"God, you are absolutely worthless…you are NOTHING!" Would you ever say that to the great I AM? I don't even think an atheist would, as they would be admitting God's existence by speaking to Him. Yet this is precisely what people are saying when they use our Savior's name in vain. Shav, the word for vain in Hebrew means emptiness, falsehood, nothingness, worthlessness, useless. Yet blasphemy surrounds us more and more. The 2012 movie American Reunion (which I wouldn't recommend for a number of reasons) has 35 religious exclamations! God's name is abused regularly on radio, TV, out in public, and even in the back seat of my own car! I don't care how many times I hear it, the piercing feeling in my heart at the misuse of my Lord's name never wanes.
We are all familiar with the third commandment, "Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain." However, most of us are not as well-informed of the rest of the verse…"for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain." (Exodus 20:7) Now let's take a closer look at exactly who is going to hold us guilty for calling Him 'nothing'...
• "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty." (Revelation 1:8)
• "All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made." (John 1:3)
• "The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up." (1Samuel 2:6)
• "Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD." (Jeremiah 23:23&24)
This is a God I want to please. I can't even imagine using His Son's name in vain!
The modern rise of disrespect to our most Holy Heavenly Father shouldn't be a surprise to us. It has been prophesied in the Bible about the people of our time… "For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy." (2 Timothy 3:2) This does not paint a pretty picture of us. Saved Christians have the right, the privilege, and the responsibility to use God’s name only in reverence and fear. Maybe the next time we catch ourselves saying, "God!" quickly follow it up with, "I love you!"
Personally, I have never made a habit of taking my God's name in vain. Yet I do feel like I let Him down every time I say nothing to those around me who do. (Except for my family, of course!) From now on I'm going to do what a friend of mine does; he adds "Amen!" when he hears his Savior's name called out.
Breaking the ten commandments will not keep us from going to heaven, but if God is keeping a record of our wrongs (and He is!) how many times will we have called our Lord and Savior 'worthless'?
I'm suggesting this two-step program to help repeat offenders... Go to this link on Amazon (Click on image) and download Travis Cottrell's song, "Sanctus". Then listen to it when you feel the urge to call God anything less than the King of Awesome Majesty. By the time he's finished singing "With reverence and with fear, with trembling lips, Lord, we draw near." you'll be a changed man or woman!
Please remember, BIBLE BAIT is written by a novice Bible study student, not a Bible scholar. If something doesn't look quite right to you, dig into God's word. The one thing I promise you is that you won't get bored! Many thanks to my Bible study friends who proofread for me every week.
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