"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
I don’t want
to be one of those bloggers whose published thoughts are always ones of tirade,
ranting, or admonition. I aspire to be a writer, and an individual, who keeps
growing in his propensity towards speaking in positives, with uplifting ideas
or messages, and in encouragement. I’m learning the timeless lesson, slowly but
surely, that no matter how many things exist that can technically be
criticized, there’s no shortage of condemnation, so why should I add to the pile
of negative?
But
sometimes, a Christian’s conscience is led by the Spirit to stand up for God
and his Word. And that’s what I’m doing right now. Read the passage above again
if you need to, to remember that this isn’t my platitude I’m making up.
And, before
I go further, if you’re a non-Christian reading this post, I respect that and
don’t expect you to hold yourself to standards a Christian like me advocates
just for morality’s sake or anything. If you adopt this mantra, great! But I’m
talking to my brothers and sisters who share my faith in Jesus Christ right
now. And, by the way, I’m doing so under the acknowledgement that we have all
fallen short in this regard before, in word or thought, perhaps many times
over.
But let’s
talk about a simple, three-letter acronym that’s becoming alarmingly common in
typed usage or imagery in our society, from all parties. The three words it
actually stands for are used – and abused – just as regularly out loud, without
much thought whatsoever.
I’m talking
about
“O
M G”
Some of us
don’t use the acronym anywhere, at any time, nor does the expression come out
of the mouth, unless in actual, fervent prayer (where it belongs). For others of
us, this is something that’s a rare slip of the tongue, something born of habit
and influenced by the speech patterns of a society that really shows no regard
for tastefulness or reverence anymore. For many of us, though, this is a common
violation.
“Violation?”
Yup. That’s
an abrasive word, I know. But – and again, I’m speaking to those whom I should
be able to hold accountable, as I pray you do with me, my fellow
Jesus-followers – if we go against what God has commanded us to do in our
behavior, who of us can soften the blow of that verdict? It’s sin. It’s a
rupturing of the 2nd commandment, in this case. It’s violation. God
handed down ten mandates through Moses, long ago, for his people to learn to
show love towards each other, and, first and foremost, to their God, who was so
mighty and awe-inspiring in bringing them out of slavery in Egypt. Nothing has
changed in those few thousand years, about what God expects of the behavior of
his people who are His Chosen through faith. So, yeah, it’s harsh to call it
like it is, but it has to be done.
The OMGs must stop,
folks.
I mean,
really… This pops up everywhere. It feels to me like I read it in every third
post on Facebook each day (i.e. “OMG, this recipe for these kale smoothies is
to die for!”). I’m pretty picky about who I keep in my Facebook circles, and
whose posts I allow to be seen, and still it’s rampant. It shows up in common
conversation among adults, too, and especially when it happens around my 3 and
5 year old sons, my ears burn just a little, because I know how impressionable
they are at that age. There’s only so much censoring of what I don’t agree with
that can be done.
This is something God
called us to keep sacred, and it’s something we deserve to be called out on
when we slip up.
When you get
down to it, whether we’ve been unwittingly trained into it by the influence of
the world around us or not, misusing God’s name is really just uncalled for,
when you recall who God is. His name
is a name above all names. Even though others may mean Allah when they say God,
or some other deity, or just a vague higher power who remains without much true
identity in their mind, when a Christian says
the name “God,” we are invoking the Almighty, triune God, who created this
universe, who sent his dearly loved son to a horrible death on a cross for OUR
salvation, and who gives us his Spirit of truth and enlightenment, to live
above the ways of the world.
I think we just flat out forget who God is when the “OMGs” fly.
Would we
utter that expression if we knew God was physically right around the corner,
right in the next cubicle, right behind us in the movie theater, right in the
next room while we watch a football game??
I doubt it.
Oh, and by the way…he is (physically
right there).
Brothers and
sisters, we are to be the light of the world…Something blindingly beautiful and
noble for the darkened world to see. We are to be the salt, a presence that
gives God-pleasing flavor to humanity.
"Let your conversation always be full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." - Colossians 4:6
I just want
to encourage everyone to join me in resolving to keep this commandment better.
We can do better, we really can. And not because we want a better, shinier
church-people report card. Not because it’ll get us in good with God and usher
us a little closer to the front of some line into heaven. Not even so much
because it’ll be strikingly different and pure compared to the speech of those “in
the world.” Let’s do it because God is awesome, and his name deserves to be
protected. Let’s protect it from carelessness and abuse. Let’s keep it special,
reserving it just for those spiritually meaningful moments of prayer.
In fact, let’s
treat God’s name, even in acronym format, just like we would our very selves,
when holding back, waiting, biding our time in intimacy for that special time after
marriage when the union brings man and wife together in one flesh. We wait for
that special completer, the spouse-to-be, the love of our lives, until the
wedding night, and then revel in the delicacy and novelty of that time. It’s
special because we waited, and reserved, and abstained, for the right occasion.
Let’s do the same with God’s holy name.
It’s so
tough, I know… It feels like an impossible mission to take back words we’ve
spoken, or to change them going forward. But Christ has forgiven our sins of
careless speech and irreverent use of his name, and with the power we have
through God, we CAN change our habits, one day at a time.
No more
one-sentence-stands with God’s name. No more one-Facebook-status-stands with
the name of our Creator, deliverer, and best and truest friend.
Let’s save that holy,
awesome, worthy-above-all-other-names name – GOD – for the right moments.
Prayer and
praise, that’s it.
Let’s make
it special.
Let’s show
our God how much he and his identity mean to us.
