I Swear...

Today we're going to talk about swearing.  Swearing is so ingrained in today's culture, that, if you want an accurate portrayal of a situation, it's simple to slip it in here and there.  Perhaps one character is more inclined to swear than another, and you want to show it.
   The problem is that it's blasphemy.  It's taking God's name lightly.  It's not only disobedient, its dangerous.  It's real.  It's a part of your attitude towards life.  When you read books that have swearing in them, it will change how you think for a moment at least.  You read a chapter where every third sentence, or perhaps only every third page has swearing, you're going to go away thinking your unaffected, but your changed for the day; and when someone says something, or something happens, and you think a swear word, you think, "LORD GOD!  Where did that come from?!"  I'll tell you.  From the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.  What you read goes into your heart, and you can do nothing to protect it but flood your heart and mind with the word of God and other good influences.  But how often do we do that?
   So what do we do as readers?  I would say, go immediately into prayer when you finish a chapter.  Talk to God about the book.  He wants to know.  If your embarrassed to tell Him, maybe you should examine what your reading.  He wont take it away from you unless it hurts you.  Also remember: He went to Hell; He's not the one who needs protecting.
   So what do we do as writers?  The best way I think, is not to put it in at all.  If you want to put it in, though, there are a few ways you can not say it.  Say he uttered an expletive, or he swore, he cussed, he uttered a singularly rude word.  If you put it in a sentence, dashes or stars or bleeps or #@>! work.  I like dashes personally: "Why can't the --- just mind his own business!"  But keep in mind, that leaves a lot for the readers imagination.
   Be careful and pray.  Keep in mind that what you are doing has effect not only on who you are, but on your eternity; and not only on your eternity, but also on others eternity.