Pardon You – Excuse Your French

As many people know, Canada is bilingual – English and French (I speak very little, very poor French…)

Now, we could really start a debate about the real ‘French‘ if we got the Parisian’s involved, but alas, that is for another day and a different blogger to tackle!

The kind of French I’m talking about is the cursing kind; you know when someone comes up to you and says ‘Pardon my french!‘ And I think you can imagine the rest… 

It’s disgusting really how people feel the need to use expletives as verbs and nouns frequently.

I’ve often wondered how much a persons speech would be reduced if curse words like the ‘F‘ word didn’t exist. 

I imagine they wouldn’t have much to say at all.

I work in the energy sector in a primarily, male dominated industry and, 99% of the guys are very kind and respectful until they get in a huddle and curse words are rolling off their tongues super casually. They aren’t even mad. It’s just them having a calm conversation.

This made me start thinking about our tongues and what the Bible says in James 3 (paraphrased): “No human being can tame the tongue…with it we bless God and curse people who are made in His likeness… it is a small member but boasts of great things! It is a world of unrighteousness, staining the whole body. These things ought not to be so.” 

So what do we do if the tongue can’t be tamed? 

• Pray – “Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!” (Psalm 141:3)
• Be Gentle – “A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.” (Proverbs 15:4)
• Prune Out those Around You –  “Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” (James 4:4)
• Take that Holy Spirit Pause – “Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.” (James 1:19)