“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.”
(Romans 12:14 ESV)

Ever Want to Swear Up a Storm?

I could explode. Have you ever felt that way? Something happens and WOW. You just want to let some words fly. Pent-up with emotion, you feel there’s no release valve except through your mouth. And that valve is loose.

I grew up in a household where we did not swear—ever. Even swear substitutes were not allowed. So, I am not in the habit of using curse words. But there came a time when I was so angry, so passionate over a perplexing situation in my life and full of emotions that the urge to use some strong words that meant something was almost irresistible.

Some nasty word started sneaking into my mind and slowly oozing out my mouth under my breath when I was alone. I knew I was disobeying the Lord by doing so (Ephesians 4:29; Matthew 12:36).

Trying to resist this temptation, I googled swearing. I wanted to know what was causing this temptation I had never experienced. Then I looked up what the Bible had to say about it.

What the Bible Says About Swearing

And I laughed out loud.

I laughed because I was so shocked by the counsel the Bible gives to me and to you. Secretly, I was hoping some prophet in the Bible swore at some point so I could at least get a few words out. That is not what I found.

Here’s what I discovered: “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them” (Romans 12:14 ESV).

God says, “So you see someone who has hurt you and a curse word comes to mind? Bless them.”

Bless them? What?! That is why I laughed.

What to Do When You Want to Swear

You see the person who has hurt you. Out of your heart arises an urge to spew anger at them in violent language. Your face gets all frowny and your tummy gets tight. And if you want to be obedient to God’s Word, what do you do?

Under your breath you whisper or aloud in your car you shout, “Lord, give them a GREAT workday” or “help their tennis practice be especially enjoyable today,” or “Lord, please give them strength where they are weary.” In short, “Lord, do good to them.”

I laughed because this kind of counsel is so like God, who constantly blesses his enemies, causing the sun to rise on both the evil and the good (Matthew 5:45). When we were God’s enemies, he didn’t just bless us, he sent his Son to die in our place and rescue us from our sin (Romans 5:8; John 3:16).

I laughed because this kind of counsel is so impossible without God’s help. I want to be angry and curse. It is only his Spirit who can help me want to bless even those who have hurt me. I laughed because God is so good. He wants all of our hurtful, nasty, not-good words put away, once and for all (Colossians 3:8), because he wants us to be like him, whose words “are flawless, like silver purified in a crucible, like gold refined seven times” (Psalm 12:6 NIV).

Ask the Lord to bridle your tongue by his Holy Spirit (James 3:6-9), so that when that valve threatens to burst, what comes out are prayers of blessing, even on your enemies. And when you want to burst with a nasty word, may the Holy Spirit send you laughter instead, and transform that curse about to come out your chest into a blessing.