Articles
A Word that Needs Removing
A Word that Needs Removing
When did it become acceptable for Christians to use the phrase “pissed off?” I hear this regularly from brethren and it’s like glass in my head. In Ephesians 4:29a, the apostle Paul says, “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth.” The word “unwholesome” means rotten, of poor quality, corrupted. Later in Ephesians 5:4, he continues, “There must be no filthiness or silly talk or coarse jesting.” If you look up the phrase “p****d off” in any dictionary, it’s listed as “vulgar, coarse, offensive, slang.” It originates from the word “urine,” or the act of urinating. In Britain and Australia it referred to cheap alcohol (which apparently tasted like urine) and someone who was “pissed” was slobbering drunk.
In many circles it’s slang for anger, but no one knows why. Perhaps it describes our reaction if someone were to urinate on us. I searched online forums, and even people who care nothing about God know the phrase “p****d off” is offensive and make sure not to use that word in front of their boss at work or their grandma. So why on earth would Christians use it? Perhaps you’ve never realized it until now, but it’s not wholesome; it’s filthy and coarse. Brethren, this word needs to be dragged out of the camp and burned. Let’s remove it permanently from our vocabulary so there won’t be “any impurity named among us, as is proper among saints” (Eph. 5:3).
