David Crowder has a new song called “Good God Almighty” that is getting a lot of air time on Christian contemporary radio. My wife said that when she first heard the song she was a bit uncomfortable about hearing those words uttered. I have to admit that I shared those concerns when I first heard the song. We have both since come to terms with the lyrics and like the song.

Our apprehension over the song came from the fact that many people use the term “Good God Almighty” very irreverently. It is one of the many ways that people violate that pesky third commandment. You know, the one that forbids us to use God’s name in vain, or to misuse his name in any way.

The third commandment seems to be one of the most disobeyed of the ten. Even people who go to church every Sunday throw God’s name around far too casually. You will often hear Christian people say things like, “Lord, it’s hot!” or “God, I’m hungry!” When they do this, they are using the Lord’s name as nothing more than a swear word. Even texting “OMG” is being quite flippant in handling the name of the Lord. We can expect non-Christians to fall into this habit, but the Lord’s people must do better than this. We need to treat the name of the Lord with the utmost respect.

Here is a good rule of thumb when deciding on the appropriate use of the Lord’s name—If you are not talking to God or about God, then you should think twice about using his name. You just might be saying it in a disrespectful, or even vulgar, way.

Well, let’s get back to the Crowder song. I like what they have done with the phrase “Good God Almighty”. They have taken it back from anyone who has misappropriated it in any way and have used it the way it is intended to be used—as a reverent, worshipful expression of the God who is indeed good and is indeed Almighty. His goodness is seen in the mercy that God has shown us through his Son Jesus, the Savior of the world. His might is seen in creation, and will be displayed in its fullness when he judges the world at the end of time.

Until then, let’s be extremely careful about how we use the name of the Lord. But let’s not hesitate to use it properly as we praise him and tell others about his goodness and his might!