The Contours of Godly Speech: A Biblical Evaluation of “Kill the Boer”

 

The contentious issue of struggle songs in South Africa has caused a great deal of debate, consternation, and division for several years now. Last week, President Trump showed a 5-minute video of Economic Freedom Fighter leader, Julius Malema, singing what is called the “Kill the Boer” song at several rallies. As a result, the issue has dominated the headlines for 8 days straight. The South African delegation, led by President Cyril Ramaphosa, awkwardly squirmed as Trump had the video played and the world listened to “Kill the Boer, kill the farmer … shoot to kill, shoot to kill … Brrr pop, Brrr pop.” Immediately the battlelines were drawn. The legacy media leapt into action downplaying and denying the images and the words. Deny, deny, deny has become the order of the day. For his part, Malema responded by singing the song again at a rally over the weekend. This is reminiscent of Proverbs 26:11, “Like a dog that returns to its vomit, Is a fool who repeats his folly.”

In the aftermath of last week’s revelation to the world, Ramaphosa retreated to his usual posture of denying any harm being done by singing such songs. He reasons the song is just some theoretical “symbol” of the struggle movement of yesteryear, and no harm is meant. His tacit approval speaks volumes. After all, the South African Constitutional Court recently ruled that song does not rise to the level of hate speech. This is seen as complete justification for singing such inflammatory songs.

Does the court’s verdict affirming former struggle songs, calling for the killing of a particular demographic, make singing them right? Is this ruling the final court of appeal? It is worth noting the judges are all appointees by the same political elites promoting and affirming the songs. In short, it matters not what man thinks about these songs, because there is a much higher court than any human court. God, who sits high above the heavens, has established a divine standard for human speech. It is found in His word and clearly details what is acceptable and unacceptable speech. Despite what any human court decides, the Christian is bound by God’s higher standard.

What follows is just a very small sample of what God’s word has to say concerning human speech and the words we use. There are hundreds of passages that speak about human speech, the tongue, our words, and the mouth. The verses and categories below are but an introduction to the doctrine of what does and does not constitute Godly speech. Much more could be said, but what is below makes a clear distinction between worldly and Godly speech. The Bible outlines both an evaluation of various kinds of speech and principles of God-honoring speech. Songs, like “Kill the Boer” should be evaluated by this God-given standard, not man’s.

Biblical Evaluation of Human Speech

1.    Human speech is an accurate reflection of one’s spiritual state as these verses from Proverbs indicate:

·       “A worthless person, a wicked man, Is the one who walks with a perverse mouth.” (Prov. 6:12)

·       “All the utterances of my mouth are in righteousness; There is nothing crooked or perverted in them.” (Prov. 8:8)

·       “The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, But the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.” (Prov. 10:11)

·       “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.” (Prov. 18:21)

2.    Human speech is characterized by extremes — wickedness on the one hand and God’s righteousness on the other (Prov. 10:11 & 18:21). In this sense, speech has a bipolarity that swings from the negative to the positive of the speech pendulum. Our words are either a fountain of life, which God encourages, or they lead to the corridor of death destroying and dividing as they go.

3.    Human speech is a megaphone for the content of a person’s heart (mind). Our words serve as a table of contents for our identity and character. What is down in the well ultimately comes up in the bucket. The true spiritual condition of a person is evidenced by one’s words. Those who call for violence and glorify the killing of a particular demographic in society are demonstrating they are not only on the wrong side of history, but also on the wrong side of eternity:

·       “You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart (mind) … For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matthew 12:34 & 37)

·       “For out of the heart (mind) come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.” (Matthew 15:19)

4.    Human speech is a primary vehicle for expressing man’s total depravity. After declaring that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Romans identifies the vessels of speech as the primary channel for the sinful human heart. Words then give way to action as seen in feet swift to shed blood:

·       “Their throat is an open grave, with their tongues they keep deceiving,” “The poison of asps is under their lips”; “whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”; “Their feet are swift to shed blood, destruction and misery are in their paths, and the path of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of god before their eyes.” (Romans 3:13-18)

