Ah-Choo

Years ago, before I got sober, I used to think I was a pretty darn good Christian. I was nice to people, I had never done anything horrible, and I wasn’t walking around badmouthing God. I felt pretty good about myself and my standing with the Big Guy. It wasn’t until I started to actually try to understand what Christianity really was that I realized perhaps the perception I had of myself, was a little off. Sobriety led me to a real relationship with God. I remember as if it were yesterday, the day we went over the Ten Commandments in the Exploring the Bible class I took. Specifically, I remember thinking “Oh crap” with each commandment I read… and my “Oh crap” got louder and longer as I went from one to ten. That was when I realized… I wasn’t a darn good Christian at all. In fact, I had been a pretty crappy Christian most my life. My heart began pounding in my chest and my palms got sweaty… I was scared… and I think I actually said “I’m screwed!” out loud. The fear that was sparked in me actually proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that I had a lot to learn about our loving God and this Christianity stuff.

I could get into all the inner workings of my last statement, but that would be a very long article for me to write and for you to read, so I’m just going to focus on one of the commandments right now…

Exodus 20:7 (NIV) reads like this: "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.” The most common way I have heard it is, "Thou shalt not take the Lord's name in vain."

For years I had no idea what this meant and I was embarrassed to admit to anyone that I didn’t understand. I thought it was just something everyone understood and I was stupid for not getting it. Finally, I asked my husband to spell it out for me and he was able to get me to actually understand. Here is how he explained it to me. He asked me how I would feel if everyone started to say “Oh Wendy” every time they stubbed their toe or had something bad happen to them. I thought about it for awhile and the light bulb came on… that would suck to have my name associated with bad stuff. I would really dislike that and I’m not even someone who has done something incredible, like create the world and everything in it. It was then that I began to make a conscious effort to stop using God’s name without purpose, good or bad. The way I look at it now is, if I am not actually talking to God, praising Him and having a direct purpose in the use of His name… I am using it in vain. But it’s more complicated than that… society has created some tricks to try and get around it… “Oh my gosh” “Gosh darnit” and such… and in my opinion, purposely mispronouncing it is not a loophole. There are people who argue for and against this… but I’m just saying, for me… I feel like the original intent behind the habit (and I believe whole heartedly it is just a bad habit) is violating the commandment. Trust me, I’m guilty!!!! Now days when I stub my toe really hard on something the word, “God” just flies out of my mouth without thought… then I will intentionally follow it up with “bless America” then say a quick prayer for America to try and put myself on the up and up with God. Usually though, I quickly apologize to God for the infraction. I don’t beat myself up for it, but I have gotten a lot better about it in the past years. I am proud to say that it actually shocks me in public or in movies when I hear the Lord’s name used in vain, especially “GD”. I am glad I am not numb to that anymore. I am glad to be more sensitive and aware in that way. Speaking of awareness, I realized there was one place in my life I was not applying my new rules… the world of text speak. Since this realization, “OMG” has been permanently deleted from my internet shorthand. (BTW, does NE1 know what OMIK means??? JK WCA)

Lately my little brain prompted me to wonder, is saying “God Bless you” to a sneezer if you really don’t mean it a way of using the Lord’s name in vain???? I mean, if it’s just a gut reaction rather than a truly felt and meant response, is it just as bad as saying “”GD”? Some of you probably think I’m kidding, that my question is a joke but it’s not. I felt kind of silly wondering about it, but I finally asked a pastor friend of mine what he thought. While perhaps it was a silly thing to seriously ponder, I am so glad God set the question in my heart because what resulted from my question was a completely new understanding of what the Second Commandment is referring to.

Joe (my pastor friend), referred me to this article: http://www.achievebalance.com/spirit/cnc/third.htm You may not have time or want to read it so I’ll just give you my perception of what it says. Basically, we make a conscious decision to take on the Lord’s name as our family name when we make the decision to be a Christian (much like a wife decides to take the name of her husband upon marriage). When we take on His name as ours, we have a responsibility to make appropriate changes to our lives… to try our best to live like a follower of Christ (much like the change in life that occurs in marriage… no more dating, no more living alone – you are joined as one and you make decisions together). If we take on the family name of God but we do not make the appropriate changes that decision dictates, then we are essentially… taking His name in vain... taking on His name in vain.

So, taking the Lord’s name in vain can be as elementary as a slip of the tongue AND as serious as an inconsistent lifestyle. Wow… this really spoke to me. At the end of the article, the writer reminded me that we are all sinners and it is impossible to live a life that never takes the Lord’s name in vain so… just like with all the other commandments… it’s important for me to remember God’s grace and love is the only way I can ever deserve to carry His name. I must continue to consciously search for Him. I must attempt to live in intentional discipleship and do my best as a woman who has taken on the family name of God. This Commandment is a lot bigger than controlling the words that flow from my mouth.