Seriously, why not take the Lord’s name in vain?
My mom is pretty chill. With a hippie nature and a life of experience with adopting and fostering several children there’s not a lot someone could say that would shock her.
All the same, there were a couple things that she would not tolerate coming out of my mouth. Nope, it wasn’t the mother of all swear words. I know because once in my moody teenage years I tried to use it on her. She started laughing so hard she had to leave the room. I guess it sounded THAT stupid coming out of my mouth.
No, if you wanted to upset my mom you would do one of two things.
#1 Call someone “retarded.” She had a dear brother and cherished son who were both mentally disabled and she DID NOT take well to people using that word as an insult.
#2 Take the Lord’s name in vain. She grew up in an atheist home where God’s name was not often spoken. When she came to know the grace and mercy of God there wasn’t a more offensive thing that could be uttered than to use His name in a disrespectful way.
After getting in trouble once (and once was all it took) for ignorantly repeating a phrase I heard all the time, I remember wondering why it was such a big deal to say God’s name. I mean we liked Him and worshiped Him. Why not say his name all the time?
Really, why not?
In our culture it has become such a common phrase most people don’t even know it is coming out of their mouths. You hear it everywhere in almost every circumstance accompanied with every human emotion.
Surprised!? “Oh my —.” Frustrated!? “Oh my—.” Happy, tired, sad, mad, excited, or shocked? You name the emotion and I guarantee someone has used the Lord’s name in vain to express themselves. It even has its own acronym if you want to quickly and conveniently take the Lord’s name in vain, OMG.
It makes me think of other common phrases that we say but we have no idea why or where they came from. We just say them because that’s what people say. For example, have your ever said, “Quit beating around the bush.” Do you know where it came from and what it was used for? No? I didn’t either until I just looked it up. It came from the medieval hunting practice of beating around a bush to scare animals out. They were afraid to beat the bush directly because of what possibly dangerous animal might be in there.
We’d probably have to go all the way back to Adam and Eve to get to the origins of “Oh my God” in its purity. I have a feeling we aren’t using it in the way or for the purpose it was used back then. It must have gone quickly from a sacred utterance to flippant because it was necessary to address in one of the 10 commandments.
“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 KJV
I don’t want to come across as self-righteous. I have my share of weaknesses and am not guiltless of acting hypocritically. But, is it baffling that millions of people say they believe in Christ and believe in the Bible but have little regard to this commandment?
I guess that is just another definition of taking God’s name in vain. Saying we believe in Him but not living how He would have us live. We could be using the Lord’s name in vain with out even saying the phrase.
In the New Testament the Lord reiterated the sacredness of His name when he gave the Lord’s prayer which is now one of the most spoken prayers. Do we HEAR the first line when we speak it?
“Our Father which are in heaven Hallowed be thy name.”
Luke 11:2 KJV
To get back to my question of why not take God’s name in vain, how would you answer it?
I’m sure my mom’s answer went something like this. “It is not respectful to use God’s name in that way. We should only speak his name with reverence.”
I think that is how most people would answer including myself. That answer is supported by one definition of “in vain”: in an improper or irreverent manner.
It wasn’t until I had a small glimpse of the power His name carries that I understood the greater importance of never taking the Lord’s name in vain. It goes along with a slightly different definition of “in vain”: without effect or avail; to no purpose.
If someone asked me today why we shouldn’t take the Lord’s name in vain this would be my answer…
The Lord’s name carries great power and when we use His name for any other purpose than to invoke that sacred power we are taking it in vain.
“Remember that that which cometh from above is sacred and must be spoken with care.”
D&C 63:64
This is how I think the phrase, “Oh my God” was first used. It was spoken in sacred moments, with care for the right intention and with authority. It was used then and should be used now to call upon God’s power to overcome our fears, our wounds, our addictions, our doubts, our temptations, our sins, our broken families, our depression and anxieties, our chronic illness, our poverty, our abuse, our despair, and our loneliness.
He wants all to know there is nothing and no one He is unable to heal and deliver to enduring joy. His grace is sufficient. He alone descended below all things. The power of His Atonement is the power to overcome any burden in our life.
The more we understand the Atonement of the Savior, what it saved us from, what it gives us power to do, the more we will desire to take His name upon us. – Elder Robert C. Gay
Next week I’ll be sharing an experience I had that helped me gain a greater appreciation for the power of God’s name in my life.
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