Be Careful

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.”

The third way that we misuse the Name of God is through hypocritical claims. A lot of church people are hypocritical. There are paedophile priests that say, “God bless you” on Sunday, then they abuse young boys on Monday – it is so hypocritical!

There are pastors that lift up holy hands on Sunday then sleep with someone else’s wife on Tuesday – Hypocritical! What is also hypocritical are church members who dance before God on Sunday but then frustrate people and collect bribe on Wednesday! When we live a hypocritical life, we are misusing God’s Name and misrepresenting Him.

The truth is that when we do that, we make His Name weightless. Weightless, meaning that Name carries no weight anymore. David Wells puts it this way, “One of the defining marks of our time is that God is now weightless.” What does God’s Name mean to you? And if God’s Name has no weight in the lives of those who are Christians, how will His Name ever carry weight in the lives of those that do not know Him? We bear His Name but we are not constrained to live our lives in ways that glorify Him; then how can His Name mean anything to the world? That is why the concise Oxford English dictionary can define Jesus primarily as a vulgarity.

As God’s children, we carry His Name and if His Name is not weighty enough to set us straight, then we are misrepresenting God. Sometime ago, I was really burdened and while was driving, I was talking to God about some pastor I knew to be a serial adulterer. He was unrepentant and instead, he claimed to be on a level of grace that allows you to sleep with anyone’s wife and it will be okay. It was heavy on my heart that the Name of God was so rubbished; and I was in pain (Please note, this is not a “holier than thou” thing because if God does not help us, nobody can stand). Then I felt the Holy Spirit say to me, “It is a good thing you can feel what I am feeling!” God’s Name is a big deal to Him. “You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name.”

Prayer: Father in heaven, may Your Name be revered. May Your Kingdom come; May Your Will be accomplished on earth as it is in heaven, in Jesus Name. Amen!