Philippians 4:8 on Swearing, Part 3

Definition of Swearing: Crude and offensive language (and/or action) which often insults God and/or the recipient thereof. Includes (for this study) profanity, obscenities, epithets, and cursing.

Is it lovely? (Lovely: Pleasing to the senses or moves the heart toward love/affection)

Something crude is often considered unpolished or unfinished. Language is no different. When crude, it rough around the edges both in content and sound. As a result swearing often is harsh to the ear.

Likewise, swearing doesn’t move the affections toward love. Rather it has an opposite effect: We don’t tend to kindly toward someone cursing us, and swearing is often used when a person is feeling anything but affectionate.

So swearing isn’t lovely.

Is it admirable? (Admirable: Something spoken well of; a good reputation)

Unfortunately swearing has become largely acceptable in our culture, and sometimes is even applauded, like with some types of comedy.

However, there are still many negative connotations attached to those who swear, including the concepts of being foul-mouthed, unrefined, and uneducated—that is, lacking the vocabulary to express oneself better.

Therefore, this one is mixed with leanings toward the negative.