Much Afraid
2003-05-19 | 9:24 p.m.

"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 was thinking about this verse last week. It's been paraphrased to "Do not take the Lord's name in vain."

I was thinking about this because so many people take the Lord's name in vain or misuse it. They use His Holy and Righteous Name, Exalted and Powerful, as a curse word. There's one guy in particular who especially bothers me when he does this. He's a business unit manager where I work and a preacher. In meetings, however, when he gets frustrated he will say "Jesus Christ." He's not calling out to Him, though. No, he's using it as a way to express the fact that he's upset. This guy really irks me. So I was praying about it and pondering what to do. I have wanted to approach him for a while about it. I'm not sure how though.

So I was pondering this whole situation and the idea of misusing the name of the Lord, and something new occurred to me. I think we may have missed something in that verse. I always have anyway. The commandment (I've been talking about the third commandment, by the way) says not to misuse His name, and our culture has limited that to simply speaking it at an inappropriate manner.

I realize now though, that to misuse His Name could have little to do with speech. Many of you know that I changed my name a few years ago. I didn't want to be associated with the family (one man in particular) that I was born into. So I took my step-dad's name. He's a good man. I took his name as my own. I became not just the son of his wife, but his son and his heir. It is the same with God. When I gave my life to Christ, I took on a new name. I became a Christian. I am sealed by the Holy Spirit and guaranteed to eat of the tree of life in Heaven and worship my Father for all Eternity. I became His son and His heir. Nothing good will be withheld from me according to His Will.

And though I have gained so much by claiming heritage in the family of God, I misuse that family name when I sin unabashedly. How much more grevious is it to sin without shame in the very face of God while claiming purity in Him than to simply speak "god" in a less than worshipful tone!

That is what it means to take the Lord's name in vain. It is better to not take it at all than to take it and misuse it, than to take it and tarnish it, than to be me.

What a dilemma! I am so tired of being alone. I really want a boyfriend. I can't believe I'm finally admitting it to myself and all of you at the same time. How do I deal with this?

I'm afraid for me.

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