Words matter. In some sense, we all know this is true. The ways you talk about someone or to someone shape their view of themselves and the world. The moments in your life that have impacted you the most for better or worse have probably included words that made you feel good, or very very bad. Even the words we use to describe an object or tell a story will shape the way our listeners form ideas on those things.
So, why don’t we care about words when it comes to God? Why do we strip His name of all value in the way that we use it?
The Bible clearly calls us to esteem the name of the Lord. Names matter to God so immensely that He often gives people in the Bible new names to symbolize the change He makes in their life. Throughout the entirety of the Scriptures, we come across name after name that has meaning. Abraham, Sarah, Jacob, Esau, Saul, Peter…SO MANY.
Just like these names have meaning to God, the way people use His name matters to Him. Exodus 20:7 tells us, “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.”
According to an article by Desiring God, taking the name of the Lord in vain is so much more than just saying a set of wrong words. “Taking His name in vain” in the original Hebrew carries the connotations of “emptying His name.” To take the name of the Lord in vain means to empty His name of all its significance. It is using His name in a way that is meaningless.
In the culture that we live in, we are very accustomed to using meaningless words. We say, like, a lot of, like, really random words that, like, don’t really have a lot of, like, meaning or value or other stuff like that other than to, like, fill spaces and silences and to, like, fill up our sentences. You see what I mean? I just used 42 words to communicate that much of what we say is not profound or valuable. We treat words flippantly like cheap commodities. And we do the same with how we speak of God or use His name.
Let me tell you something. Every time I hear another God-fearing believer use “Oh my God” as they tell a story or see something interesting, my heart cringes a little. I flinch inside. It hurts me, not because I want to scratch the person off my legalistic list of people who say all the right things, but because the name of God means something to me.
God has given me everything. He has changed my life. He has redefined my identity and called me His child. He has come near to me when I’m brokenhearted and provided for me when I’m in need. Jesus is my everything and His name is one of the most valuable words my lips will ever utter.
So, yes, when someone empties my Lord’s name of its value by using it as a meaningless expression or an emotional exclamation, I get offended. I look that Christian in the eye and know from their life that Jesus is their everything too. So I wonder why they choose to cheapen His name for dramatic effect.
Even as I write this post, I am swallowing back an unexpected lump in my throat. Philippians 2:9-11 says that God has, “given [Jesus] the name above every name. That at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on Earth and under the Earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the Glory of God the Father.”
We pray in the name of Jesus because we believe that His name is powerful. It is in His name that we have the authority to cast out demons and speak life. So when I hear a Christian pray in His name and then turn around and use it as flippantly as the word “like”, it feels as if something just doesn’t add up.
Dear Christian, I do not write this post to cast judgment upon you. I understand that much of the time Christians use this language, it is merely because they have been surrounded by people who use God’s name in this way often. We live in a generation that loves saying, “oh my god” or texting “OMG.” It is as natural as saying “You’re Welcome” when someone says “Thank You.” Language is like that. We pick it up. I am convinced that most Christians who take God’s name in vain do not do it with intention or disrespect in mind. I’m sure many don’t think about it at all. And so I write this post from a place of grace.
My hope is that this will be a catalyst for you to think through the way you use God’s name. I hope that you will not feel condemned, but rather empowered to be intentional in the way that you speak. Much of the Christian life is a journey of God calling us into intentionality. And so this is my call to you: Spend some time this week thinking about what God’s name means to you. If it lines up with the weight of His name as communicated in Exodus, Philippians, and many other places in the Bible, I encourage you to start today to be intentional about how you use it.
I spent much of my early life being a legalist. I remember a time I was talking to a family member and bragging about how I had never said, “oh my god” in my life. Her response made me stop in my tracks. After bragging about never saying those words, she simply stated, “You just did.” And even after spending so many years avoiding those specific words, God convicted me by showing me that I said “praise the Lord” as flippantly as many say “oh my god” or “Jesus.” It’s not the specific words you use – it’s the nature behind them.
We can be so careless with our words, but today I want to encourage you to be careful with the name that means everything. God’s name is not one I want to be careless with. So may we value His name above every other name as Philippians says, and choose to use it with intentionality because of the power it holds. Wouldn’t it be cool if even the way we spoke God’s name was a testament to His power in our lives? That’s a world I want to live in. What about you?
