James 5: 12 Above all, my brothers, do not swear, not by heaven or earth or by any other oath. Simply let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No,” no, so that you will not fall under judgment.
Exodus 20:7 You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain.
If you are a parent, you hope that your children will respect you. There are few things more painful for a parent than to find that their child has been saying terrible things about them. God is the ultimate Parent, and it grieves Him when we have no respect for His Name.
These days “OMG” has become a favorite text shorthand to express surprise. But why use this phrase? “OMG” stands for “Oh, my God!” This phrase is being used by people who have no experience of God, no use for God, and no respect for God. So, if you don’t really believe in God, is it still OK to use “OMG?” Well……no.
God is the sovereign Ruler of the universe, the Creator. Whether or not we believe in God is immaterial to His existence; God always has existed and always will exist. But the question is this: if we don’t believe in God, why are we referring to Him? And if we DO believe in God, why are we misusing His Name?
As the Sovereign Lord, Creator and Ruler of the Universe, God deserves our respect and our worship. Yesterday we briefly told the story of Job, describing Job’s suffering. But in Job 38 – 41, God answers Job and describes in great detail all the ways that He, God, keeps everything going throughout the world and even throughout the universe.
Job 38:1- 7 “Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: “Who is this who obscures My counsel by words without knowledge? Now brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall inform Me! Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. Who fixed its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its foundations set, or who laid its cornerstone, while the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”
Were God to show up and begin questioning any of us, we would fare worse than Job! Job’s ony mistake was questioning God, but God Himself verified that Job was righteous. None of us can truly make that claim. We must respect the Name of the Lord and not mishandle it or reduce it to the same level as a smiley face emoji! God has not canceled the commandment regarding the use of His Name.
“Simply let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No,” no, so that you will not fall under judgment.” God wants us to be people of our word. We have all listened as announcers doing commercials on radio or TV talk at great length in an attempt to convince us of the worth of a product. If something is really good, we will know it. And if something is not good, there is no point in trying to overwhelm listeners with phrases. Most people realize that the more exaggerated the claims, the less likely the product is to be effective.
Today, let us give God the reverence He deserves. Let us eliminate “OMG” or the phrase it represents from our vocabularies!
PRAYER: Father God, forgive us for misusing your Name and failing to give you the respect you deserve! Clean up our speech! Help us to be careful about everything we say, so that we are honoring you and not treating you as if you did not exist. Help us to be people of integrity, so that others will be able to trust what we say. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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