JUL 28

Exodus 20:7
Memorise Exodus 20:7
“the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain”

At birth, we were all given a name that we identify ourselves with. It is a phrase that we will probably never forget, and will be something that we will hold dear to our hearts. We will scrawl it on our books, papers, engrave it on our valuables, make permutations of them for our email addresses and online monikers, and later on in life, print it on cards to give out to people we meet. Our name is precious to us, and we would not like it if people were to make fun of it, or to use it inappropriately.

Likewise, God’s name is important to Him. He commands us never to take His name ‘in vain’. This phrase translated as ‘in vain’ has this idea of emptiness or falseness. It means that we should never take God’s name and use it flippantly, vainly or without reason, or to represent it falsely, or not mean what we say.

You see, God’s name carries with it a great amount of meaning. It is not just a way by which we address or recognise Him. It is far more than that. It is God’s very identity, and it represents all that He is. When we invoke the name of God, we are either addressing or describing the very Creator of the universe, the all-powerful, all-knowing and all-present divine being, who is perfect in all His ways. It is not a name that is to be casually tossed around or made fun of. To do so dishonours God, and is described as blasphemy.

Instead, what this commandment calls us to do is to honour His name, regard it very highly, and use it in a reverential manner. This principle extends to our use of God’s name in our conversations, our prayers, hymn singing, and even in our day-to-day lives. We must be careful that in all that we do, God’s name is praised and honoured.

This is the duty that all Christians must perform, simply because we love God. We love our parents, and would never want their names to be maligned or to be used in vain, but will be happy and proud if we hear their names being praised. Likewise, because we love and respect our Lord, we would want His name glorified and magnified for all the world to hear!

Thought: I should care more about the name of my God.
Prayer: Lord, help me to glorify and magnify Your name in every aspect of my life, and may I never use it in vain.