Vain.

Taking God's name in vain.

Many people know it as one of the Ten Commandments, the top ten list of things Christians do or do not do, given to us by God. But not a lot of people know what it means to take the name of God in vain. It doesn’t just mean saying “Oh my God” – there’s a lot more to it than that.

So what does it really mean, to take His name in vain?

1. The obvious

Yeah. It means using His name when we shouldn’t be. Like using His name as a curse, which it obviously can’t be. (Go check out my former post to see what I mean by that). Taking His name is vain means using it in a way it’s not supposed to be used. So if you stub your toe and shout His name because you’re angry at the coffee table, you’ve just taken His name in vain.

If you’d like a more pop culture example, there’s a very simple one in the X-Men Apocalypse trailer. (Have I seen the movie? No.) See, taking God’s name in vain is also when it’s used in regards to someone or something that isn’t Him. Like Apocalypse. And in that trailer, he claimed to be called Yahweh. Not cool, X-Men. Not cool. (Yes, that’s why I haven’t seen the movie)

2. The not so obvious

It also means using His name when it shouldn’t be used. Sounds like the same thing, right? Keep reading.

What I mean here is that this form of taking His name in vain is essentially putting words He didn’t say into His mouth. So if you’re a Christian or not and you say that God told you to do something when you know very well He didn’t, then you’re taking His name in vain. We’re not supposed to do that. God gave us plenty of words to use in the Bible, His Word. Stick to those, and don’t expound too far upon them without His blessing. If He tells you to do something, then yes please do it and feel free to say that He told you. But if you strangle someone to death and say God told you to do it, just know you’ll be taking His name in vain – because God would never do that, and He says so in His Word.

I hope that cleared things up for you! Be sure to come back on Wednesday, when we’ll discuss His many names and why it’s important for us to know as many as we can. It doesn’t mean He’s many different gods – far from it, indeed.

[love]

{Rani D.}