When you hear the word “bad boy”, many different stereotypes can enter your mind. You make think of the tatted up, Harley riding biker or the Hollywood version that’s a little rough around the edges and extremely sexy.

Most teenage girls are going to think about the latter example. Images of these bad boys are used to attract teenage girls. Countless movies have been made with the following plot: good girl meets bad boy, the bad boy gets her out of her shy ways, good girl tames bad boy, and they live happily ever after.

Everything about this seems alluring, but it’s a Hollywood fantasy. Usually the bad boy is just that, bad, and the girl ends up heartbroken at the delusion she believed. Therefore, in today’s post, we’re going to talk about five Biblical characteristics of a bad boy, so you can avoid this heartbreak as well. Here we go!

They get unnecessarily angry

There are countless Bible verses that discuss the consequences of anger.

Proverbs 22:24 declares, Proverbs 22:24 states, “Make no friendship with an angry man  and with a furious man do not go.” No room for misunderstanding here. We’re not to be friends with characteristically angry people, let alone in a romantic relationship with them.

Furthermore, Proverbs 14:29 states, “He who is slow to wrath has great understanding, But he who is impulsive exalts folly.” Folly is another word for foolishness; therefore, someone who cannot control their impulses, such as anger, is foolish. Would you want to tell people you’re dating a fool?

[Side note: I dated a guy with terrible anger issues and I felt so EMBARRASSED every time he would have an episode. No need to tell people I was dating a fool, they already knew].

They are a “smooth talker” a.k.a. A LIAR

They stereotypical “bad boy” always seems to know what to say to girls to receive forgiveness.

In this Psalm 55 (NIV), David is talking about a man who “attacks”, or betrays, his friends, and we’ll extend that to“girlfriend” or “female friend.” In verse 21 it states, “His talk is smooth as butter, yet war is in his heart; his words are more soothing than oil, yet they are drawn swords.”

This man says what the other person wants to hear, but his intentions prove malicious. Same with a “bad boy” today; he says one thing, but it does not reflect what’s really in his heart. This is called LYING.

The Bible has PLENTY to say about liars as well; just check out this list. 

Five Biblical Characteristics of a bad boy. Click to read! Click To Tweet

They say rude and crude things

Along with lying, “bad boys” also say inappropriate things that do not reflect a heart after God.

The Bible dictates in Ephesians 4:29 (MSG): Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift.Our words are powerful and God wants us to use them to build up others. A bad boy generally doesn’t have a filter and will say things that are borderline offensive, or straight up offensive, sexual, perverse, and derogatory. 

Matthew 12:34 further stats, “…out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.” What people say reflects the true condition of their heart. If they always spout off foul things, they’re heart is not right with God.

Disrespectful to authority figures

Usually a bad boy disrespects authority and puts it under the guise of “standing up for himself.” It can seem appealing initially, but undermining authority figures is not of God. [I understand some authority figures are terrible, we’ll stick with the majority for this post].

God tells us in the 10 Commandments to, “Honor your father and mother…”, however authority figures stretch beyond that to teachers, police officers, school resource officers, cafeteria monitors, principals, etc.

Romans 13:2 relates, “Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.” How a guy treats authority figures will tell you much about his true personality.

Cocky

Cocky means conceited or arrogant; bad boys are notoriously cocky. If they play a sport, they think they’re better than everyone on their team. If there’s smart, they know more than everyone else.

In Romans 12:3, it says, “… Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.” In other words, don’t think of yourself too highly. Being cocky is not of God.

In Closing

Bad boys do have a certain appeal to women. We like the “rough around the edges” type sometimes and Hollywood feeds that and turns it into a delusion of happily ever after. Don’t fall for it; all in all, bad boys are just that, bad. Is there a characteristic I left out? Do you have a tendency to lean towards bad boys? Do you fall for the Hollywood delusion at times? Take some time to think about these questions and your answers. Knowing your weaknesses is crucial because it keeps your emotions from catching you off guard.

Want to know if you're attracted to good guys or bad boys? Click to find out! Click To Tweet

If you are interested in learning more about guys and dating, then check out our book So, You Think You’re Ready to Date? It lays a Biblical foundation for dating relationships.

As always, thanks for reading!

-Sarah

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