Carry The Name

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As I pondered today's prompt I thought about something I heard discussed in a Bible Project podcast many months ago that really changed my thinking about one of the Ten Commandments. If you know today's prompt is "name" I bet you know which commandment.

You probably memorized it in Sunday School with wording something like this:

Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.

And most of us learned that meant we weren't to use God's name as a cuss word or any kind of expression of shock or dismay. Some of us were taught that substitutes like "oh my gosh" were just as sinful. Honestly, it really bothers me when I hear Christians saying "oh god" about everything, and I think it's mostly a careless habit and although it's seldom intended to be, it is disrespectful. 

So here's what the Bible Project guys said that rocked my understanding of this commandment. Tim Mackie made the case that the Hebrew word translated as "take" or "use" in most English Bibles is the same word for "carry" or "bear". I looked it up and found these accepted meanings: lift; bear up; carry or bear continuously; or exalt.

So . . . do not carry the name of the Lord in vain? Do not exalt the name of the Lord in vain? What if we've limited that commandment to mean just speaking the name carelessly or disrespectfully, but it actually means much more? Young's Literal Translation says it this way:

Thou dost not take up the name of Jehovah thy God for a vain thing . . .

~Exodus 20:7, YLT~

Don't "take up" the name as a vain or empty or worthless thing. That does indeed include using it as a careless expression of exasperation, but there's more. Israel was supposed to represent their God to the nations, as a kingdom of priests. Christ-followers today are to do the same. In a sense, we're representative of his values and brand and what he stands for. When a soldier wears the uniform, he represents the nation. When a football player does a post-game interview, he is the face and voice of the team. When an employee is wearing the company uniform or driving the company car, he is a representative of the company and his words and actions and attitudes should reflect that. God IS holiness and goodness and love, and this commandment lets us know that we had better represent him well.

Your name is the most important thing you own. Don't ever do anything to disgrace or cheapen it. ~Ben Hogan

Let's take our role as name-bearers seriously, and not just in what we say or don't say. Let's represent what God stands for in how we love others, how we stand for truth and justice, and how we conduct ourselves in our families and churches and workplaces. When we sing praises to God, it shouldn't be empty words, but we should live like we totally believe what we are singing. And then when we speak God's name or the name of Jesus, it will be with love and will honor him.

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

~Colossians 3:17~

When you love someone, you say their name different. Like it's safe inside your mouth. ~Jodi Picoult

There is nothing sweeter in this sad world than the sound of someone you love calling your name. ~Kate DiCamillo, 'The Tale of Despereaux'

Praise the LORD.

Praise the LORD, you his servants;

praise the name of the LORD.

Let the name of the LORD be praised,

both now and forevermore.

From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets,

the name of the LORD is to be praised.

~Psalm 113:1-3~

This post is part of the Write 28 Days Blogging Challenge hosted by Anita Ojeda. Find all my posts for the 2023 challenge here: Write Something Somewhere

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