Ephesians 4:29

"Don't use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them."
~Ephesians 4:29~


Foul language bottom line is something God hates! The Lord counsels us to watch using this in our speech as it is destructive (Proverbs 4:24). It is very disrespectful and can cause harm (Proverbs 11:9).

Sometimes people attach God's name to a profanity and actually "curse" on God Himself which is so very wrong. We are to be respectful of God's name bottom line, period! If we use His name in a disrespectful way we will be held accountable for this! (Exodus 20:7) Plus by uttering this profanity on people is to condemn them and condemning others is a sin. (Romans 2:1)


The use of foul language is more frequent these days than it was a century ago when using certain profane words was frowned upon. As a child if I were to use "salty" language, there was no way I could sit down for a week! Though I learned these "words" from him, my dad would tell me that it was "improper" for a young lady to say those things. He also stopped using them himself when I was 6 because he gave his life to God. But he often said he wished he hadn't used certain words in my presence because now he had to train me not to use those. He did a good job because for many years I had a tough time saying certain words because I would think I don't want to make either of my fathers (God or daddy) mad at me. But by mid-teens I fell victim to uttering them. Now as an adult trying to serve God I am aware of how wrong the use of certain words are and work hard to not use those.

The use of foul language in some instances is a federal violation.

When I was in high school I took part in a club called Jr. Broadcasting Club sponsored by my local radio station WLNC. When George Adams, one of the djs at WLNC; started giving us the ins and outs of what to do and what not to do on air, one of the things he mentioned was that it was against FCC regulations to say so much as "darn" over the airwaves. In fact a station could be fined heavily or lose their license.

So a few years later it was surprising to me to hear songs being played over the radio that contained curse words.

In fact the use of certain terms, words, etc is just so commonplace anymore as you hear them on tv, in music, in movies, read them in books etc. It's like as a society we are numb to the shock value and what the power of these words can hold. In fact, these words are no longer as frowned upon as it was, say 100 years ago.

In doing some minor research on this topic, I found a number of polls online that asked about the frequency of the use of swear words. Looking at the various responses in the polls I found, it appeared mixed. Most used "frequently" while a few stated "rarely". On a poll about the usage in movies, I noted a couple of responses where one stated portrayal of characters should show "real life" as in "real life" swearing is common - one stated that it's "realistic".

Bottom line it's common but does it mean everyone should use it? Would you want your kids using these words? Many of these words are very ugly and disrespectful. Involving the Holy name of God is the highest form of disrespect..to HIM and even to yourself. How hard is it instead to focus on things that build up others as opposed to things that tear a person down or make them feel uncomfortable?

The things we say can either be a source of bringing someone peace, happiness or it can cause problems for them and harm rather than help. The Bible says we are to love one another (John 13:34, 35)and to disrespect anyone or anything is not showing love. The Bible says we are to guard our tongues. Especially when we are angry. (Ephesians 4:25-32)The Bible also says we are to first and foremost give GLORY to God in everything we do(1 Corinthians 10:31, 1 Corinthians 6:20) Don't DAMN HIM! Use your words to worship the Lord instead! In fact we should be appalled at the use of certain words and not allow those words to come from our lips. In the end, it's in our power in what we choose to say. If you let a very bad word slip then apologize immediately to God and to the person you said it to even and work towards not using the language for any reason.

Let your words be used for good and not for bad.(Luke 6:45 view Scripture) Don't follow the masses but instead choose to do the right thing. In the process you bless your God who has done so much to bless you! Pray for and bless others as that is far more needed than curses, build and not break. Peace and love giving glory to God and one another.


I link each verse so it can be viewed. Please take a moment to view each Scripture used in this devotional by clicking on each Scripture in each(verse).

Blessings -Laura Story