The challenge: to watch your words

This was something that I was unaware of when I started my Christian walk.  I talked pretty much like I did before I was “saved.”  My words didn’t change much, sure I stopped saying the “bad swear” words, but I never gave much thought to the slang, idle words I was saying.

Myself, I am an outgoing person.  I never really need to be prompted to speak, I will carry on a conversation with someone that I don’t know anything about.  It isn’t hard for me to be social.  

But something has changed.

When we were visiting the Amish homes, I noticed something different about the women…..when talking with them, they were “slow to speak.”  It was almost as if they hesitated before they spoke to ensure that they would say the right thing.  Not many joked around or even said “slang” words like I was using.

Why make the change:

When one becomes a Christian there is an expectancy that a change of speech follows because living for Christ makes a difference in one’s choice of words.

Matthew 12:36 – But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

2 Corinthians 3:12
Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech:

Jesus reminds us that the words we speak are actually the overflow of our hearts

Matthew 12:34

or out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

Now I am writing this because it was brought to my attention by another Christian woman, in love.  Do I think that it is a sin to say these words??  That is something that you need to ask God about.  These have just become my personal convictions for cleaning up my speech.

The following words are words that I have worked on/are working on eliminating from my speech:

“Oh my“, “oh my gosh“, or “Oh my goodness“—all of these words and various forms of it are just a substitute from the typical words “Oh my G-d”  that people so haphazardly use.

“Kid“, now this doesn’t sound so bad but when it was brought to my attention, I think more about using this word so loosely.  In the bible it talks about the end times and when God will separate the sheep from the goats.  Well what is a baby goat called?  A Kid.  Referring to your children as baby goats puts them into a predestined situation—according to some.  Call them children instead.

“oh crap!”  that is just another substitute for the other pile of manure people say.

Good Lord, Gosh, Jeepers, Lordy, Holy Cow, these are all just substitutes for using God’s name in vain.  And I always ask whenever I hear holy cow..when did your cow become holy??

“What the heck”–another substitute for a place opposite of heaven

Darn it, dang it, daggum, —–more list of words that call down curses

This is a list of some of the more slang words that I know I hear more frequently in my Christian circles:

• Crap
• Freakin’
• Friggin’
• Hosed
• Pissed
• Shafted
• Screwed
• Shoot!
• Shucks
• Sucks

How to make the change:

Okay now that I have listed most all of the words that we probably use, it is time to evaluate your speech.  In your prayer time, ask God if any of those that you speak you should refrain from.  Then it is time to work on it.

I don’t think it is good to find a replacement for your “slang” words.  Just as I don’t think an addict needs to replace one drug with a less addicting one, neither one helps the situation.  You are just replacing one bad for another.  I think that what you need to evaluate is what triggers your response.

If you find that every time something goes wrong and you use the words, “oh cr-p,” then you need to consciously be aware to not say anything at that moment.

If when someone gives you unexpected news and you are tempted to say, “oh my goodness”  change it with “wow, really?”  “that is so sad.”

There is always something better to replace a negative word in your speech. As with everything, it takes time and effort.  That is why we are doing this 52 weeks of change.  You are to challenge yourself for a week and if your speech is something you want to continue on with then you will continue working with it.  If not, then you move onward to another challenge, easy as that.