Sign up for our free newsletter:

Key Bible Verse: The godly think before speaking; the wicked spout evil words (Proverbs 15:28). Bonus Reading: Proverbs 15:26; Matthew 5:22

Awhile back, I stopped cussin'," says former heavyweight boxing champ George Foreman, now best known for his Foreman cooking grills and as pastor of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ in Houston. "I never even slip anymore," Foreman declares.

But for many men, word choice is a struggle. Foreman told Esquire magazine that the turning point came as he watched fellow boxer Sonny Liston. "Most of the time Sonny wouldn't speak at all. He'd just stare right through you. When he did speak, his sentences were filled with blankety-blanks." Later, Foreman learned that Liston didn't know how to read. "I found that cussin' is a way for people to conceal their insecurities. It's a cover-up, a way to represent fierceness or courage." Do you lash out verbally to cover up inner issues? True courage comes in living the way God asks us in a world with many false models of manhood—tough guy talk included.

"I watched Sonny around a lot of people," Foreman adds. "I found there were some folks he didn't cuss around." Does the "clean quotient" of your speech vary according to the audience? Then ask yourself: Will anyone whose opinion I truly value care if what I say doesn't sound quite so tough?

—Jeffrey Leever in Colorado

My Response: Do "macho" and "pure" go together in my mind? Why or why not?

Thought to Apply: Profanity fixes the other person's attention on my words rather than my thoughts.—HUGH PRATHER (minister, author)

Prayer for the Week

Take control of what I say, O Lord, and keep my lips sealed. —Psalm 141:3

				Try an Issue of Men of Integrity Free! Name Street Address City/State/Zip E-mail Address No credit card required. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Offer valid in U.S. only. Click here for International orders. If you decide you want to keep Men of Integrity coming, honor your invoice for just $19.95 and receive five more issues, a full year in all. If not, simply write "cancel" across the invoice and return it. The trial issue is yours to keep, regardless. Give Men of Integrity as a gift Buy 1 gift subscription, get 1 FREE!

FREE Newsletter Sign up for the Men of Integrity Newsletter    RSS Feed   RSS Help