Words Matter -- Third Commandment

 

Could this be perhaps the most disregarded of the Ten Commandments that Moses brought down from the mountain to the people from God’s own hand? Cursing is so commonly accepted, and yet in our comics the cartoonists frequently substitute symbols for the bleeped-out words, like this fellow here (see picture). To be exact, God’s 3^rd Commandment (You shall not use the Lord’s name in vain) is a prohibition against misusing His holy name, so in other words profanity in the strictest religious sense. In a broader sociological sense the use of ‘salty’ language – also commonly called profanity, cursing/cussing, or swearing -- involves the use of many other words and phrases that are generally unacceptable in polite society. How does this relate to politics? It depends, really, but especially in stress-filled situations in which parties with different views are trying to actually cooperate and implement solutions to problems, can it really be dismissed that overheated words might make that process more difficult, if not impossible? Just ask yourself, ‘Do I like it when someone calls me a dirty name, or somehow wishes me ill, when I am trying to relate to them and propose ideas to further a positive outcome?’ Is a person considered too weak and puritanical if he/she proposes discipline of the tongue as a reasonable guideline in political discourse? Let’s think about it.

 

Profanity means to treat God’s name as if it is not hallowed – unlike what Jesus directly told His disciples in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:9). Thus, as Rubel Shelly points out (Written in Stone – Ethics for the Heart), misusing His name to curse someone is to ‘empty it or reduce it to nothingness’, which is in fact a lie about Him (see 1 August 2024 post), for God came to bless people, not curse them (2 Peter 3:9). And, as Shelly further explains, falsely testifying while using God’s name (aka perjury) to lend credibility to your statements is likewise a profane offense. So much of the Bible tells us His name is to be reverenced (as in Psalms 29:2; 66:2; 96:8a; 115:1), that it’s not really necessary to say more on this. But, it really says something about ourselves too, that we’d like to misappropriate power to ourselves or actually try to order God to do something – what arrogance! And, when our words are meant to denigrate others in the coarsest ways, we’re really belittling those who have – like us -- been made in His image (James 3:9). It’s really an insult to the Creator.  

 

What about other cursing that doesn’t involve a misuse of God’s name or ridicule of another person in gross terms? Is that OK, as long as we’re not aiming at another person or our Creator? Is casual use of swear words allowed? I remember a supervisor at work once, as we were discussing this issue, telling me that he thought such verbal asides added ‘a little color’ to an otherwise rather dull workplace. In another episode, when I was a summer intern in a state senator’s office, such male ‘locker-room’ banter seemed commonplace, although when my head turned at such comments (on my first day of the internship), this elected official bluntly warned me ‘don’t tell the folks back home I talk like that’. Interesting. I wonder what he’d say if I told him I still remember that 40 years later, and that from that moment on, I knew I did not want to work in politics. (This same individual later resigned from the U.S. Congress and went to prison as a result of scandals in which he’d been caught.) That was a turn-off for a young 25-year old graduate student who was hoping to learn something valuable and honorable about politics in the trenches. Especially in politics, should not discipline in personal behavior – ethics, at its root – be obligatory? Like the honor due God’s name (see paragraph above) that is underscored with so much scripture, is not discipline and the control of one’s tongue likewise abounding in His word? (Try the 21 verses in Proverbs using the keyword ‘tongue’, for example.)

 

The basic message is this: If you’re elected to represent hundreds of thousands of people (up to an average of 761,000 citizens in the 435 federal districts as of 2020; Senators represent even higher numbers, usually), the stakes are high, obviously. Who can handle such responsibility, with integrity? Language may be only the tip of the iceberg, and admittedly not always an accurate indicator of corruption, but how about a possible warning sign? In my one experience in the trenches, I got an earful.   

 

 

See here for information on Congressional districts in the U.S.--  List of United States congressional districts - Wikipedia

 

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