Four Letter Words

Source

Recently I was on a work phone call where most of the participants were disgusted and frustrated with a particular facet of their function. This led one participant to let loose a string of four letter expletives which were jarring to the other participants. To say that he was pissed was an understatement; we could all empathize, but the remainder did not choose to express ourselves in this manner. Some of us were just angry.
As I listened, the anger without the expletives sounded just as bad as the guy spewing invective. They were both jarring.

I get so hung up on people using four letter words that I sometimes forget we can be just as offensive with our speech even when we don't curse.

When Peter denied Jesus the third time, he cursed vehemently in his denial. I don't know what words he used but the scripture says, "Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly." Matthew 26:74-75 [KJV]

Once Peter recognized what he had done - his denial and the way he denied Christ, he went out and wept bitterly.

Hurtful, offensive and coarse language makes us weep bitterly. As Christians, let's make every effort to elevate our speech; let's not throw around expletives carelessly. Let's be mindful that our words have an impact and that as Christians we are expected to act differently. God has this expectation of us and believe it or not, the world does also. Even in anger, let's try to be mindful of what we say before it is expressed. As Christians, we have an old nature and a new nature. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we can tame our tongues.

Take control of what I say, O Lord, and guard my lips. Psalms 141:3 [NLT]

Do you struggle with four letter words? What are you doing to change?