Daily PresenceSample

Growing up, training taught me to think that the most common use of the Lord’s name in vain took place in profane or vulgar speech. But an enlightening sermon I heard years later suggested a much more common violation of the third commandment, showing that any invocation of God’s name that’s trite, superficial, empty, or inaccurate is just as sinful as vulgarity.

Here’s an amusing illustration. Our friend, John-Eric, buys a “Honk if you love Jesus” bumper sticker. He’s proud of his sticker, because he loves Jesus and wants the affirmation of others like-minded. As John-Eric pulls out of the parking lot after his purchase, he’s so gleefully absorbed with loving Jesus that he doesn’t notice an oncoming pick-up that has the right-of-way. The approaching driver has to slam on his brakes to avoid rear-ending John-Eric. Of course, the pick-up driver expresses displeasure by leaning loud and long on the horn as he turns the air within the pickup cab blue with an outburst of blistering profanity. But all John-Eric hears is the loud sounding horn, as he muses, “Hey, that guy really loves Jesus!”

John-Eric meant well, but God was neither honored nor glorified!

We find less-amusing but even more dangerous uses of the Lord’s name in vain in Job, where Job’s know-it-all “friends” fancy that they know God’s mind—or so they’ve convinced themselves. Consider Bildad’s pompous moralizing in chapter 8:

“When your children sinned against [God], he gave them over to the penalty of their sin. But if you will seek God earnestly and plead, . . . he will rouse himself on your behalf and restore you.”

Bildad’s words have a pious ring, and his advice even sounds plausible. However, he attributes motives to God that he doesn’t begin to understand. As a result of his faulty logic, he commits the transgression of using the Lord’s name in vain. His speech serves neither his friend-in-need, Job, nor God.

We should consider Bildad's and his friends’ misguided conclusions about Job’s situation, ever wary to guard against tempting impulses to toss about pious expressions of religiosity in the absence of discernment. May we always be responsible and judicious when we use God’s name, mindful that He is holy!