God's Name

Exodus 20:7 (ESV) “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.

The most important thing about this command is understanding the word, "take" in Hebrew means "to bring, to carry, to lift." This command is not simply about "saying" the name of the Lord with vain or blasphemous intent, as wrong as that is. It is a command to consider strongly how we bring God's Name into the world through our lives and witness. It is a serious thing to bear the name of the Lord in your life.

Why does God put this commandment in the top 10? Because His work is made to represent His glory, including most of all, humanity. You and I were made to represent the wonderful creative glory of our God. How you live should reflect the wonder of His power and the beauty of His imaginative omniscience. As Christians we are "ambassadors for Christ" and called to be the light of the world and salt of the Earth. 

But the commandment is also speaking of our words. For how else to human live more humanly than through their speaking? We are to take seriously the vows of our lips. When we say, "With God as my witness" we are often using those words to manipulate people by invoking God's Name to pronounce special seriousness that our normal speaking must surely lack. Why do we need to "step it up" so to speak in that situation? Are we otherwise unreliable? Are we using God to prove ourselves? I'm afraid in doing so, we are breaking this commandment perfectly. God is not a means to your ends. He can never be.

It is not a mild thing to speak of God. It is not a light thing to be called by His Name. These are not dishonorable things, they are the most honored of all. To live for God's glory and purpose is to live with humility, gratitude, wonder and praise.

Finally, inherent in this command is the honor that God gives to Israel, and us through Christ. We get to "carry" God's name throughout our lives. Do you know what that means? It means the pressure is OFF to make a "name" for yourself. How often our lives are spent giving all our energies, focus and time trying to make something great of our name. And how often our hearts are burdened with jealousy, resentment and fear at the prospect of not achieving a glorious reputation for ourselves. For someone else will always be better, more adept, smarter or more successful than ourselves. The pressure to measure up can be overwhelming.

But the third commandment is actually sweet liberation from the fallacy of our culture "self-fulfillment" or "self-esteem". We aren't made to bring glory to our name, we are made to bring glory to His Name! In that there is true freedom. We are free to live selflessly and not get upset when others may live more vibrantly or successfully. I hope you take this command to heart. It sets you free to be what God has desired for your life.

Only then, is there peace.