Created to Rebel Against Vulgarity
 Know What You Are Rebelling Against
Before you can rebel against something, you obviously have to know what it is you are rebelling against! And our series has really been an exploration of the nature of our present world. Each step of the way, we are trying to develop a rebellious approach to the cultural truths that surround us! Now few of us would argue that we are not living in a vulgar world, but as you grow older, you really have no difficulty seeing this because you are able to compare our present culture to cultures of the past. And while there are many dimensions to vulgarity, today we are going to focus on a primary ingredient of vulgarity, something that we commonly call “profanity”
Vulgar Comedy and Entertainment
It shouldn’t surprise us that the use of words in our culture is often guided, shaped and directed by performers and entertainers who make a living with words! Comedians have been the source of much direction for us as we decide which words to use in our daily efforts to be interesting, engaging and entertaining! Over the course of time, a number of comedians have emerged on the scene who have gained incredible popularity in the local nightclub scene. Here in this environment they can say whatever they want, without being rated or limited and these guys often do speak in incredibly vulgar terms. As they ascend to stardom and enter the movie and television ranks, they often bring their profanity and vulgarity with them, controlled somewhat by the limitations imposed on them by raters and the FCC. But even guys like Eddie Murphy, who had an early start and a VERY profane and vulgar stand up comedian, have had the ability to impact our world and move entertainment and acceptable behavior toward a more profane standard. If you ever thought you could let little children watch the “Nutty Professor” movies, you’ll find that it won’t be long before the movie enters into several scenes that are almost too vulgar for kids to see!
Recently while watching another Eddie Murphy movie, Shrek 2, I was struck by the fact that there were just a couple of scenes where the movie started to move toward a worldliness that was perhaps a bit inappropriate for young kids. Do you remember the scene where Pinocchio is discovered to be wearing women’s underwear? It was really a funny part of the movie, but it struck me that you would never have seen anything like that in a children’s cartoon just 15 years ago. We are moving in a direction of acceptance of vulgar and profane elements in our world! And if words are the tools of vulgarity that are most commonly used in our world, it also shouldn’t surprise us that radio is such an influence on our culture. After all, radio is driven by sounds and words, right? Well over the course of the last ten years an interesting phenomena has developed with the emergence of “shock jocks” on the radio. They exist all over the country, but at the national level, Howard Stern is still the king. The FCC has recently hammered Stern and tried to remove him from a variety of radio stations in major cities, just to find that other companies were eager to pick him up and let him broadcast. Why? Because people LOVE to listen to his brand of coarse, crude and cynical language!
Look it’s gotten to the point where it is absolutely COMMON to see parental advisory stickers and warnings on a variety of media, from music to video games. These stickers didn’t even exist when I was a kid, because few performers dared to say what is now commonly said in the culture. I can’t help but wonder if these stickers will be used in the future, especially if what is now considered to be profanity is someday seen as common language. When you see the enormous popularity of shows like “The Sopranos” with a ton of violence and profanity that is used to the point that it becomes “common”, you can’t help but wonder where we are headed!
“Profanity” Definition
It's really hard to talk about things without a clear understanding of what we mean by the words we use! Maybe we should begin by defining the word, “Profanity”!
Pronunciation: prO-'fa-n&-tE,
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural –ties
1 a : the quality or state of being profane,
1 b : the use of profane language
2 a : profane language ,
2 b : an utterance of profane language
Well it appears that profanity involves the utterance of “profane” words! So I guess we are going to need to define the word, “Profane”!
Pronunciation: prO-'fAn
Function: transitive verb
1 : to treat (something sacred) with abuse, irreverence, or contempt : DESECRATE
2 : to debase by a wrong, unworthy, or vulgar use
OK, now we are a bit closer! When we used words in a way that we know is wrong or unworthy of the original intent of the word, we are using the word in a profane way. But the first part of the definition seems particularly interesting. When we treat something sacred with abuse or irreverence, we are also being profane! So are we to assume that words are somehow inherently sacred? I think we are!
