Weighed and Wanting: Addresses on the Ten Commandments

by Dwight Lyman Moody

HOW TO KEEP FROM SWEARING.

Men often ask: “How can I keep from swearing?” I will tell you. If God puts His love into your heart, you will have no desire to curse Him. If you have much regard for God, you will no more think of cursing Him than you would think of speaking lightly or disparagingly of a mother whom you love. But the natural man is at enmity with God, and has utter contempt for His law. When that law is written on his heart, there will be no trouble in obeying it.

When I was out west about thirty years ago, I was preaching one day in the open air, when a man drove up in a fine turn-out, and after listening a little while to what I was saying, he put the whip to his fine-looking Steed, and away he went. I never expected to see him again, but the next night he came back, and he kept on coming regularly night after night.

I noticed that his forehead itched—you have noticed people who keep putting their hands to their foreheads?—he didn’t want any one to see him shedding tears—of course not! It is not a manly thing to shed tears in a religions meeting, of course!

After the meeting I said to a gentleman: “Who is that man who drives up here every night? Is he interested?” “Interested! I should think not! You should have heard the way he talked about you today.” “Well,” I said, “that is a sign he is interested.”

If no man ever has anything to say against you, your Christianity isn’t worth much. Men said of the Master, “He has a devil,” and Jesus said that if they had called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more them of his household.

I asked where this man lived, but my friend told me not to go to see him, for he would only curse me. I said: “It takes God to curse a man; man can only bring curses on his own head.” I found out where he lived, and went to see him. He was the wealthiest man within a hundred miles of that place, and had a wife and seven beautiful children. Just as I got to his gate I saw him coming out of the front door. I stepped up to him and said: “This is Mr.—, I believe?” He said: “Yes, sir; that is my name.” Then he straightened up and asked—“What do you want?” “Well,” I said, “I would like to ask you a question, if you won’t be angry.” “Well, what is it?” “I am told that God has blessed you above all men in this part of the country; that He has given you wealth, a beautiful Christian wife, and seven lovely children. I do not know if it is true, but I hear that all He gets in return is cursing and blasphemy.” He said, “Come in; come in.” I went in. “Now,” he said, “what you said out there is true. If any man has a fine wife I am the man, and I have a lovely family of children, and God has been good to me. But do you know, we had company here the other night, and I cursed my wife at the table, and did not know it till after the company had gone. I never felt so mean and contemptible in my life as when my wife told me of it. She said she wanted the floor to open and let her down out of her seat. If I have tried once, I have tried a hundred times to stop swearing. You preachers don’t know anything about it.” “Yes,” I said, “I know all about it; I have been a drummer.” “But,” he said, “you don’t know anything about a business-man’s troubles. When he is harassed and tormented the whole time, he can’t help swearing.” “Oh, yes,” I said, “he can. I know something about it. I used to swear myself.” “What! You used to swear?” he asked; “how did you stop?” “I never stopped.” “Why, you don’t swear now, do you?” “No; I have not sworn for years.” “How did you stop?” “I never stopped. It stopped itself.” He said, “I don’t understand this.” “No,” I said, “I know you don’t. But I came up to talk to you, so that you will never want to swear again as long as you live.”

I began to tell him about Christ in the heart; how that would take the temptation to swear out of a man,

“Well,” he said, “how am I to get Christ?” “Get right down here and tell Him what you want.” “But,” he said, “I was never on my knees in my life. I have been cursing all the day, and I don’t know how to pray or what to pray for.” “Well,” I said, “it is mortifying to have to call on God for mercy when you have never used His name except in oaths; but He will not turn you away. Ask God to forgive you if you want to be forgiven.”

Then the man got down and prayed—only a few sentences, but thank God, it is the short prayers, after all, which bring the quickest answers. After he prayed he got up and said: “What shall I do now?” I said, “Go down to the church and tell the people there that you want to be an out-and-out Christian.” “I cannot do that,” he said; “I never go to church except to some funeral.” “Then it is high time for you to go for something else,” I said.