Monday, September 16, 2024

Listen to the Word

“You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.”  (Exodus 20:7)

In the third of the Ten Commandments, God instructs us not to trash his name. This week we will explore several ways that we tend to violate that commandment.

Obviously, one way we misuse God’s name is by using it as an expletive. We have a tendency to say “O my God” or “good Lord” when praying is the furthest thing from our minds. Imagine that you are walking barefoot in the dark, and you stub your toe. You immediately cry out, “Oh ________!” Many different words are used to fill in that blank, most of them unfit to say. Among the options is God’s name. We are not putting God’s name in very good company. In our slang, the words “God” and “hell” are often interchangeable – both can be said after you stub your toe, or hit a bad golf shot, or burn the cookies. It doesn’t take a brilliant theologian to figure out that this is a problem! We should respect God enough to respect his name more than that.

Live the Word

Ask God to help you honor his name this week with the way you speak and the way you live.