Now swearing is heard everywhere, from the family to the street, to transport, even to people who have some kind of power. The reason for swearing is no longer irritation or anger; rotten words have become part of everyday speech. Foul language is used not only in communication between adults, but also in conversations between parents and small children; even lovers exchange it.
The “innocent” habit of using swear words has led to the fact that many people use it to connect words, inserting a swear word through every normal word.
This is a sign of the special degradation of our culture, a sign of our spiritual and moral decay.
Since ancient times, swearing in Russian has been called foul language - from the word “bad”. In V. Dahl’s dictionary it is said: “filth is abomination, muck, filth, everything vile, disgusting, disgusting, indecent, that disgusts carnally and spiritually, uncleanness, dirt and rot, decay, carrion, feces, stench, stench, obscenity, debauchery, moral corruption, everything ungodly.” This is where we have fallen, surrendering to the power of stinking, rotten words.
In former times in Rus' they were aware of how vile it was to swear. It was severely punished.
Even under Tsars Mikhail Fedorovich and Alexei Mikhailovich, corporal punishment was imposed for foul language: for general edification, people cursing on the streets were punished with rods.
So, what is cursing? At all times, our people in Russia have loved and revered the Mother of God, the Mother Church, their own mother, mother earth, and their motherland, and then, when Russia was under the Tatar-Mongol yoke for 300 years, the invaders, knowing who and what the Russian people revered, tried to deliberately insult it. They directed obscene words against the Mother Church, and against the Mother of God. Cursing conveys a Satanic spirit. It’s for good reasons that the Russian people have long identified people who are swearing, and have recognized them as blasphemers.
Orthodox believers know that the Mother of God especially asks the Lord for salvation for Russia, for Russia is one of Her inheritances on Earth. But, while praying for Orthodox Russia, of course the Most Pure Virgin does not remember in Her prayers those who use foul language. She cannot pray for those who swear.
Swearing is a clear manifestation of evil in a person, voluntarily in service to Satan. The diabolical forces, striving to destroy Orthodox Russia, have done and are doing everything to make our people defile themselves. If we want our people not to rot and crumble into ethereal dust, we must resolutely abandon foul language and cherish God’s great gift - the human language.
With a word, God created everything: “And God said, Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3). The word is also a tool of human creativity. We enlighten and are enlightened by the word. And foul language sows darkness. The Apostle teaches: “Let no corrupt word come out of our mouths, but only what is good...” (Eph. 4:29). Words should bring you closer to God, and not move you away from Him. The Lord did not give us lips in order to glorify the devil. Our speech must be pure, we must offer praise to the Lord, glorify the Mother of God and the Saints of the Orthodox Faith.
When a person speaks swear words, he not only defiles and stains his lips, but also pours dirt into the ears of those around him, corrupts them with the content of swear words, induces bad thoughts - he sows evil, even when he himself does not realize it. When we hear that a person is swearing, we must tell him not to use such words, but if he does not listen to us, it is better to move away from evil so as not to harm his soul. As it is said: “turn away from evil, cleave to what is good” (Rom. 12:9).
Hell is waiting for everyone who curses!
If anyone has a passion for swearing, they must repent, and the Lord will help them free themselves from it.
By defiling oneself with obscenities, a person pushes away the Holy Spirit of God. With his lips, a Christian receives the Most Pure Body and Blood of Christ. By desecrating the lips, sanctified by the touch of the Body and Blood of Christ, with swearing, a person angers Christ the Savior.
Let us remember that with our lips we kiss the Holy Cross, holy icons, relics, holy books, and the Gospel. Let us be ashamed to utter shameful, rotten words with lips that were sanctified by venerating holy items!
It is necessary to realize that our speech is not only heard by people whom we are accustomed not to be embarrassed by, but also by Angels, and the Mother of God, and the Lord Himself. Shall we not beware of foul language, so as not to offend the Angels and the Mother of God with shameful speech, not to bring joy to the demons, and not to anger God by this?
There are people who think; “I’ll sin for now, and then I’ll repent.” But the Lord may not give the opportunity for repentance to a sinner who did not even intend to fight sin in his life.
Let's remember that. It is the beginning of a path to even greater evil. It is the beginning of apostasy.
Let us sincerely repent of this heinous sin (seemingly insignificant to some). Let us throw away the demonic, and let us accept God. The Apostle Paul says, “for what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? What does light have in common with darkness?" (1 Cor. 6:14). So, where will the soul of a foul speaker end up after death? Woe to the foul-mouthed: “Their throat is an open tomb” (Rom. 3:13).
Teachings of the Holy Fathers
"Master your tongue so that your sins do not multiply."
(St. Anthony the Great)
"The Lord guards your soul as long as you guard your tongue."
(St. Anthony the Great)
"If you remember what is said in Scripture: 'For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned' (Matthew 12:37), then you will understand that it is better to remain silent than to speak."
(St. Pimen the Great)
"Death and life are in the power of the tongue... He who guards his mouth guards his soul..."
(Proverbs 13:3)
"Restraint of the tongue shows a wise man."
(St. Isaiah)
"It is known that doctors recognize whether a person is healthy or sick by examining the tongue; we can say that our words serve as a sure sign of the good or bad dispositions of our soul."
(St. Tikhon of Zadonsk)
"Some are very picky about food and do not allow certain dishes into their mouths, but they are not so picky and careful about the words that come from their mouths. The habit of using unsuitable words serves as a certain path to deeds. Therefore, with every precaution, one must guard the soul so that, while finding pleasure in words, one does not unintentionally accept something bad, just as others swallow poison with honey."
(St. Basil the Great)
"I said, I will take heed to my ways, lest I sin with my tongue; I will bridle my mouth while the wicked is before me."
(Psalm 38:2)
St. John Chrysostom's Teaching about Swearing
It is not appropriate, brethren, for Orthodox Christians to swear...
And if these people do not repent, it is not fitting for them to enter the Church of God, nor to kiss the Gospel, the icons of the Saints, or the Cross. Do not give them communion. Their Guardian Angel cries, and the devil rejoices.
If a person swears with a swear word, then at the Table of the Lord, the Mother of God takes her covering of prayer away from that person, and she retreats from him...
It is not appropriate to eat or drink with such a person...
God permits troubles, misfortunes, and many diseases [for such a person].
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