tell you about myself.
ILLUS: I’m a big superhero fan. I just love about any movie with a fantasy hero – Superman, Spiderman, Captain America, etc. – so I was really enjoying the Avenger series of movies by Marvel. The only movie in that series I haven’t seen was the last one. Endgame. The reason I haven’t watched that movie was because the previous movie (Infinity War) so infuriated me.
I was sitting in the theater expecting to be entertained when suddenly I’m subjected to a volley of curse words like I’d never heard in an Avenger movie. A small boy seated close by me laughed out loud when one of the characters (Star Lord) mocked Jesus… because it was a line given in a way to make it sound funny. THEN, when as I left the theater I saw a poster in the foyer advertising the upcoming Deadpool movie that mocked the painting Michelangelo where God and Adam are reaching out to each other.
I WAS FURIOUS! And I shared my disgust on Facebook (I’m on about 40 pages… none of which have I’ve never signed up for). And on one of those FB pages there were several preachers who offended that I was offended by their favorite movie. And I a couple of those preachers actually defended the cursing in the movie. One guy tried to say that curse words didn’t come into existence until 1500s… I’m pretty sure that wasn’t true.
But another preacher said this… “They’re just words.”
Really? Are they JUST words? Well, do you remember the movie they talked about in our video-clip? “The Wolf Of Wall Street.” Our video said that that movie had the most swear words in movie history. Hmmm. So, let’s say that next week, instead of a sermon, those 2 preachers put THAT movie on the overhead so everyone in the congregation could watch it together. How well do you think that’ll go over? Probably not real well. Why? Because even Pagans understand… that’s not right! Even Pagans would be shocked to hear foul language being celebrated inside a church bldg. And that points to the Fake News aspect of this issue.
ILLUS: Let me illustrate this with an illustration I’ve used before. (I stepped over to the door of our sanctuary that opens into a yard. I opened the door and said). OUTSIDE I can watch any movie I want. But INSIDE the church building I can’t do that. Is that true? (No). OUTSIDE I can watch any TV show or listen to any music I want to. But INSIDE the church building I can’t. Is that true? (No). OUTSIDE I can say any curse words I want, but INSIDE I can’t.
That’s absurd isn’t it? Of course it is… and I Corinthians 6:19-20 tells us the reason: “do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So, glorify God in your body.”
In other words, YOU are the TEMPLE of God! This building is just the place the Church of Christ meets. We are the church. Thus, if it wouldn’t be acceptable INSIDE a building of brick and mortar, it shouldn’t be something you entertain yourself with OUTSIDE that building. In fact – that kind of stuff is definitely not acceptable coming out of your mouth, because YOU are the CHURCH.
And that’s what James is saying in our text this morning. “The tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.” James 3:6
James is saying: they’re NOT just words! Words have impact! And we must be careful what words we say. We’ve been called to be different than the world because we serve a GOD who has faith in us. God believes that you and I can be better than that.
Ephesians 5:4 declares “Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.”
But why? What’s so important about what I say? Well, it’s important because what comes out of my mouth reflects what is inside. “(Jesus said) what comes out of the mouth PROCEEDS FROM THE HEART, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.” Matthew 15:18-19
ILLUS: Gregg Nydegger is the preacher at Christ’s Church in Monticello (Monticello, IN) and he told about the time his brother and he walked uptown to Cliff’s Barbershop to get a haircut. “Usually my dad would go with us, but I remember one Saturday that he didn’t. My brother Scott and I went by ourselves and when we walked in, the barber shop was crowded so, we took seats sort of behind the door where you walked in, sat down, and started reading comic books. A few minutes later, a guy walked in and just started cussing and swearing. To my surprise, it was one of the guys from our church. He didn’t see us, and he soon sat down on other side of room. This guy told one dirty story after another, kept using curse words and the Lord’s name in vain; and my brother and I were just flabbergasted as we listened. Now this man wasn’t an elder or deacon, but he would have been considered a stalwart in the church. He was someone Scott and I looked up to and respected. Just the previous Sunday he sang a very touching special. He had a beautiful voice… but a corrupt mouth. When he finally realized Scott and I were there, he apologized; but I never thought the same of him ever again after that.”
So, curse words aren’t JUST “words”, they mean something. And when we use them, they diminish us and they hurt our witness. But as harsh as swear words can be… there’s other curse words that God hates worse. And what makes THESE curse words so evil is that even Christians tend to use them and even feel self-righteous when they do use them. Do you know what kind of curse words THESE are???
James 3:9-10 says “With (our tongue) we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.”
Cursing people??? What does that mean? It means to say things behind their back to try and hurt them. To tear a person down rather than build them up.
ILLUS: This has been very common in political conversations. I recently had a rather heated conversation on FB where a Christian laughingly put an old meme on FB (a meme showing Jeb Bush with the title “Little Jebbie” in a graphic where he resembled “Little Debbie” – snack cakes and donuts company). Now, tell me – what’s wrong with a Christian posting that kind of meme? That’s right - it’s ridiculing someone who was made in likeness of God! Pagans can do that all day long… but Christians MUST NOT do that! I don’t care if the politician is Republican or Democrat – it’s wrong! In fact, it is a great evil to do this. This is the kind of curse word God hates, because it curses people who are made in His image.
