For many years, like most people, I understood the command not to take the Lord’s name in vain to mean refraining from using God’s name as a curse word. While that interpretation is true, its meaning extends far beyond that.
The same applies to how I used to pray the Lord’s Prayer. I often overlooked the opening petition, “Hallowed be your name,” failing to grasp the profound significance of God’s name.
Let’s explore this further as we consider the third commandment.
“You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name” (Exodus 20:7).
Depending on the context, the name of God can refer to His presence, His essential nature, His character, or His reputation.
With the full meaning of the name of God in mind, it’s easy to see that making wrongful use of His name goes far beyond simply using it as a curse word.
(1) In Court: If someone were to testify in court and swear under oath that their testimony was true, invoking God’s name to emphasize their truthfulness, but then proceeded to give false testimony, they would be violating this commandment.
(2) Hypocritical Speech: Suppose a minister was to exploit their relationship with God as a pretext for personal gain. In such a situation, the use of God’s name would again be wrongful due to the impure motives behind their words.
(3) God’s Name on the Lips, but Idols in the Heart: The Old Testament prophets continually contended with people who served Yahweh but also incorporated Canaanite gods in their worship.
In contemporary worship, there can be a blending of devotion to God with elements such as materialism and nationalism. This synthesis can become so pronounced that while we may utter God’s name, our thoughts and actions are actually focused on and promoting something other than God’s inherent nature.
The wrongful use of God’s name, as I have outlined in the three instances above, significantly damages God’s reputation. Many people may not use Gandhi’s words when he said, “I would have been a Christian had it not been for Christians,” but they echo his sentiments.
We must represent God—His name, His reputation, and His character—with the very best of our lives.
The Sabbath
Sometimes, our work or personal desires can become an idol or an alternative object of worship, replacing the One true God. The institution of the Sabbath provides a day when we cease from our labors or preferred pleasures and turn our attention toward God.
“Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work.
But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns.
For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and consecrated it” (Exodus 20:8-11).
In one of the early churches I served, a man was required to work 12 hours a day, seven days a week, until a particular project was completed. I watched him diminish physically, spiritually, and relationally as he tried to maintain that schedule.
His spiritual life, home life, and health all suffered because of it.
God is right to provide a day for humans to rest. Please note who rests: not just the man, but his entire household—including his family, his servants, and even the resident aliens in the land.
Not only is the Sabbath a day of rest, but it’s also a day of trust. We are telling God that His world and our world won’t fall apart if we take a day off and focus our attention on Him.
He calls us to turn away from the idols of our work and personal pleasure to experience a relationship with Him that nourishes and feeds our lives, providing a witness to a world that desperately needs to see how good God truly is.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed this passage on YouTube today.
Real Voices 