The Commands of Christ, Part Twenty-Six

Once a upon a time, not as long as I would like and more recent than I wish were true: I had a bit of a potty mouth. I grew up believing that words only had the power we give them. To some extent, I still believe that to be true, but I have accepted that I seldom know how much a word that is harmless to me can be harmful to another. I get to choose how much offense I take to certain words and phrases, but I don’t get to choose that for other people and the last thing I want is for my words to cause someone to doubt God’s love for them.

Jesus had some thoughts on what comes out of our mouths and we find them in Matthew 15:10-11.

After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, “Hear and understand! It is not what enters the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles the person.

This came right after some pharisees criticized Christ’s disciples for not washing their hands before eating bread. Now, regardless of how you feel about washing your hands before a meal, Christ’s reply isn’t necessarily meant to tell us not to wash our hands. Before he talks about what truly defiles us, he scolds the pharisees a bit about their hypocrisy. But then he specifically tells everyone (and us by proxy) to listen and understand that what comes out of our mouth defiles us.

Sometimes, I give Peter a hard time, but I do admire that he was never ashamed to ask for further explanation when he didn’t fully understand something. When he asks for further explanation, Jesus gives it to him in verses 16-20 of the same chapter.

Jesus said, “Are you also still lacking in understanding? Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and those things defile the person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, acts of adultery, other immoral sexual acts, thefts, false testimonies, and slanderous statements. these are the things that defile the person; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the person.”

Friends, this is the closest we get to a Biblical poop joke. To paraphrase: “Don’t you know that you poop what you eat?” (Father, forgive the small child that still sometimes points out odd things in my brain). But, jokes aside, Jesus is saying that what we consume for earthly nourishment doesn’t condemn us in any way (bacon is allowed). However, he doubles down that what we speak reflects what’s in our heart. So, when we flippantly use language without care or concern of how it affects those around us, we’re showing that our heart doesn’t care about those around us.

How do we know if what’s in our heart is the right thing? We get some extra instructions on what should come out of our mouths in Ephesians 4:29

Let no unwholesome word come out of your mouth, but if there is any good word for edification according to the need of the moment, say that, so that it will give grace to those who hear.

I’ve heard argument that this verse is speaking more about putting other people down rather than using profanity. But I would challenge that thought by saying if you know the person you’re using profanity around is going to take offense, you know it’s unwholesome talk. To prove my point, I submit the word, “piss.” Some of you cringed at reading that word. Some of you muttered, “that’s not even a bad word.”

I grew up with my grandfather and various uncles using this word as a direct synonym for “pee.” (Pee references and poop references in a single study, I’m on a roll!) So, I used it that way too. The first time my mom heard me say it, she told me that it was an ugly word and she didn’t want to hear my use it. So I don’t use it around her. I have mindful control of my tongue. I care about how my words affect my mom. I only use words around her that I know won’t cause harm.

It’s worth noting that NASB20, CSB, KJV, and NLT all translate the Greek word “sapros” differently.

• NASB20: unwholesome
• CSB: foul language
• KJV: corrupt communication
• NLT: foul or abusive language

When looking at the way this word is used throughout the Bible it can mean rotten, corrupted, worn out, poor quality, or unfit to use. Strong’s definition says it means rotten, worthless (literally or morraly). So while we have different translated words, we have to take into account that all of these words mean relatively the same thing. Here’s what you really need to know about “sapros”: Whenever Jesus talks about “bad fruit” that’s the Greek word that’s used.

So, what kind of things come from your mouth? Are they words that help you or others bear fruit or are they words that might be making you look like a bad tree? Now, I will say that I don’t think Ephesians 4:29 is the verse that tells us we shouldn’t use bad words. That’s Ephesians 5:4, and Paul uses a different Greek word here.

and there must be no filthiness or foolish talk, or vulgar joking, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.

Paul is talking about how to be imitators of God here and he uses aischrotes. Is Paul saying we can’t be silly? No, having fun, enjoying the company of your family in Christ is not foolish: it’s fellowship. But it’s pretty clear that we need to mind our tongues against more than just profanity. We also need to keep ourselves from using hurtful sarcasm (the kind of sarcasm that is just the fine art of saying exactly what you mean while pretending not to mean it).

As followers of Christ we are meant to build each other up with our words. When we let what comes out of our mouths do something other than that, we need to check our hearts because it means we’re out of alignment with who we’re called to be.