Were You Talking to God?
by Stephen Bastin
It is common today to hear
people exclaim, “Oh, my God!” In
fact such an expression may be heard from the lips of the young and from the
old, from men and women, from those who are religious and those who have no
religion.
Can so many people be wrong?
Well, majority vote has never determined how God feels about matters.
So, the answer is yes, so many people can be wrong.
But are they?
When God spoke to Israel at
Mt. Sinai and delivered the Ten Commandments, He said, “You shall not take the
name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished
who takes His name in vain.” (Exodus
20:7)
Not only does God demand
respect for himself. He demands that
His name be respected as well.
But what is meant by “the
name of God?” Does that refer
solely to the name by which God referred to himself while speaking to Moses?
(See Exodus 3:13-15.) Or does
it refer to every name by which men refer to the Almighty?
While one might make a case
for God’s wrath being reserved only to those who misuse the name He gave
Moses, do you really want to take that chance?
It seems to me that we ought
to use reverence and respect in all of our references to God.
In understanding any law it is important that we seek the intent for
which the law was enacted.
I am told that our word
“God” is from the same word as “good.”
God is good. Whatever God
does is good. There is no evil in
Him. From the creation to God’s
plan for our salvation, God is good. From
His concern for our well-being to His discipline of those He loves, God is good.
The first four commands that
God gave to Moses (out of the Ten Commandments) are intended to enforce respect
for God. Whether it be in
restricting Israel to the worship of one God, or prohibiting the worship of
idols, or setting apart one day of the week to remember Him, the Ten
Commandments had an obvious intent of enforcing respect for God.
In the same spirit then we
ought to have respect for the name by which we address God.
Whether we address Him as Jehovah, Yahweh, Creator, Almighty Father or
God, we ought to use that name with proper respect for the one to whom it
applies.
To use the word “God” in
an exclamation of surprise, is not showing respect for God.
The same might be said for the casual use of Jesus, Jesus Christ, or
Christ. Our speech ought to be a
result of thoughtful reflection rather than a matter of simply opening our
mouths and letting anything come flying out.
It is interesting that in the
same places where a mention of God is not allowed, speech that uses God’s name
in vain is quite acceptable. Real
prayer to God is not allowed, but calling on the name of God in a frivolous,
jesting or vulgar way is all right!?!
Words referring to God are not
to be used in a frivolous manner. These
are not proper words to be used as epithets as one might use the term “Wow”
or “Holy Moly.”
Remember the words of Jesus:
“But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall
give an accounting for it in the day of judgment.
For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be
condemned.” Matt 12:36-37
In the words of James, “From the same mouth come both blessing and
cursing. My brethren, these things
ought not to be this way.” (James
3:10)