The Second Commandment

          Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. (Exodus 20:7, King James Version)

What is this commandment all about? According to Luther’s Small Catechism, it means this: We are to fear and love God, so that we do not curse, swear, practice satanic arts, lie, or deceive using God's name, but instead use that very name in every time of need to call on, pray to, praise, and give thanks to God.

That explanation says a lot, a lot more than we want to think about. And why is that? Because, once again, this is a commandment many of us break all the time!

I’m just going to keep it simple, though, and focus on one point in all of that.

We use our tongues to praise our Lord and Father, but then we curse people, whom God made like himself. Praises and curses come from the same mouth! My brothers and sisters, this should not happen. (James 3:9-10, New Century Version)

Don’t swear. Don’t use the name of God or of Jesus Christ as an expletive. Don’t throw any of the names of God into your general conversation. (You know the conversations I’m referring to; we’ve all heard them in movies or even at work.) Use His names only in thanks, praise and prayer.  

And I always take this commandment a step further. Don’t use the other words which used to be banned from TV and radio. Just don’t do it. (And, again, you know which ones I mean.)

Sure, believers agree that we shouldn’t take the Lord’s name in vain, but what do all those other “bad” words have to do with it?

Here’s what those words in our daily language are doing to us as a society. Just like all the sex and violence we see in movies and on the internet, those words are desensitizing us. We are getting to the point where we don’t even flinch when we see certain things or hear certain things. And after that? Well, we lose our human-ness, our kind and gentle spirits. We become monsters tearing at living flesh.

Sorry if that sounds dramatic, but using profanity (even though it slips out of my mouth sometimes) just should not be an acceptable way to talk.

Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles. (Proverbs 21:23, New King James Version)