HIS NAME

Heart Prep

Lord, help me recognize the words I use that diminish Your position or Your holiness. Help me to understand that “taking Your name in vain” means more than just swearing. Help me to use words that glorify You.

Exodus 20:7 “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.”

A lot of folks think that taking God’s name in vain applies only to using profanity or swearing. But using His Name in vain encompasses so much more. Read the key scripture verse again. You might recognize this as one of the Ten Commandments. It is the third one. Irreverent use of God’s name is a serious matter indeed: you will be held responsible.

The ways in which we use God’s Name, the tone in which we use His Name, how we relate to God and speak of Him should glorify Him and never diminish or take away from His importance or His holiness. “In vain” means uselessly, to no purpose, for no good reason, pointlessly, to fill up space. Some examples of using His Name in empty, thoughtless and flippant ways are: “OMG!”; “Oh my God!”; “Oh my Lord!”;  "Lord have mercy!”;  “Good God Almighty!”;  or "Jesus Christ!" It hurts me to write them here! I’m sure you can think of many other examples, some more profound and intense and others that are seemingly innocent. “Gosh” is a way of saying “God” without really saying it. “Oh, my goodness” is using a characteristic of God. ”Gee” is just an abbreviation for God.  

We must remember of Whom we speak when we use these words and be aware of the fact that swearing, lip-service or false praise, using His Name in cheap, low and insignificant ways diminishes His authority, His majesty, and His holiness. We should use words that glorify Him! Spend time getting to know God through prayer, and reading and studying the Bible. Fall in love with Him, make the effort to delight in Him, and ask Him to fill you with His love and all that He is. You will soon find that His abundance in your life, heart, and soul will begin to spill over into the words that you speak. You will not want to use His name disrespectfully.

Life Application

More on “Do my words matter?” tomorrow. (For those that have purchased our devotional book, “Everlasting Truth”.)

What does taking the Lord’s name in vain really mean?

What do you need to take away from this devotion?