Ephesians 4:29-32 tells us… “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And DO NOT GRIEVE THE HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
Ephesians tells us that when we use “corrupting” talk (talk that puts other people down) we GRIEVE the Holy Spirit. But many Christians do this on FB they think of it as doing it OUTSIDE the church building. But they actually do it INSIDE the church building, but when they do it there, they tend to do it… anonymously.
ILLUS: I read about a preacher had on his desk a special book labeled, "Complaints of Members Against One Another." When one of his members called to tell him the faults of another, he would say, "Well, here's my complaint book. I'll write down what you say, and you can sign it. Then when I have to take up the matter officially, I shall know how I may expect you to testify.” The sight of the open book and ready pen had its effect, "Oh, no, I couldn't sign anything like that!" and they wouldn’t sign! The preacher said he kept the book for 40 years, and had opened it a 1000 xs … but its pages were blank. Nobody would sign. Instinctively they knew it was wrong and that’s why they preferred not to have their name attached to the accusations and slander.
ILLUS: At the last church, there were a few people who didn’t like me very much. One of those people was at a Board Meeting one night and suggested a “suggestion box” be placed in the foyer. Now everyone knew this box was never going to be a SUGGESTION box. Everybody knew it would end up being a COMPLAINT box… and all the complaints would have been… anonymous. I spoke up and said I had no problem with a “suggestion box” as long as the Elders (all decent and trustworthy men) would promise me that they wouldn’t honor any suggestion that wasn’t signed. I think that box was out there for a couple years and there was only one “suggestion” ever placed in it, and it was – unsigned. True to their word, the Elders just wadded it up and threw it in the trash.
Too often, outside the church bldg. people think it’s OK to attack others, but inside the church bldg. they feel the need for anonymity because they know God hates this kind of thing!!!!
Proverbs 30:10 tells us “Do not slander a servant to his master, lest HE curse you and you be held guilty.” Because everyone is made in the image of God, they are technically “servants” of God. You do the math.
ILLUS: Have I ever mentioned that I’ve been fired from a couple churches? Yeah, they ended up doing things they shouldn’t have been doing and I wouldn’t let them do what they wanted to do… so they asked me to leave. And in those 2 churches, there were people who set out to destroy me. They were furious that I wouldn’t let them do what they shouldn’t have done and so they would do things like spread rumors about me.
And in both those situations I never got mad at those people. In fact, I began to feel sorry for them. Do you know why? I felt sorry for them because of this one promise from Genesis 12:3 “I will bless those who bless you and I will curse those who curse you.” (This promise is reiterated in 2 Thessalonians 1:6 where we're told “God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you.”)
Knowing that truth, I kept my mouth shut and my powder dry… and sure enough, God always dealt with my enemies in ways that always seemed to make me sad. God was good to His promise and He dealt with them in much more powerful ways than I could ever think to do myself.
Let me make it clear: it’s always dangerous to attack a Christian.
ILLUS: I’m so grateful that this church is different. Several times over the years – I’ve preached about the need NOT to slander each other (talk behind each other’s backs). And people have taken that to heart.
Jesus said “if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. FIRST GO and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.” Matthew 5:23-24
And later in Matthew we read Jesus’ words: “If your brother sins against you, GO and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.” Matthew 18:15
Thus, whether you have sinned against your brother, or they’ve sinned against you – Jesus asks you to do one thing: GO! Go to them and get things straightened out. Do not talk about them behind their backs and don’t put them down amongst your friends. And because we’ve stressed that so hard here, if anyone goes to an Elder and complains about another member the Elder will ask “Have you gone to them first?” If you go to me or one of the staff, or one of the Deacons, or one of Sunday school teachers or to any Godly member of this church and complain about someone else the response will always be the same “Did you go to them first? If you didn’t, don’t bother me, I’m not interested.”
Now, as James describes the poison of the tongue, he almost leaves the impression that we’ll never control it. But I sense that he’s trying to drive home the fact that even the most Godly people slip up once in a while and say things they shouldn’t say. When we do that, we should repent, confess our sin to God and try to do better next time. But we must NEVER allow ourselves to say these are “just words.”
One last thing. In contrast to using words that CURSE … God calls us to use words that BLESS.
Jesus said “bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.” Luke 6:28
And Romans 12:14 echoes that comment by saying “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.”
You see, the world understands an eye for an eye and a curse for a curse. But when they’re faced by Christians who give a blessing and prayer for those who’ve mistreated them… it throws them off. And it makes it so that the Gospel of Jesus Christ can change their lives.
CLOSE: I’d like to close with this story by Tony Campolo. He recalled working at a Christian junior high camp, and one of the campers, a boy with spastic paralysis, was the object of heartless ridicule. When he would ask a question, the boys would deliberately answer in a halting, mimicking way. One night his cabin group chose this boy to lead the devotions before the entire camp. It was one more effort to have some "fun" at his expense.
Around the campfire, you could hear the snickering when this boy stood up to speak. But with shame, the spastic boy stood up, and in his strained, slurred manner – each word coming with enormous effort - he said simply "Jesus loves me -- and I love Jesus!"
That was all. That was his entire devotion.
The boy spoke words of blessing rather than curses… and Campolo said that conviction fell upon those junior-highers. Many began to cry. Revival gripped the camp. And years afterward, Campolo says he still met men in the ministry who came to Christ because of that testimony.
PS: Vidangel.com is a company that is worth looking into because they try to help Christians skip the vulgarity in much of today’s media.
