Don’t Misuse Me
"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
Hrmm...this will be an interesting post. What does God exactly mean by misuse? Or in the King James, "Take the name of the LORD in vain."
Traditionally we think of cursing as the object of this command. I was taught as a kid that it was bad to curse because it took God's name in vain. Now I don't believe that cursing is a great habit to have. Personally I find it disgusting and definitely un-Christian. I cannot see Jesus on this earth saying a curse word in every other sentence while speaking His sermon on the mount.
However, I was talking with Nathan Hellman (Hellman's Blog) the other day about this. And he brought up an interesting thought. When we claim to be a Christian we are essentially taking on the name of Christ. When we choose Christ and become Christians (or Christ Follower, pick your term) He writes His name on our hearts, or at least He should. The problem is that many "Christians" do not always live Christ like lives.
Nathan's thesis was that the simple fact of not living a Christlike or Christ centered life is misusing the name of God. We are supposed to be witnesses to Christ and people should see Him living in us. But when we live contrary to Christ's principles, people do not see a Christian, they see something else. They see someone who claims to be a Christian, yet does not live a "Christian life."
Think of being a United States citizen. When you travel to another country you have a United States of America passport. You are now a representative of the USA in whichever country you are visiting. This December my wife and I will be heading to Europe for three and a half weeks. While we are there we will be influencing how people view Americans. Will we misuse the name of United States citizen, or will we try and show people that not all Americans are ignorant tourists?
It is important for us as Christians to have a relationship with God that transforms our lives. We need the live transforming power of Christ in our lives to truly follow this command. As Christians or Christ followers, people need to see that we do not misuse God, or misrepresent Him.
I hope that each of us will strive to gain a relationship with Christ that will transform our lives so that we can stop misusing God.
No Idols
"You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand [generations] of those who love me and keep my commandments." --Exodus 20:4-6
Ok, we just looked at God saying to have no other gods before Him. Good enough. Well He continues on saying that not only should not have any gods before Him, you shouldn't even make anything that resembles a god, an idol to bow down to.
I'm going to get real personal here now. How many of us have idols in our houses? Now, when I think of idols I think of little statues of gods that have been carved that have a prominent spot that people bow down to. I would say that probably most of us who are Christians do not have such things. But what about your tv or computer? Now I've probably struck a nerve, but hang with me.
How many of us spend more time in front of our computer or tv updating facebook, playing games, or watching movies than talking with those who matter most to us? Lately, I have been very bad at this. Instead of focusing in class or on my wife, I am bowing down to my mac and giving it my time when I should be spending it more productively (like doing homework or spending time with my wife).
But it's not just limited to a computer or a tv. Anything can become an idol. Basically, whatever keeps you from devoting your time to God is an idol. So how can we find a balance? Is there a way to find balance? Good questions.
I believe that the balance lies in our living a Christ centered life. In a discussion the other day, a friend of mine and I were talking about living a spiritual life. So many of us tend to compartmentalize our lives to the point where we only do spiritual things at certain times (church, worship, etc...). Yet, as Christians our whole lives should be spiritual. Everything we do should be spiritual. There is no compartmentalization.
So how do we find balance? By making sure that God is included in every aspect of our lives? By living a spiritual life and following God's lead we should naturally do the things that He wants us to do. So lets bow down and worship God, make Him our main focus and the other things will fall into place.