A person’s speech should be pure as well as his soul. Many verses in the Bible pay attention to a person’s speech, for example, not saying the name of the Lord in vain was one of the commandments.
But what does the Bible say about swears and curses?
Is it A Sin to Swear?
The Orthodox Church attributes swear to the sin of profanity. The fact is that initially a person didn’t swear when he was created by the Lord.
Swear is alien to man by nature, to call things by words that mean something bad could only come from demons.
In addition, it’s impossible for a person to say a prayer and swear, because swearing brings a person out of a calm state. As the Apostle James points out, «Doth the fountain send forth from the same opening sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.» (James 3: 11–12).
A believer cannot glorify God and then swear at someone with bad words. Swear generates anger that contradicts love.
A believer should understand that swearing is a manifestation of demons, and try to get rid of such a habit as soon as possible.
Also, if we swear obscenities, we eradicate our spiritual image, which was created in the likeness of God. The devil is trying to reduce the number of our traits similar to God. Therefore, by trying to stop swearing obscenities, a person is fighting for the preservation of a pure spiritual image.
When a person swears, he violates his peace of mind and insults himself. Therefore, it is more difficult to live and communicate with God in such a state of the soul.
«You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.» (Matthew 12:34).
The Meaning of Profanity
If a Christian begins to swear, he distances himself from God and passes under the power of dark forces.
Also, many swears have a pagan origin.
These words were used in ancient times by various shamans. Therefore, if a person utters a swear, he not only insults himself, God, and others but also becomes like the pagans who used these meaningless words. So, using obscene words, people participate in the pagan invocation of evil spirits.
The Apostle James spoke about this: «Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.
The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.» (James 3:5-6).
Thus, by uttering an obscene word, a person defiles everything around him, both body and soul, because swearing is an attribute of evil, which defiles the Image of God in every person. Also, people who hear the swear suffer damage to their peace of mind.
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What to Do if A Person Started Swearing?
Often people who don’t swear and are forced to be in a group of people who swear, feel very uncomfortable and disgusted.
In such society, it takes a lot of effort not to be influenced by others. If a person starts swearing too, he needs to repent and not commit this sin.
According to the word of the apostle, if the tongue is inflamed from hell, then life is also inflamed. That is, a person’s whole life becomes wrong and imbued with devilry.
This inflammation is characterized by a person’s spiritual decline. Such a state can generate new sins, so it’s important to stop sinning in this way.
What Are The Other Disadvantages of Swearing?
Indecent words set up the brain for the gradual destruction of the love that resides in the human soul, as well as the feeling of happiness, which is similar to a child’s worldview and which promotes good and kind relations with others.
Of course, things that lead the soul to such a state are serious sins. Also, obscenities often express anger, which is also a sin.
Swear causes a cynical attitude towards the world, because any noun or verb can be replaced with a cussing. For a person, the whole world becomes something negative, and things cease to have their former importance and significance.
From a cultural point of view, people with low social responsibility, for example, people in prison who have committed crimes, swear obscene words more often than others. It should be obvious to every person that we shouldn’t adapt to this model of behavior.
The saints also share this opinion. Tikhon of Zadonsk considered swearing as a poison that closes the doors to sincere prayer and gradually poisons the immortal soul. His statement is true because a person can’t decently pray if his soul is in such a terrible state.
The disciple Hermas wrote that profanity is nothing but an evil and restless spirit that prevents a person from making wise decisions and feeling calm.
Priests believe that speech is universal means for communicating with God and people, while swearing harms the soul and distances a person from God and true prayer. Also, abusive words distort the Image of God inside each person and are incompatible with his divine nature, love, and kindness.
Curses
We figured out that swearing is a sin. However, is a curse a sin, especially if it was pronounced without bad words?
Is A Curse A Sin?
Any curse is a desire for something bad to happen to a person. Such a manifestation of anger and aggression is a sin, even if a person has been unfair to you, you should remain humble, and not curse him and wish him a bad future.
Such curses can hurt the soul in the same way as abusive words. This is the verbal result of anger, with which a person insults another person and his own soul.
In Solomon’s parable we can find the verse: «Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse will not land on its intended victim.» (Proverbs 26:2)
If the curse is addressed to an honest person who hasn’t harmed anyone, then God won’t allow evil forces to do something bad to him
Thus, the curse itself is an appeal to evil spirits to harm any person.
The Power of Word
The word of a person has power, therefore it is a sin to pronounce curses, for such things God will judge people if they don’t repent.
It’s necessary to confess not only for the behavior itself, during which you cursed someone but for the fact that there is malice in the heart and that curses come from there.
Christ says such words in the Gospel: «All these evils come from inside and defile a person.» (Mark 7:23). He Pointed out, among other things, blasphemies, malice, and deceit that come from the heart. All that is the root of the curses created by a person and it defiles him.
St. John Chrysostom, when a multitude of heresies and quarrels arose between the churches, suggested that representatives of all the warring churches be wise, find out the truth, but refrain from cursing.
Also, you shouldn’t blaspheme and curse God in unbearable difficulties, such curses are considered the worst, just as you shouldn’t curse people if you consider them bad.
In such unbearable difficulties, the triumph of faith manifests itself. And it’s important to remember that «…the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.» (Matthew 10:22).
Final Thoughts
It can be concluded that the use of swear in speech and curses are a sin since a person uses them with anger and thereby injures his soul and the souls of other people.
Charalampos
Charalampos is an Orthodox Christian who wants to help others learn about Christianity. His main goal is to help people understand the Bible and how to apply its teachings in their everyday lives. He also enjoys spending time with his family, playing sports, and hiking.
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