March 6, 2017
Exodus 20:7 (NLT)
7 “You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name.
Psalm 139:20-22 (NLT)
20 They blaspheme you; your enemies misuse your name.
21 O Lord, shouldn’t I hate those who hate you? Shouldn’t I despise those who oppose you?
22 Yes, I hate them with total hatred, for your enemies are my enemies.
Philippians 2:6-11 (NLT)
6 Though he was God, [a] he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.
7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges[b]; he took the humble position of a slave[c] and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, [d] 8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Deuteronomy 5:11
11 No using the name of God, your God, in curses or silly banter; God won’t put up with the irreverent use of his name.
When our daughter was about three years old, our family was out shopping one Saturday and just having some fun family time. After making our selections we made our way to the cash register to check out. Our daughter was doing her favorite thing which was riding in the shopping buggy. As we stood there patiently waiting to be checked out, it was obvious that the cashier was having an issue with her register. Out of sheer frustration she blurted out God’s name.
Our daughter was doing what most kids do at that age, being playful while observing everything at the same time. She was in her own little world until she heard the lady say God’s name in that manner. It was as though our daughter snapped to attention. We literally could not have dreamed what would come next. Our little 3-year-old daughter looked straight at the lady and said ” you called God’s name in vain, and you are not supposing to call God’s name in vain”.
You see from the time our child was a baby until she graduated from high school and moved away, we had nightly devotionals where we prayed, talked about God, and we would even sing our favorite Church songs. Well this was the day that we found out that she had been paying close attention to the things that we had been teaching her.
My husband and I stood there shocked, that our 3-year-old daughter was brave enough to reprimand an adult about using her God’s name in vain. This was truly a first for us. Initially I don’t think that the lady heard her, or she may have been ignoring her. When she said God’s name a second time, my daughter became even more passionate about her frustration with the lady over her choice of words and turned to my husband and I, pointing her little finger at the lady as if she wanted us to put her in time out or something.
I tried to calm and quiet our daughter down, but she was not having it. By the way, even today she is still just that outspoken when she feels that she is right about something. I wonder where she got that from.
After the lady finally got her register back on track she apologized and told our daughter that she was absolutely right, and that she should not have used God’s name in vain. Boy! Out of the mouth of babes!
In case you are wondering, we certainly went home and had a conversation on how children are to be respectful of adults. I do believe however, God wanted her to speak that day.
These days I am reminded quite frequently of that Saturday adventure. It seems that anymore you cannot turn on the TV, or go to a movie or even just have a general conversation where you do not hear God’s name violated. It amazes me that there is now an acronym “OMG” that is used as a gentler approach to blaspheme God’s sacred name, as if using an acronym minimizes the offense. We forget that God sees the heart and that He knows the intent of the heart.
Luke 6:45 A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.
Psalms 69:5 Oh God, you know how foolish I am, my sins cannot be hidden from you.
Psalms 139:1 O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.
Psalm 139:4 You know what I am going to say even before I say it, LORD.
Ladies we must remember that just because something is the latest trend or slang, as Christians we have a responsibility first and foremost to honor our King, and we start by respecting His holy name. The name of God is to be revered as sacred.
The Jewish scribes held the name of God so sacred that when they were writing, and came to the name “God” they would stop writing and lay their pens down, pray and write God’s name with a special pen that was specifically used for writing the name of God. This pen was called “the Holy Pen”. After God’s name was written they would resume writing with the pen they were using prior to coming to the name God.
In Matthew 6:9 the word says:
“This, then, is how you should pray: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name….When God’s name is hallowed it means that it is held as sacred and that it is an absolute acknowledgement of all that God is and that He has the power to do. This same verse in the New Living Translation says: “Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy”.…
In John 14:13-14 Jesus says that we may ask for anything in His name, and He will do it, so that He can bring glory to his Father. This is evidence again that His name is to be used in a sacred manner and there is nothing more sacred than us bowing before the Lord in prayer.
When we sprinkle his name all through out our conversations, as though it were confetti to make our conversations more colorful, we violate the supreme authority of His name. In other words, we sin against Him and His name.
From my research I discovered that there are about 600,000 words in the English language, which gives me total confidence that during our general conversations we have a vast array of words to select from other than God’s name. Let’s save our utilization of God’s name for praying, sharing the Gospel, teaching the word, and praising Him, after all His name is the name above all names and it should be held in the highest place of honor.
Let’s teach our children and our grandchildren and even others that are in our circle of influence to honor our Lord’s name with the utmost respect and reverence after all He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. He is the Most High God who deserves our complete and total adoration.
Leviticus 24:10-16 (NLT)
10 One day a man who had an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father came out of his tent and got into a fight with one of the Israelite men. 11 During the fight, this son of an Israelite woman blasphemed the Name of the Lord[a] with a curse. So the man was brought to Moses for judgment. His mother was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri of the tribe of Dan. 12 They kept the man in custody until the Lord’s will in the matter should become clear to them.
13 Then the Lord said to Moses, 14 “Take the blasphemer outside the camp, and tell all those who heard the curse to lay their hands on his head. Then let the entire community stone him to death. 15 Say to the people of Israel: Those who curse their God will be punished for their sin. 16 Anyone who blasphemes the Name of the Lord must be stoned to death by the whole community of Israel. Any native-born Israelite or foreigner among you who blasphemes the Name of the Lord must be put to death.
Psalm 111:9 (NLT)
9 He has paid a full ransom for his people. He has guaranteed his covenant with them forever. What a holy, awe-inspiring name he has!
Psalm 34:3 (NLT)
3 Come, let us tell of the Lord’s greatness; let us exalt his name together.
