“Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord, thy God, in vain.”

                                                                                    Exodus 20:7

 

“Yeah, yeah, Rev. Dan. I know. All those “GD’s” and “Christ Almighty’s.” (I can’t believe Rev. Dan just wrote that. He’s going straight to hell!)

 

Let me offer a little different twist on this interpretation of “taking God’s name in vain.” Actually, two different twists.

 

First, using God’s name in the above fashion is wrong. Just wrong. It demeans and devalues God and all that He has done for us.

 

But. So is saying you’re a Christian and not acting like one. That’s taking God’s name in vain too. Every time we say we’re a Christian and lay claim to Jesus’s name, and then go out and “act a fool” sinning every which way from Sunday, we’re taking the name of Christ in vain. When we claim to believe in His commandments and then live another way, that’s showing the world what a hypocrite we are. It’s just a more subtle and covert way of taking His name in vain. And it’s just as bad as using God’s name in a derogatory way.

 

Also, think about this. As believers we get outraged (and we should) every time someone sprinkles their conversation with blasphemies. But that blasphemy is really a back-handed testimony to God’s existence. The person doing it is admitting there is a God, and for some reason He should be damned.

 

Let’s take a look at one of the foremost gods mentioned in the Old Testament: Baal. Don’t hear about him much anymore. In fact, how many times a day do you hear, “GD”? Probably a lot. But how many times do you hear someone say, “Baal dammit!” That would be . . . none. Because no one believes in Baal.

 

You see, only a living God gets cursed. Dead and non-existence gods have no standing to be cursed because they don’t exist and aren’t real.

 

So, we all believe God exists (even those who use His name in vain.) We just need to honor that belief – and Him – by not cursing His name but praising it.

 

Father, forgive us for all the times we take your name in vain, whether through foul language or by professing our faith in Your Name and then acting differently. Give us the wisdom to see the error of our ways, to repent, and to change the way we talk and live so as to honor You. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.