I overheard an informal prayer meeting taking place in the bleachers behind me at a high school ball game yesterday. I didn’t turn around to look, but it must have been a prayer meeting. I heard the name of God being used quite a bit. Someone even invoked the name of Jesus Christ once. Surely they were praying.
OK, I’m being sarcastic. What I actually heard was the 3rd Commandment being broken…over and over again.
The commandment to refrain from misusing the Lord’s name is not taken seriously in our society today. It is sad to see how casually people—even Christian people—use the name of the Lord in their conversations. They say things like, “Lord, it’s hot today!” or “God, I’m tired!” when they aren’t even thinking about the Lord at all.
Someone once said that if you aren’t talking to the Lord or about the Lord, there is a good chance that you might be misusing his name when you speak it. This seems to be a pretty good rule of thumb.
Exodus 20:7 says, “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.”
You would think that the last part of that verse would catch people’s attention. You’d think.
Jesustrek 