bust on in here!

yay Kelly! there are some scripture references that speak to speaking.... i'm not sure of them right now because i don't have a bible right in front of me. so let me try to call something up from memory.... probably a bad idea. there's stuff about not speaking coarsely. then there's stuff about being "all things to all people." I think when it comes down to it, the submitting to the "weaker brother/sister" is probably the governing guideline in this case. Sure, Paul is talking about food sacrificed to idols, but if our speaking annoys someone--"as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone". I guess we submit to the point of being silly. then, if they are still annoyed, it's probably their deal. like if most people consider shit to be a bad word and it offends someone, don't say it. but if they are offended by "poo"--and it's something most people are not considering to be offensive--then they're probably just wrapped up in niceness and you should politely refuse to speak around them at all :) butt seriously, there probably is no hard and fast rule. at a certain megachurch in westerville that i used to attend and whose name begins with an "X" (but shall remain nameless), they believed that swearing showed you weren't legalistic and legalistic was the worst thing to be, so they swore all the time. i'm not saying this is the right approach either. you have to rely on the Spirit to guide your conscience. you have to listen to be able to hear the Spirit. and you have to remember that you will fail, you will offend. but that grace is there for you. crap, more work to do :) I mean, poop. Shi'ite Muslim.