High Points - Part 1

Rather than step through the Ten Commandments one by one it's probably more useful to just look at those that are not as obvious as many think.

"Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain." Exodus 20:7 KJV

To reiterate, "shalt" does not equal "should", it equals "will." This is a declarative statement, not an imperative. An imperative is implied, but the statement is declarative.

Now, you cannot take the Lord's name in vain accidentally. In my understanding, you cannot sin accidentally. And, to clear things up from the start, "Jesus Christ!" and "God damn!", while being inappropriate exclamations, are not examples of taking the Lord's name in vain. As a matter of fact, this particular commandment has nothing to do with speech.

Language has a lot of expressions, some formal, some casual and some vulgar. However, it's dangerous to raise poor social skills or limited vocabulary to the level of a damnable offense. First, I'm guessing we have enough trouble living up to the standards that God's already set for us, so adding to those standards only makes a difficult task more difficult. Second, I don't think God needs or wants our input regarding how we should behave.

So, what does it mean to "take the Lord's name in vain?" To put it simply, hypocrisy in regards to our relationship with God is a cause for damnation. But, to better understand things, we need to, how you say, unpack the phrasing.

"Take the Lord's name" is not a common way for us to talk these days, but it's not as foreign as it may appear. Most weddings ceremonies still incorporate the phrase, "do you take ..." as part of the declarations of the bride and groom. And, it is still quite common for the woman to "take" the husband's name. Taking is something we're familiar with.

When a wife takes her husband's name, she effectively declares herself united, or joined, with her husband. And by extension, she also declares that she is now a representative of her husband. Just as a wife taking her husband's name is a significant event, so taking the Lord's name is even more significant. When we declare that we are followers of God, we are "taking the Lord's name."

Of course, the key phrase here is, "in vain." When we do something "in vain", we do it without achieving the desired affect. The big bad wolf huffed and puffed in vain when he tried to blow down the brick house of the three little pigs. And we all know that the mighty Casey swung in vain at that last pitch.

When we do something in vain, we do not get the desired outcome. Thus, when we "take the Lord's name in vain" we declare ourselves followers of God while continuing to act as if God didn't exist.

A woman who took her husband's name and continued to date will have taken his name in vain and he would have a strong case for divorce. How much more scandalous is it to take the Lord's name in vain? Which gives reason for the second half of the verse that says God will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.

Taking the Lord's name in vain is not a slip of the tongue. Instead, it is a deliberate lie about a relationship with God and a misrepresentation of who He is. However, if we obey God's voice and keep His covenant, we will be well on our way to NOT taking the Lord's name in vain.