The F-Bomb In Christianity

A few weeks ago I watched a College baseball game- quite possibly the longest game I've ever watched (14 innings worth). Both of the teams were from prestigious Universities with an equally talented roster. Through all the excitement of strikes, home runs and base hits, I found my attention was not on the athletes talent, but their behavior.

It's no surprise to me that athletes curse. It comes with the game right? It's acceptable and even expected for athletes to cuss when they strike out, miss a pitch or find themselves failing. In the ESPN play backs I could clearly see a disgruntled player's lips mouth the F-bomb over and over again.
I've heard every excuse in the book for cussing in sports:
Your in the zone
It doesn't matter
It slips out
You don't even think about it
It's a game
All athletes cuss in sports

But my question is...why is that?

Whether the teams were winning or losing the F-bomb was the most popular form of expression. But what hurt my heart the most was the shiny silver cross displayed on many of the player's necks.

By wearing this cross these athletes affiliated themselves with Christ. The cross necklace is a sign that these players believe in Jesus, regardless of their relationship's status (lukeworm or extreme pharisee). I do not know each of the players, so I don't know their testimony or their personal walk with Christ.

But I do know that wearing the cross necklace while cussing shows our brokenness as humans.
Our brokenness is true and God knows it.
But to people here on earth, they don't see what God sees, they see hypocritical human beings.

I don't know a lot of answers to many things. But I do know what the cross represents and some of the players wore it on their neck on game night...

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me". -Galations 2:20

Let me take a step back here...
I acknowledge that we as humans are broken and sinful people.
Christians are broken people.
But I've always wondered where this cursing stems from.

The real problem comes from the heart. The problem is not our mouth. As genuine followers of Christ we need to reflect Christ's character through our words (Matthew 12: 34b).
My purpose of this blog is not to condemn baseball players, but to remind all of us that as Christians Christ lives in us and our actions always reflect on Him. We are called to live above reproach as Christians and this includes our speech and our actions.

I think sometimes we forget the severity of the cross or how heavy a burden Jesus carried for us over 2,000 years ago. His sacrifice should transform us in how we live our daily lives. Taming our tongues should not be a restriction on our way of living, but a gateway to living the life that is truly life (1 Timothy 6:19).

A cross around our necks should be a daily reminder that because of Jesus' sacrifice, Christ lives in us and He is the anchor and foundation of our everyday decisions. We serve a loving and merciful God, so even when we cuss, God still loves us, but brothers and sisters if we, "deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left" -Hebrews 10:26

So when it comes to baseball, I'm still going to watch it on TV and go to games. However, I pray that Christians on baseball teams feel some conviction each time they cuss during games and decide to turn their faces toward The Holy One. I hope players choose to minister to not only their teammates, but the fans in the stadium and on the other side of the TV screen.