Regard Him

Ex.20:⁷ “You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name.”

How you use someone’s name largely is an indication of what the person is to you. You and I must be watchful because the enemy consistently tries to make God’s people commonize His Name.

The world has commonized the Name of Jesus so much that the first meaning of Jesus in the dictionary, is a vulgarity. The Name Jesus and God are bleeped out in a lot of movies these days as though it was the four letter word. When I saw the dictionary’s primary definition for Jesus, I began to get upset. But then it dawned on me that the dictionary is just a reflection of the culture at every point. Words that never existed previously have been added to the dictionary today because of the culture.

Therefore, if the dictionary is a reflection of the culture, then it means that we have commonized God’s Name so much that it is a vulgarity. People randomly use the Name of the Lord as an exclamation when they are excited, scared, in pain, or even while watching a movie. The Name Jesus means nothing but an exclamation to a lot of people. When we commonize the Name of God, we misuse His Name. So, if you are accustomed to using the Name of the Lord as an exclamation, you need to ask God for help to overcome it. Start by asking for forgiveness first, then ask God to help you stop misusing His Name. In fact, take it one step further, ask somebody that does life with you to hold you accountable.

The second way people misuse the Name of God is through distorted claims. Years ago, Christian crusaders were killing people in the Name of God. That is a distorted claim against God’s Name. Today, Muslims are saying if someone kills people in the Name of God, that person will go to heaven. That is a distorted way of thinking and using God’s Name. Hence a lot of people do not want to have anything to do with the Name of God because the people that claim God’s Name, have distorted the use of that name. When we distort the use of God’s Name, we misrepresent Him to people that do not know Him.

Prayer: Father, I ask for forgiveness for misusing Your Name and misrepresenting You. Help me to hallow Your Name and not make distorted claims, in Jesus Name. Amen!