Number Three

“Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.” (Exodus 20:7)

This is another commandment that people tend to gloss over. Most relegate it to not using bad language or using God’s names simple to express exclamation. While these are accurate it goes beyond that. To probe this, we must have a functioning definition of the word ‘vain’. The book of Ecclesiastes expounds greatly all the things that are vanity but today I will choose Merriam’s and Webster’s definition. For our purposes the dictionary defines vain as an adjective denoting something as “having no real value”, “marked by futility or ineffectualness” or “foolish, silly”. Apply these definitions to Solomon’s plight in Ecclesiastes and we understand why he is described as being depressed. But that’s a topic for another day. Today we are looking at the commandment.

Working with these definitions of the word vain let’s see how that would or could apply to our daily use of God’s name. We know God as many names: Jehovah, Jesus, Holy Spirit, The Almighty, Alpha & Omega, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, etc. I could go one and on. My favorite, because I think it encompasses all is attributes is, “I AM”. How do we use God’s name every day? The two major ways we are expected to use God’s is in prayer and in how we identify ourselves. We pray to God the Father in Jesus’ name (Matthew 6:9-13). We identify ourselves as Christians – followers of Christ (Acts 11:26).

Now how could we possibly take God’s name in vain by praying? Jesus gave us instructions on how to pray, we ask of the Father and we call on His name as our reason for asking. But are there other instructions on how we should pray? One major flaw in the way we pray is highlighted in Mark 11:24. Jesus said: “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” When we pray do we genuinely believe that God will fulfill our request? Or do we doubt and go out and do things in our own strength? Another point in this passage ‘whatsoever things we desire’ does this mean that if I desire something detrimental to myself that God will give it to me? As was said in the previous post, God will not contradict Himself. So what desires are these that we should be requesting of Him? Psalms 37:4, 5 instructs us to ‘take delight in God and commit all we do to Him and He will give us the desires of our hearts and bring us success’. Therefore, when we pray in opposition to God’s will or if we pray and don’t believe that He will supply we take His name in vain because we then render Him ‘ineffectual’.

We live in this world and classify ourselves as Christians – followers of Christ – but do we genuinely know what this name entails. To be a follower of Christ means that we live our lives the way He did. He is the pattern by which we make our choices. What would this look like? Well as previously stated Jesus came to this earth to be our example. The example He left was that He kept His Father’s commandments and He admonished us to do the same having love for each other despite the response we would surely receive (John 15:10-27). But in this world people carry the name Christian but choose to blend in with God’s enemies in the name of ‘peace’. For centuries, albeit millennia, God’s people have fallen prey to this deceptive desire for peace. Living in opposition to the “prince of this world” (John 12:31; 16:11) and our propensity to sin will result in strife (Matthew 10:34). However, God’s people, because of a desire to fit in (1 Samuel 8:5) and bring ‘peace’ through human means, have repeatedly caused us to give in to actions that are not of God misrepresenting His Name. By this, rendering His Name as “having no real value”, or “foolish”.

The bible tells us that a good name is rather to be chosen than gold or riches and we also learn that God’s name alone is excellent (Proverbs 22:1; Psalms 148:13). God responds when His name is called by His people (Genesis 4:9-12; Exodus 6:5; Judges 3:9; Revelation 6:9, 10). The things God speaks will be accomplished (Isaiah 55:11) because His excellent name is being challenged in this life. We are to respect His name because the power that is behind it is far beyond anything we can imagine.

Love