Matthew 5:33 – 37 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the men of old, You shall not swear falsely, but you shall perform your oaths to the Lord [as a religious duty]. 34 But I tell you, Do not bind yourselves by an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is the throne of God; 35 Or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you are not able to make a single hair white or black. 37 Let your Yes be simply Yes, and your No be simply No; anything more than that comes from the evil one.”
We’ve all seen them, and perhaps we have used them – the text abbreviations such as “OMG”, the exclamations, “Heavenly days!” “Good Lord!” “Jesus!” or, if you are Ghanaian and speak Twi, “Awurade!”(Lord!) And if someone were to question us, we would defend ourselves that we were merely expressing surprise, or shock or disbelief innocently. But is that really all we are doing?
Exodus 20:7 states, “You shall not use or repeat the name of the Lord your God in vain [that is, lightly or frivolously, in false affirmations or profanely]; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.”
Why is it wrong to swear and particularly to swear using any of the names of God? Well, suppose you knew that there was a Supreme Being that was all – powerful, all – knowing, and who listened to every thought you had, every word you spoke? And suppose this same all – powerful, all – knowing being also held your life or death in His power and could end your life in an instant? Wouldn’t you be very careful about whatever you said???
Oh, wait! There is such a being! The One True Living God is all – powerful, all – knowing, and hears every thought you think and every word you speak.
“But,” you reply in rebuttal, “if this is the case, why hasn’t God already punished me?” 1 Peter 3:9 gives us the answer, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” It is only by the mercy of God that any of us are still here. God loves us and wants each one of us to turn away from ourselves and to come to Him. When we truly love someone, we want to please them and to make them happy. So it is with God.
God has loved us so much that He sent Jesus to die for our sins because we by ourselves can never earn our way into heaven. As a small example, one minute we might be helping an elderly friend, but with our next breath, we are misusing God’s Name. We need help! We need deliverance! We are trapped in a pit of sin with no way out, except for the grace of God, that God whose Name we have been misusing.
Proverbs 18:10 says that “The name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous man runs into it and is safe.” If we will call on the Name of the Lord, not as a swear word or as an exclamation, but in prayer, God will help us. Today, let us listen to ourselves and use the Name of the Lord appropriately.
PRAYER: Father God, please forgive us! We have used and abused your beautiful Name in all kinds of ways. Even now, we have formed habits that are difficult to break – the habit of using your Name as a swear word, or as a sign of disbelief or surprise. Please help us to use your Name the way you have intended – in prayer and praise. Clean our dirty hearts and minds. And thank you that all of this is only possible because you love us. In Jesus’ mighty Name. Amen.
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