Of every curse word an American president, vice president or presidential candidate has uttered in public over the last century, nearly four out of five came from just two men. A survey released around July 29 by Cardiff University tallied 692 instances of foul language from America’s top political figures since 1919, and Joe Biden and Donald Trump account for 538 of them. The men who now set the tone for the most powerful nation on Earth have made coarse language a normal part of public life.

It was not always so. In 1776, the man who became the nation’s first president was troubled that “the foolish and wicked practice of profane cursing” was spreading through the Continental Army. George Washington warned that the new republic could “have little hope of the blessing of Heaven on our arms if we insult it by our impiety and folly.” He understood something his successors have forgotten: The words a people speak have consequences far beyond the moment.

Society’s standards have fallen a long way. It may be easy to let the examples of our modern leaders rub off on us, but Christ said in Matthew 12:36 that “every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.”

“Bad language” can generally be divided into two categories: profanity and obscenity. God’s Word forbids both.

Profanity involves any language that blasphemes, insults or disrespects God, or otherwise associates God in a negative manner. This is so important, in fact, that God forbade it in the Third Commandment: “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain” (Exodus 20:7; New King James Version). The Amplified Bible renders this verse: “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain [that is, irreverently, in false affirmations or in ways that impugn the character of God]; for the Lord will not hold guiltless nor leave unpunished the one who takes His name in vain [disregarding its reverence and its power].”

Many regularly use the names of God and Jesus Christ as expletives or in jokes. These are the clearest examples of violating this commandment. But it can also take the form of imputing bad character to God. For example, people often use as expletives words relating to damnation, such as talking about God sending somebody or something to “hell.” God wills that all men be saved (1 Timothy 2:1-4) and has no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 33:11). Calling on God to “damn” someone is calling on Him to act in a way that causes Him great hurt and is an insult to His character.

Using euphemisms, or substitutions meant to sound similar to profanity, also violates the Third Commandment. Herbert W. Armstrong in his Autobiography detailed a sermon he gave in 1933, where he recounted an exchange between his son Richard David, age 5, and a playmate who was using “a lot of slang.” Richard became exasperated, picked up two sticks, and showed his friend a cross, telling him: “they had to put Jesus Christ up on a cross, and drive nails through His hands and His feet, and nail Him to that cross so He would die, just because you have been saying gosh and darn and gee-whiz! Don’t you say those words any more!”

Obscenity refers to language that isn’t specifically taking God’s name in vain but is still crass or vulgar and considered offensive, especially in public. The Apostle Paul commanded the early Church in Ephesians 4:29: “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying ….” The Greek word rendered communication is logos, which literally means word. The word rendered corrupt is defined by Thayer’s Greek Lexicon as “rotten” and “of poor quality.” Paul further wrote in Ephesians 5:4 that “neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting” are fitting for Christians (nkjv).

Sadly, we live in a world where profanity and obscenity are everywhere. It is a challenge not to let this impact our thinking and speaking. Christ said in Matthew 12:34: “[H]ow can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” What comes out of our mouth reflects the state of our thoughts: “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7).

God gives the solution to profanity and obscenity in Philippians 4:8: “[W]hatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”

Purify your words by purifying your thoughts. Shun entertainment that portrays foul language as if it were normal and replace it with material based on wholesome subjects. Be conscious of when you use bad language and stop yourself—realizing that you are not just indulging in a “bad habit” but violating one of God’s commandments!

God wants every true Christian to be the best version of himself that he can be. As an expression of thought, pure communication is an important component of an upstanding person. Purifying our language leads to a cleaner vocabulary and public presence, a healthier pattern of thinking and, ultimately, a more wholesome state of being.