“Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.”
Psalm 139:4
The other day, my wife and I were talking about the concept of what we call “by-words.” Basically, they’re normal words that we use to replace common curse words. Some examples would be “shoot,” or “fudge,” or “gosh darn.” They are words that we’re clearly using in the same way that we would use a curse word, they just don’t carry the full weight of the real word. The discussion was about whether they really “count” as a curse word.
My wife made the point that, “Well God knows what you’re thinking, he knows what you’re really trying to say. So even if you don’t actually say the word, isn’t it just as bad?”
She was exactly right. And this verse from Psalm 139:4 completely validates her point. It says that before a word is on my tongue, God knows it completely. That is, before a word ever makes it past the transition from my thoughts into a spoken word, God already knows it and understands our intention.
Now, this isn’t intended to be a legalistic guide to what you can and cannot say, but we know that as Christians we are called to use language that both glorifies God and builds our neighbors up. The book of James in the New Testament is a good source for more reading on this topic. But the point I want to get across today is that it’s not about the word that actually leaves our mouth. It’s not about the specific combinations of sound that we as a society have deemed “curses.” It’s about the intention of our hearts.
God knows our hearts, even more than we do. He understands us deeply. Our thoughts are simply a reflection of our hearts, and our words are a filtered version of our thoughts.
What we need to understand is that by changing a few letters in a word, we’re doing no less harm. We may feel like we’re “following the rules,” but God isn’t looking for our obedience to a set of rules, he’s looking for our hearts to reflect his will. His will is for us to always build each other up, to serve each other, to use our words for peace and love and the glory of God.
Prayer:
Father,
You know my thoughts before they ever become words. You know my heart. Help me to be more like you, to chase after your will and your heart for your people. Let me not fall into the trap of legalism, but remember that you know me, there’s nothing that can or should be hidden from you, and my words should be used only for your glory.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.
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