‘You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God…’ (Exodus 20:7)
Blasphemy is an old fashioned word that many would scoff at today so it is perhaps not too surprising then to see the many ways in which the third commandment is violated in our modern day culture. At its simplest, this commandment is all about not taking the Lord’s name lightly and certainly not as some kind of thoughtless curse. Rather the Lord’s name should be treated with reverence and love, indeed the prayer Jesus Himself taught His Disciples He said that God’s name should be hallowed.
Yet how often do we hear the Lord’s name being used in exclamations of anger, frustration or joy and in expressions of hatred, contempt and disdain. Almost without any thought or consideration whatsoever the name of the Lord is inserted in to so many expressions like this that they are now part and parcel of our everyday language. Indeed so common are these kinds of expressions in our modern day society that many have their own acronyms and text message equivalents, the most common perhaps being OMG.
Have we ever in the heat of the moment – in anger or joy or whatever – have we ever taken the Lord’s name in vain this kind of way? God is our Sovereign Lord and through His Son and by His Spirit He has revealed Himself to us and is among us. His name should be uttered only in reverence as an expression of love and faith, giving thanks for all His grace and mercy to us and His continued provision for us. Praise be the Lord.
Lord, we know we live at a time when so many speak your name wrongly. Help us to begin to correct that by letting others hear how Your name should be spoken in love, that they too might come to do likewise.
Question Of The Day: Which of Jesus Disciple’s was initially a disciple of John the Baptist?