why my characters cuss
If you’ve read any of my work, you may have seen the occasional or not so occasional cuss word coming from the mouths of my Christian and non-Christian characters. The reason I write such language is because I write the truth, no matter how uncomfortable it is.
And believe me, I agonized over including such words in my work, but after taking it to God, I’ve come to peace with it because the word itself is not what is bad; it is the intent behind it that is. When I put a cuss word in a story, I am not intending to demean or tear down the reader. My intent is to be truthful to the heart of the person I’m writing. And when it comes to the words that we deem vulgar, they don’t come from the Bible; they come from what society has deemed vulgar.
For example, the word bitch means female dog, but when used by someone trying to cut or tear someone down, it’s now a cuss word. Or it can be used as a term of endearment when the person saying it intends it to be so. Cuss words aren’t the only words that can tear someone down. Here’s an example:
Megan smiles at her best friend, grabbing her hand. “Girl, I am your bestie for life! I’d never ever ever say anything to hurt you.” At least not in front of her.
“Do you really mean it?”
“I so do.” Not! “Let’s get ready for the party!”
As you can see, no cuss word was uttered, and yet Megan’s words were rotten to the core. Much like so-called Christians who honor God with their lips, but their hearts are far from Him. Don’t let yourself be like Megan, saying to God, “Oh, how I love You!” And then breaking His commandments and following man over Him. When you do that, you care more about what people think instead of what God thinks. Truth is secondary to making sure what you make is what you call “clean and wholesome.” Real wholesomeness and cleanliness are found when we confront the truth with Christ, not by putting Him in a sanitized mold.
Anyway, my characters are going to cuss, and I give no apologies because God’s truth is far more important than our feelings.
