What’s in a Name?
How often has this happened to you?: someone near you sneezes, and you blithely respond, “God bless you.” Or have you ever written a text with the letters “omg” ?? And the list of these types of invocations of the Lord’s name goes on and on. . . maybe without malice or ill-meaning. Without thought—just a reflex. Without reverence for our heavenly Father, right?
“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain,” (Exodus 20:7).
This is the Third Commandment, and although it was written on stone, many treat it as though it may as well have been written on sand. Tread on by more than just the entertainment industry, one only need to listen to commonplace conversations in the workplace, schools, and on social media. In many ways, these expressions that range from abject anger to exclamations of amazement to attempts at humor all show disregard for the Holiness that is God. And although the Third Commandment has often been interpreted to caution people against using the name of the Lord in a swearing fashion, we, as Christians, must learn to speak the name of God only in terms of total reverence. Psalm 111:9 tells us that God’s name is “holy and awesome.” The Lord’s Prayer begins by saying “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.”
So, you might claim, that anyone who has a relationship with Christ would never use the name of the Lord in a cavalier fashion. This type of insouciance would only be a habit of a non-believer, right? But consider all of the ways that we tolerate God’s name being used in a disposable manner. . . and how little we state our objections to it. What would happen if I were to say, “Would you please not use that expression?”
In many ways, the Gospel proves we are wayfaring strangers. In His name is hope. In His name is salvation. Therefore, let us honor the name of the Lord, in all of its holiness, its majesty, its power. It is the name above all names.