The Church Mouse
“You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.” (Exodus 20:7)
Today I am thinking about three little words. They are words that have become very popular these days. Hardly a day goes by that you do not hear someone say them – especially on TV or whenever someone is surprised, or if they are just overwhelmed, you just know they are going to say these three little words:
“Oh, my God”!
It is funny how the same words can be good sometimes & bad other times. It all depends on how you are using them. There is nothing wrong with the word, “Oh” and there is nothing wrong with the word, “my” and there is certainly nothing wrong with the word, “God”. We talk about God all the time (and I hope you are talking to God daily about your life.)
So, what is the big deal you are saying to yourselves about using, “Oh, my God.”? Well, first of all God himself tells us what the big deal is. In Exodus God tells us not to use his name in a wrong way. It is even one of the Ten Commandments, remember them?
Jesus even addressed this problem too. Remember the Lord’s Prayer? See how it starts out “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.”
You do know what “hallowed” means? It means Holy. In other words, God’s name is holy, & whenever we use it we should treat it with proper respect. Now, if I said to you.
“Oh my God, I love your new shoes!”
Would that be treating God’s name like it is holy? No!
We misuse Jesus’ name, all too often. Also we often hear someone who is angry or frustrated say the word “Jesus”, like it’s a swear word. That is certainly not treating His name holy!
So we need to be careful how we use God & Jesus’ names because He is listening and it says in the Bible that we will be held accountable for our words.
This is something we should certainly be praying about.
Oh by the way saying & using “OMG” is the same thing, just in case you did not know.
Prayer—“Our Father, help us to remember that your name is special & holy. Help us to remember to never use your name in the wrong way. Help us to show others that we are your children. Help us to always be found speaking the words you want us to say and in the way you want us to say them. We ask all this in Jesus’ precious name. Amen.
the Church Mouse
Work hard; pray harder!
