A recent meme I have seen posted more than once lists four things highly intelligent people do. One of the four is they use foul language. This claim was shared, commented on and taken as truth even though no study or empirical evidence was given.

When I was a child, the use of curses and swear words was seen as a lack of education, and rightly so. Most of us were told that a person who resorts to swearing does not have the vocabulary to speak their mind—so they resort to “shock” speech.

It has become so commonplace in today’s world that people are no longer shocked by it—but to state that it shows a higher intelligence is an unbelievable turn from former ways of looking at it. Will young people who see this meme think like Eve that it is something to make you wise? Or at least to appear wise? The deceiver does not have to change his tactics; we still fall for the old ones.

I was taught such language was crass. The definition of crass is "without refinement, delicacy, or sensitivity; gross; obtuse; stupid" (dictionary.com). Anything that flies in the face of common decency and the tenets of God’s Word becomes the opposite of intelligence. A vast majority of swear words—even some where it is not immediately obvious—use various forms of the name of our Lord in a disrespectful manner. 

"Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter" (Isaiah 5:20).

Our society is becoming more crass and less concerned with refinement. Set your heart to avoid falling into this pit and be the light this world needs so badly.