Bad Words on the Radio
It’s true that words are incredibly powerful. They have the power to transform lives, ease argument, demonstrate love, and bless the hearer. In a very important way, words ARE sacred. So why do we see people using words in a profane or harmful way? There used to be certain unspoken ideas about what was proper to say and what was indecent. Years ago you would never have heard certain words on the radio or TV. Yet today there are several words that have become a common part of prime time and radio listening! It’s not unusual to hear “God Da_ _”, “Bi_ _h”, “Bas_ _ _d”, and “Cr_ _” all the time! If we find ourselves using this kind of language, especially when many of us like to think of ourselves as rebellious, we are fooling ourselves and simply denying our own conformity!
Rebellion means having to go against the cultural trend that surrounds us. And over time, much of the profanity that became so popular as we move from generation to generation has simply become accepted behavior! What used to be called rebellious profanity is now called normative! If you want to be rebellious in this generation you are going to have to react to all of the adopted values and profanity from past generations. In order to be rebellious today, you are going to have to return to something ANCIENT! And God is in favor of that, because it means we will have to return to the ancient wisdom of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Now God clearly re cognizes that the culture has shifted in this way, and it is God’s desire for us to stand up against the flow, become rebels in our generations and join God’s holy revolution.
 Romans 12:1
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Let’s take a look at God’s version of rebellion when it comes to our use of words!
Matthew 15:10-11
Now we talked about the fact that every rebellion has its own language, and God’s holy rebellion also has its particular language! Let’s review the verse in the New American Standard Version:
After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, "Hear and understand. It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man."
Keyword “Defiles”
There are a couple of important words here that we need to look at! This is the word that God uses for “Defiles”
In God’s Holy language of the Bible (Greek) this word is “Koinoo” and it means “to pollute”, “to make unclean” or “to call common”!
Boy to Bad Guy to Prince
Now that is a very interesting term to use. God seems to be telling us that the language we used can both reflect and CAUSE us to be dirty in some way, and we all know this to be practically true. If a young ,man was to approach us in a parking lot and ask us nicely to move our car, we can quickly form an opinion about the quality and nature of that young man. If, however, he was to come up and start talking trash to us, we would form quite another opinion and we might simply be recognizing the true nature of the guy. He might not be such a nice guy after all! Even if he was to apologize, we would have a hard time seeing him as we first did!
But God has even higher hopes for us and he has a higher standard! When God tells us that we are not to allow our words to “call us common”, he is reminding us that it is not enough for us to see ourselves as common people. We need to see ourselves the holy way that God expects us to be if we are to join his Holy Revolution! God wants us to remember that we are something special! And we need to talk in a way that reflects or relationship with God:
1 Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
Words Box You In
We have to remember that our words don’t only reflect who we are; they also build who we are! If we are not careful we can allow our words to define us altogether, and we have to use our words as if they are the building block of our very soul! We are building something special; either a wonderful reality of who we are, or a trap that will hold us captive for the rest of our lives!
Proverbs 6:2-3
If you have been trapped by what you said, ensnared by the words of your mouth, then do this, my son, to free yourself... ...Go and humble yourself...
We need to guard our words and humbly submit them to God if we ever hope to stand out and be part of God’s Holy rebellion!
Imagine
Can you imagine a world without profanity? Can you imagine how much more positive and encouraging it would be? Can you imagine what effect random acts of righteous language would have on a world that is inclined toward cynicism and hostility? You can have this kind of world if you are willing to join the rebellion. You too can stand out as something separate and different. But you won’t ever get there by simply listening and agreeing. You’re going to have to actually get up and ACT!
Being a Role Model
Being a role model involves “modeling”, wouldn’t you agree? And when we “model” we create “an example for imitation or emulation”, or we act as “a description or analogy used to help visualize something that cannot be directly observed”, or we become “a usually miniature representation of something”. These are the definitions of “models” and if we think about it, we all look to someone as our model in life! Now whether you believe it or not, while you have been looking to someone else as a role model, someone in your life has been looking to YOU as their role model. Are you ready to take on that kind of responsibility and do you realize how important your words will be in the process? Not just cuss words, but EVERY word! Let’s take a look at how God feels about ALL our words! God places a high value on even our casual words!
Matthew 12:33-37
The good man out of his good treasure brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings forth what is evil. And I say to you, that every careless word that men shall speak, they shall render account for it in the day of judgment.
Keyword “Careless”
The important word here is “careless” and w need to understand what God means when he uses this word. The holy biblical Greek word used here is “argos”
“Argos” is used in scripture to define things that are “idle”, “lazy”, “useless”, or “barren”.
