I was recently emailed a question about the meaning of the commandment from Moses, which told the people not to take God’s name in vain. The question was:
Would you mind explaining better to me what taking the Lord’s name in vain looks like? Maybe I don’t understand it clearly enough. I’ve always known not to do the obvious, like shouting “Oh my God”, but what does taking His name in vain mean really? Thank you for your time
It’s a fair question, and a needed one because hearing people shout “oh my God” is a common occurrence in the world today. To start with, while I think the traditional take on it is correct (don’t say “Oh my God!” and such like), it’s also the case that when Moses first told Israel not to take God’s name in vain (Exodus 20:7), no one was using the word “God” like that. By the way, I would also point out that “God” isn’t His name, at all! God has no “name” per se (Exodus 3:13-14).
The idea of taking God’s name in vain was used by Moses to mean “don’t bring God down into your vows and promises.” It’s less about saying “oh my God!” and more about saying “I swear to God!” I would argue both are wrong, but Moses was talking more about the second one. Jesus echoes this idea when He told us just to be honest, and not “swear” when we make promises (Matthew 5:33-34). In fact, in Matthew 5:33, Jesus basically quotes the “don’t take God’s name in vain” commandment, only it’s phrased there as “don’t swear oaths to others, only to the Lord.”
That idea has been lost today, and instead, people focus on superficial things like saying the word “God” in casual or flippant ways. Don’t misunderstand: I’ll be the first one to tell my kids not to say “oh my God!” because when you do, you’re uttering a false prayer. You’re talking to Him without really talking to Him. You’re turning Him into an expletive. That’s disrespectful. But Moses’ words were more about saying to someone: “I promise I will do what you ask. I swear to God I will.” And then, if you fail to keep your promise, you’ve dragged God down into your deception. Don’t do that. Leave Him out of it. Don’t vainly use Him in your life. Treat Him with dignity and respect.
Basically, the command not to take the Lord’s name in vain means don’t make a promise to the Lord or “with” the lord in a flippant or insincere way. Added to that is Jesus’ command that we be honest and dependable (Matthew 5:33). As His children, we carry the name of Christ/God with us wherever we go. We should be careful not to show the world that we regard God or His name as a flippant or casual thing. When we say “oh my God!” or when we “swear to God” we declare to others that God is nothing more than a punctuation mark, and He is much more than that.
~Matthew