Four letter words. You cannot escape them. No matter where you turn your head, no matter how many times you try to plug your ears or shield your mind... they are always there. Today, there isn't one movie that comes to mind that doesn't include some sort of profanity. Public school is even worse. Students let out the f-word like there's no tomorrow. All it reallys shows me is how small of a vocabulary they have.

Now, I'm not saying that swearing is completely easy not to use. We're all imperfect human beings... God's the only One who is and ever will be perfect. But knowing that, does that suddenly give us permission to go off and sin? Oh... I'm not and won't ever be perfect. I know I'm going to sin sometime, so why not let out one more f-word? What's the harm? It's thoughts like these that I think run through many people's heads nowadays.

Then again, I'm not a mind reader. I don't really know how anyone's thought process works. But I hear enough swearing every single day, to know that it has just become accepted in our society today. People look at an s-word or an a-word as nothing more than how we look at the words, "crap" or "butt." Even the ones at my school who say that they are Christians, and who say that they love God, go off and let off a string of curses seconds after.

Am I saying that you're not a Christian if you swear? No, of course not. God will forgive you and wrap you in his grace no matter how hard you fail. Am I saying that it displeases God whenever someone lets out a cuss word? Yes, basically. And what's really sad, is that many swear words didn't really start out that way. I could call the little female dog down the street a b****, and technically, it isn't swearing. So how has society taken another word for a female dog, and changed it into some sort of an insult?

And since when is an a** used as slang for the butt? Isn't an a** a donkey? And why has it suddenly become so popular to insult people by calling them a donkey? It's saddens me to think what swearing has become today. Not that I'm perfect. I can't say that I've never sworn before in my life, because that would be a lie. But why do people feel a need to incorporate swearing into every conversation? Most of the time it isn't even used as an insul. Nearly every conversation I hear at school, between friends even, is filled with all sorts of s-words and d-words and h-words.

Now... does the Bible ever clearly say not to swear? It's hard to say. In fact, I don't even know if swear words existed back then. But take this verse from Psalms: His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity. So maybe swear words did exist back then. Who knew if they were the exact words as we used today... but there definitely was such a thing as cursing. And whoever is full of cursing, is also full of mischief and vanity.

What I'm trying to get at here... is that I don't see the need for swearing. Yes, sometimes it may be nice to have a nice, strong word that you can scream out to vent out your anger. But does it really make you feel better to scream out a dirty, filthy word? Take it from Psalm 39:1: “I will guard my ways to keep from sinning with my tongue. I will set a muzzle as a guard to my own mouth, as long as anyone wicked is in front of me.”

I think what these passages are trying to get at... is that there is a way to stop swearing. To simply set a muzzle as a guard to your own mouth... in other words, to guard your mouth from filthy four letter words. It may be hard for some. It's been fairly easy for me, as I chose not to start swearing in the first place. But it is possible... with God's help, that is.

One of the leaders at a camp I attend, once told me a story of what happened when she was in public high school. Apparently, it was known at the school that she was a Christian. But, one day, she dropped her books in the hallway and she let out a string of profanities. Several girls walking nearby her said, "Is that really Leslie? I thought she was a Christian." Leslie was not her actual name, but that is not important.

The point is... it's hard to shine as a light in this dark world by cussing. We're never going to lead anyone to Christ by calling them the b-word or the a-word. We can start by guarding our mouths and our tongues from profanity. It will probably make you stand out at school... but in a good way. I know maybe three people in my school of 2,400 who don't swear. But people will look at you and wonder what makes you so different. One of my friends (who also swears) once even called me a "man of morals" because I chose not to swear.

It definitely will be a challenge for some... but I dare you. I dare you to go a week without swearing, if you are one who tends to do it a lot. E-mail me with what happened. See if anything changes. See if anyone wonders what's up with you. See if it leads you any closer to leading someone else to Christ.

I dare you.

"Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers." --Ephesians 4:29