5.    Human speech is difficult to control. The tongue is a wild and unruly member with the capacity for vast destruction. James declares the sinful tongue is a veritable incendiary device causing a conflagration of woe. Man can tame the wild beast, but can’t tame his own tongue:

·       “So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race. But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God.” (James 3:5-9)

Biblical principles for the believer’s speech

1.    Be wise to the bipolar nature of the tongue, which can be used either for evil or for good as the verses cited above indicate. The sinful human tongue is not neutral. It is used either to bite and devour, or to encourage and adorn. Understanding this bipolar nature of our speech is a preliminary step to exercising self-control over our mouths.

2.    Be a truth teller — God’s truth. The truth we tell is to be gilded by biblical love. Because we are truth tellers, the believer should never affirm someone in their sin or ignorance. This is neither prudent nor loving:

·       “But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ.” (Ephesians 4:15)

·       “Therefore, laying aside falsehood, ‘speak truth each one of you with his neighbor’, for we are members of one another.” (Ephesians 4:25)

3.    Be constructive with your speech, not destructive tearing others down. The tongue is meant to build others up, not put a target on their backs, like the “Kill the Boer” song, or calling whites “neanderthals” and “sub-human” as Nota Baloyi recently did. Unwholesome speech is rotten speech that smells like rotten fish:

·       “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.” (Ephesians 4:29)

4.    Be responsible and well measured in your speech. Each person and situation is different, so one must wisely navigate the waters of speaking — knowing when to speak, what to speak, and how much to say:

·       “Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.” (Colossians 4:6)

The conclusion of the matter is patently obvious for any reasonable person to see. God’s standard of conduct for the tongue is much higher than the arbitrary conclusions of politicians, academics, the partisan media, liberal clerics, or even a human court of law. God’s standard includes speech that is honest, responsible, measured, God glorifying, and meant to build up one’s neighbor. In all candor, can anyone realistically claim that singing songs glorifying the elimination of another race of people are “harmless symbols” with no repercussions? I guess most have forgotten the history of NAZI Germany during the Holocaust. The NAZIS also sang songs about killing the Jews as they marched them off to the gas chambers. These songs were used to help normalize ethnic cleansing. To justify singing songs about the slaughter of any group of image-bearing people, one has to ignore the obvious while arguing the ridiculous. Based on the current headlines, there are many who are Olympian at this.

Any professing Christian who can sit in a stadium and sing these songs while shrugging their shoulders at the implications of them needs to examine whether they are in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5). It is unconscionable for any believer in Jesus Christ to nonchalantly pay tribute to any speech that glorifies the taking of human life. This is the domain of the godless and unbelieving. It is my prayer that if anyone reading this falls into this category, may God open your eyes to truth of His word, and may you repent and encourage others to the same.   

Those who adamantly defend “Kill the Boer” need to honestly answer the following set of questions:

1.    What does singing the song reveal about the singer’s spiritual state?

 

2.    Which extremes best describe the nature of the song, wickedness or righteousness, death or life?

 

3.    What does singing “Kill the Boer” say about the content of one’s heart (mind)?

 

4.    Does singing the song rise to the level of God’s standard of right and wrong?

 

5.    Does singing the song build up or tear down those about whom it is sung?  

 

6.    Does singing the song evidence gracious speech seasoned with salt as Colossians 4:6 admonishes?  

If one is honest, “Kill the Boer” is the kind of speech that God condemns and serves as a reliable mirror into the heart of the one promoting its message. It doesn’t even closely approximate God’s lofty standard for our speech.

So, what should be the Christian response to the song? Based on God’s doctrine on human speech, it should neither be sung nor defended. Additionally, speak the truth in love to those who adamantly defend it and then shower them with the gospel of Jesus Christ pointing them to the resurrected Lord. All the while, guard your own heart while responding avoiding emotional responses and speech that would undermine your efforts. Then pray and leave it in God’s hands.

May God make Colossians 4:6 true of us all, “Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.”