Watch Your Mouth!

      If I'm being completely honest, this topic has been heavy on my heart the past week or so. I've been a little nervous on how to write this without coming across condemning. So, I'm trusting God will use this to speak encouragement to my fellow believers in Christ, with loving correction to some and a good reminder to others! Here we go!

Exodus 20:7 English Standard Version (ESV)7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

      I want to dig deeper into this verse and what it means for us as Christians, because in this day and age God's name is thrown around as if it were just an ordinary word we would use daily. (And not in a  good way.) We are called to use His name in such a different way than how we have conformed to using it lately. It saddens me that this topic is not discussed as much in church these days and how culturally normal it has become to use His name in such an awful way, not only amongst nonbelievers but amongst our own brothers and sisters as well.

      So, what does it mean to take the Lord's name in vain? I read an amazing blog about this (you can find it here) which I learned a lot from and will be using a lot of the information I learned to help me write this blog. So, let's look at some of the ways you can violate the Third Commandment according to other verses found in His Holy Word!

1) Blasphemy, or cursing God's name.

Leviticus 24:16 English Standard Version (ESV)16 Whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him. The sojourner as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death.

According to Webster's Dictionary, blasphemy is defined as "the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for God." Blasphemy can be shown in many different ways, such as saying God is unjust or cruel, burning The Bible..etc. There are many examples given that happen all around the world daily, but this is not one I see as much personally. It's very important none the less, that we are careful what we say about God, that everything we claim about Him is backed up in His word.

2) False visions and false claims to speak on God's behalf.

Jeremiah 23:25-28 English Standard Version (ESV)25 I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in my name, saying, ‘I have dreamed, I have dreamed!’ 26 How long shall there be lies in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart, 27 who think to make my people forget my name by their dreams that they tell one another, even as their fathers forgot my name for Baal? 28 Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? declares the Lord.

When I read this I think of people who have come and gone, saying they are true prophets yet their "visions or dreams" have not come to fruition. I have actually had personal experience with this one and within the last year or so been more aware of it happening in churches all over the world. So, not only should we be careful what we're claiming, but we should be even more aware of what's being spoken to us in this manner. I know a few good Christians who claim to be prophets who actually aren't and I have learned to guard my heart and test peoples words with His word, before I believe what they are saying.


      There are a few other examples given on the other blog, and I encourage you to look into them, but I am going to stop at 3 (which I will continue after making this side note.) I believe this third one is the real reason I have written this blog, it is the MOST COMMON way God's name is used wrongly. I deal with it daily, people say it, type it, meme it, any way they can use it they do. And so, I leave you with the third way you can use God's name incorrectly. As a fellow sister in Christ, I encourage other believers to be cautious of this, because unfortunately it is very common in the church. It makes me sad to say that, but I hear it as much among believers as I do among nonbelievers. Let us read this next one and truly check our hearts and our words daily so as to shine Him in a good light, and not in a light that is unholy.

3) Using His name as a swear word.

Leviticus 19:12 English Standard Version (ESV)12 You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.

      I cannot express enough how much this hurts my heart. There are so many different uses of this one (i.e. Oh My G*d! OMG! Oh My L**d! Jesus Ch***t! Oh, G*d. L*rd!) I have heard it come from the mouths of babes, from sweet church ladies and from men during football season. Christians and nonbelievers alike toss this word around frequently. I was talking with my mom about it, and although cursing isn't something we enjoy hearing, I would rather hear a thousand curse words then hear someone use His name in this way. IT IS SO IMPORTANT that we DO NOT conform to this cultural way of using His holy and precious name. We are commanded as His people to not profane His name, and this is included. We are called to be set apart and yet this topic is not discussed in cultural christian churches because everyone says this phrase daily. We need to be aware of why we are saying it, is it in prayer or in exasperation? One of those reasons is very wrong, and we need to be careful not to cross that line.


      So please, watch your mouth! And let us watch out for one another as we speak. Let us use His name in holiness, in prayer, in praise, and lets hold each other accountable to how we speak His name in our day to day lives. His name is above ALL names, do not poison it with the conforming pattern of this world and it's ways. Set your eyes on Him and use His name with love and peace. Amen!