Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit. (Proverbs 18:21).
Bad, vulgar, and negative words degrade the one who uses them. This means that everyone who speaks such words lowers themselves and shows a great lack of education.
If you listen to a song filled with bad, vulgar, or negative language, do not sing along, because you are calling negativity upon yourself. That is why things may not go well for you, because you are declaring evil over your own life.
If you watch a movie full of bad language, it means you are watching things that are wrong, because evil enters your life through what you hear or see.
Bad language is the language of the devil. God has nothing to do with bad words. The intention of bad language is to offend, to mislead, to make people feel small, to discriminate, and to manipulate. And we all know that God is love — and in such things His presence is not found.
That is why the Word of God says:
Ephesians 4:29: Let no harmful word come out of your mouth, but only what is good for building up, according to the need of the moment, so that it may give grace to those who hear.
Ephesians 5:3–4: But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness, foolish talk, or crude joking, which are out of place; instead, let there be thanksgiving.
Colossians 3:8–9: But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its evil practices.
Galatians 6:7: Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.
Many people believe that authority lies in vulgar words — that when a parent corrects a child, they must use bad words so the child will listen. But it is time to let go of that belief and culture, because bad words wound people and stir up anger and hatred that one day will explode.
Let us be serious and decent in our communication with everyone, for the Word of God says:
Colossians 4:5–6: Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer each person.
Do not allow bad, vulgar, or negative words to be spoken in your home, because if you belong to Christ, your home also belongs to Christ Jesus.
Bad words drive away the presence of the Holy Spirit and break the harmony of respect and love that must be kept alive in your home. Do not involve bad language in anything you do.
Bad words make our lips impure, show a lack of education, a lack of fear for God, and a lack of respect for our neighbor. Bad language adds no value to our lives. Speaking bad words does not make us grow, because bad language is foolishness.
A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit. (Proverbs 15:4).
Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. (Psalm 34:13).
Written by Pastor Marcel Balootje.