Question: Is It Okay For A Christian To Curse Or To Discuss A Sinful Past With Others?
Donald Bohanon: No and yes. It’s not okay to curse and or swear but it’s a habit that can be difficult to overcome and I have been guilty of it myself.
But as long as you are working to order your conversation aright the majority of the time as well as being mindful to do it consistently as the Bible instructs the occasional curse word won’t necessarily sink the ship if you ask for forgiveness and work to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
And yes it’s okay to occasionally reference and elaborate on a sinful past if the goal is to emphasize the great disparity compared to then vs now or if you are just reminiscing while expounding on and emphasizing how destructive and spiritually unprofitable that past behavior was.
But also be mindful to limit that as well because your goal is moving forward in righteousness as opposed to dredging up and or reliving the past. I have also been guilty of discussing a sinful past. I was actually doing it a few days ago with an old associate by phone.
I was discussing some pretty horrendous ( I’m not sure horrendous is the proper word to use but they were pretty embarrassing nevertheless) things in terms of my immorality in relation to fornication, etc. I actually felt like I was taking a mud bath spiritually just by discussing some of those things. But I understand those things don’t define who I am today and I have left that all in the past. So discussing those things periodically won’t change my direction one way or the other.
And I understand every Biblical patriarch with the exception of Jesus Christ came from a sinful past and I am no different. But that’s not who I am today. And that’s the important takeaway. I felt guilty afterward and told myself I will work to limit and eventually completely eliminate such discussions.
It can actually feel dirty and make you feel guilty while doing it but as long you understand it’s just reminiscing and doesn’t define who you are today and you are mindful to greatly limit (in time and frequency) and eventually completely eliminate such discussions it’s not necessarily an issue.
But sometimes it can be difficult because the person you are actually discussing those things with came from the same circumstances and is a person you have always talked to in a certain way when you were living in sin so you can be drawn into some very graphic and detailed discussions if you are not careful.
Just be mindful to be selective about what you discuss and if you have crossed that line be mindful to work to eventually greatly limit and eventually completely eliminate those types of discussions in the future. Because the Bible does say evil communications can corrupt good manners. 1 Corinthians 15:33.