Strong language, not curses

Jesus, help me say what I need to -- without using bad words! Amen.

Jesus told the Apostles that He would soon die to save the world. They were sad and angry at losing Him, and Peter yelled, "That should never happen to you!" "Get away from me, Satan!" Jesus answered. "You're thinking like a person, not like God."

As a kid, you can get in big trouble for using swear words, but some grownups use them a lot. You might even be the person who reminds them that those words aren't good to say!

Often, adults curse because they're angry and forget to use more polite words. In this week's Gospel (Matthew 16:21-27), Jesus doesn't use swear words, but He does use very strong language when He gets frustrated with Peter.

Some of the bad words people use when they're upset are names they call each other. You know how much it can hurt someone's feelings to use those names, but you've probably done it when someone hurt you and you wanted to hurt them back.

In the Gospel story, Jesus called Peter "Satan." Jesus had been trying to teach the Apostles something very important: the whole reason Jesus came here, that He was supposed to die to save the world. Peter was shocked and didn't want to lose his friend, so he told Jesus he'd fight to defend Him.

Like any other angry person, Jesus got frustrated. He didn't swear, but He used the word "Satan" to describe Peter, because He wanted Peter to know that only someone really evil, like Satan, would try to stop Jesus from doing what He came to do.

Swear words aren't okay for kids or adults -- even when you're angry. But Jesus showed us that strong language can sometimes help you make your point!