Saturday, August 28, 2010
Taking the Name of the Lord in Vain
"The irony for these legalists (of which I’ve labeled myself a recovering one), is that to live contrary to Christ’s teachings, indeed to live contrary to the empowered life of God’s Spirit, is to violate God’s Law in the third commandment: “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.” How is that? Briefly, to take God’s name in vain is not merely to misuse the name in crude speech. The Scripture teaches that the application of that commandment is broader than that (see the explanation given in the Westminster Larger Catechism). To wear Christ’s name, yet to deny him by living legalistically, hypocritically or by rejecting his clear teachings, is to take his name in vain." -- Pastor Don
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interesting. yes. challenging but true. if we call ourselves Christians we have a lot to live up to, we're bearing his name.
ReplyDeleteand when we are being legalistic - laying burdens on people and claiming to do it in God's name - that's definitely using his name in vain. it's giving God a bad reputation - presenting him as some kind of spoilsport who is obsessed with exactly how many grams you carry on the Sabbath etc.
ReplyDeletei heard it put this way once. if mary jones gets married and takes on her husband's name of smith, and then proceeds to have an affair with mr. thomas, then she's taking her husband's name in vain. she's calling herself the wife of one person while acting like the wife of the other.
ReplyDeletegood analogy - though it covers only part of the picture. this woman is not living up to the role of "Mr Smith's wife", and that's similar to when we Christians don't live up to the role of "follower of Jesus" - so for example if I were to go and murder my next door neighbour I wouldn't be behaving in the way expected from a follower of Jesus. (and when - not if - when I mutter "idiot" etc under my breath at a driver who dared to dawdle in front of me on the road, I am not behaving in the way expected from a follower of Jesus.)
ReplyDeletebut the thing about taking his name in vain - I think there's more to it than just us not living up to his standards. which is the bit I got into in my other comment - when we actually tell people stuff and claim to be speaking in God's name. I think that's more what that verse is about. (though I am just thinking aloud here and am half-asleep) I think the command is: don't you dare speak in my name without my authority, don't you dare mislead people about what I'm like and what I have or haven't said. don't ruin my reputation by telling people that I said XYZ when in fact I've said nothing of the sort, don't spoil my reputation by telling people that I said they mustn't do X+5 when in fact I've only said they mustn't do X.
I come from a culture that's full of that kind of stuff, and I can imagine God being very very angry about that. It gets in the way of people coming to know him.
to stick to my analogy, it would be like mrs. smith going on and on about mr. smith to people. telling them how great he is and how they should like him to, and isn't he marvelous at cooking hamburgers on the grill and doesn't he just have the best trained dog you've ever seen. and then walking straight over to mr. thomas's house and eating his hamburgers instead and doing tricks with his dog.
ReplyDeleteif we say we're married to one person but behave as if we're married to another, it's not just a matter of not living up to standards. it's an entire life of hypocrisy.
yes, that description sounds totally hypocritical, but I'd add to the picture:
ReplyDeletemrs smith goes on about how great mr smith is and so on, and how great his hamburgers are and you're all welcome to come to his barbecue, but when you come over you must wear your best clothes and you mustn't step on the grass, he's very strict about these things.
yup. that's it.
ReplyDeleteand you really MUST eat mr. smith's hamburgers because they're the best and it's the right thing to do.
Please can I join in?
ReplyDeleteI find it helpful to think of what a name is and what it is for.
A name indicates who you are, a projection, as it were of your self. So when I speak to somebody by name I am recognising them as a unique person and entering their personal space to have something to do with them. It's an instrument of relationship.
But a name is also used, not just to speak to a person, but also to speak about them to others. And if in some way I spoilt that person's name, then I would hinder people from speaking to them and relating to them. We don't feel we can trust a person if he has a bad name.
What our gracious maker wants from us more than anything else is that we relate to him in trust and love. The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him for ever. We need to do everything possible to facilitate and not hinder that aim, so that we and our fellows may have unbroken communion with him.
That is why we pray that his name be hallowed, be treated as special, kept in a place of honour, cherished. I understand that Jewish folk, in order not to dishonour the name of God, find alternative ways to refer to him; but I think it is better to use his name with great reverence, confidence and affection. After all, when YHWH revealed his name to Moses in Exodus 3:15, he said that Moses should tell the Israelites to remember him by that name from generation to generation. Surely this means that they are to say it.
hi robert, of course you can join in!
ReplyDeletei think you're right that we should hold God's name in reverence. but again, i think focusing on how we say his name in conversation is diminishing the fact that how we behave on a day to day basis says far more about how we treat his name than our words do.
meirav posted some more of her thoughts on this in some thoughts on misusing God's name. check it out. i think the bit about the inquisition, pogroms and crusades gets to the heart of the matter rather dramatically, although our day to day behaviors are certainly also a part of this. it's just a pogrom is a classic example of someone severely, reprehensibly, astonIshingly using God's name in vain.
ReplyDeletea pogrom is a major infraction. telling someone that if they don't go to church every sunday they're going to hell is a minor infraction. both utterly misrepresent the God for whom we are ambassadors.
Yes, it's a complete package, isn't it? Everything we say, do or think is involved.
ReplyDelete