Let’s begin at the end here and look at the word “barren”. When we think of a barren desert, we often think of a place that is empty and has no life, and God seems to be asking us to stop using words that are empty in this way, he wants us to stop using filler words and words that don’t bless each other. Those words are empty and kill rather than provide life.
Let me give you another example. “Barren” is also used to describe a woman who cannot have children. It is the absolute opposite of being pregnant, and I can remember when Susie was pregnant, that’s for sure! We felt great joy, expectancy, hope and awe during that time. And God would like our words to produce those kinds of feeling in others! When a couple is unable to have kids, their hope begins to vanish and they feel disappointment, frustration, anxiety and sadness! Now our barren words can also produce those feelings in the people around us and God does not want that to be the case!
Finding the Right Word is Hard Work
Another definition of “careless” here is the idea of laziness, and God clearly wants us to avoid lazy words. Why would God use this term, “lazy”? I think it is because he wants us to understand that we will often have to try very hard to use the right word and not simply blurt out something that is quick and easy. Quick and easy words are careless and often they can hurt people, even when we don’t mean to!
I am often lazy about how I use words and I find myself developing lazy habits! Recently, when we were on our way to Utah on our missions trip, I was heard to say, “Oh my God!” quite a few times in our van. I find myself saying this as a simply exclamation when I am amazed (or disgusted) about something! Several of you challenged me and noted that I was really taking God’s name and treating it with casual disrespect! Well, that is actually true, and I am now feeling convicted that it is time to eliminate this lazy and careless expression! Let’s return to our verse in Matthew 12 for a second and look at another key expression that God is using here.
Matthew 12:33-37
The good man out of his good treasure brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings forth what is evil. And I say to you, that every careless word that men shall speak, they shall render account for it in the day of judgment.
Key Expression “Render Account”
God says we will have to “render account” for every careless word. The expression here is from the biblical Greek word “Logos”.
“Logos” is used through Scripture for a variety of different ideas, but in this context it is used when someone is “giving cause”, “explaining intent”, or “giving reason”.
Now as a detective I often find myself in a place where this kind of thing occurs! That place is called a “courtroom”. It is in this setting where people have to explain themselves to a judge in an effort to convince the world of their innocence. See, even if someone commits a murder, he may not be guilty and face punishment if he can explain that he had a good reason, like self defense. In his explanation, he is simply trying to describe his motive while committing the act. Motive is important and it is a key ingredient when someone is trying to “explain intent”. And God is listening to every word we say and he knows our motives. Someday we will have to face him on these issues!
“Stinking Piece of Trash”
Now I have a good friend that was a policeman for years and used to use a lot of bad language. Then he got saved and God did an amazing work on his heart. He decided it was time to stop cussing. So he took some favorite expressions and cleaned them up by exchanging key words within the expression. He ended up with a favorite new expression that he would use to describe bad guys he would encounter in the street. He would now call these guys “stinking pieces of trash.” It sure does sound a little bit better than what he used to say! But let me ask you, is he still cussing? I think hat his motives are still the same as they used to be. He still wants to say something bad about the guy he is dealing with. The words may have changed a bit, but if we look at his motives, I think we will find that he is still using profanity! God looks at your heart and he will ask you to explain your motives when using careless or profane language. Every little word counts to God. It’s that simple. And it doesn’t take a lot of words to dramatically impact the people around you. God knows that. That’s why he wants us to account for ALL our words!
Imagine
Imagine a world where the only words that were spoken were carefully considered and meaningful. Imagine a world where words were not used to hurt but to heal. Imagine a world where intelligent words are intelligently spoken. A world like that is not going to happen on its own. That kind of world will occur when the revolution takes place; it will occur when rebels rise up and make a difference. This week, identify one person with whom you usually direct careless words. Now make an effort to think about your words, and work hard to say something positive to that person!
Why Does God Set the Bar So High?
God has designed us to be a light in a very dark place. That is at the heart of rebellion. Rebel;s stand out. They either stand out for good or they stand out for bad. God wants us to shine in a powerful way
Ephesians 5:8
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth)
God is calling you to become light in this dark world and he is calling you to rebel against the mainstream and the common. He wants you to begin the rebellion with something very simple. With your words! | 
