I’d had a tumultuous week.
Amid my upheaval, I accidentally swore in hearing distance of my children. Without skipping a beat, they ask me, “Did you just swear?” I immediately apologised, thinking that would put the matter to rest. How wrong I was!
They then ask me why swearing is not allowed in the house anyway. My daughter then argues, “Why should we be so hung up about people using a word for another thing for a different context, especially if such a word is more expressive than plain language?”
To be honest, I wasn’t ready for that one. I was feeling sick and distraught and just wanted to go to bed. Anyhow, to the best of my state, I tried to scrap together some of my blurry thinking.
There are two purposes for which we use words. Firstly, to distil our thoughts and put language to them. Secondly to communicate or message our thoughts, I told them.
So, the question of swearing is not a question of right or wrong, but rather a question of ethics. In other words, we need to think about swearing in the context of what’s good for the whole or what is the common good.
So, while swearing can be the best approximation of the expression of your feelings at any given point, it may turn out to be counterproductive for the common good. It’s no secret that most people have a negative connotation of swearing. So, when you swear, you may satiate your feelings in the moment, but lose your intended audience in the conversation.
“So, if I am alone, is it okay then to swear?” my son asks just as I thought the matter was closed.
Then I remembered the scripture penned by Paul of Tarsus, “Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial.” I shared this Scripture with them. I was astonished to see their faces beaming with delight and they wanted to know exactly where this Scripture was. But I didn’t have energy to entertain that.
“Anyway,” I concluded, “for whatever reason, swearing is highly addictive.” So, if you get into a habit of swearing in private, you can guarantee it will spill over to your conversations. So, the best way is not to start at all.