The Third Commandment

Yesterday's sermon covered You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold Him guiltless who takes His name in vain, better known as the Third Commandment. I'm convinced many of us do this without thinking, gosh darn it. See what I mean?

Our minister made some very good points about taking the language we use seriously, and using God's name correctly. For instance, ways not to use God's name: as an insult, as a way to indulge, or as an exclamation point (oh, my ---!).

And he reminded us that the words we choose can bring blessings or curses. Think about that, it might just be what we think of as an innocuous comment, but it can hurt someone deeply. "Hey, I was just kidding!" doesn't always get you off the hook either. And withholding a comment that should be made can work the same way. A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver. Proverbs 25:11 I'd get that simile better if they left off the silver part.

I rarely use swear words. I would like to say never, but that just wouldn't be honest. I am guilty of using slang and euphemisms . . . hey, it's hard just letting your "yeas be yeas, etc." I am going to make a concerted effort to clean it up in the future.