Respecting God's name...

Most of Leviticus is kind of a legal manual: lists of laws and instructions for the people. Only occasionally is there narrative, a story of something that actually happened, and one of these times is in the middle of chapter 24. It's the account of a man who blasphemed the name of the Lord with a curse. (vs 10 - 16) As the story unfolds, we discover that blasphemy (using God's name in a disrespectful way) was one of the crimes punishable by death in those days.

That's a sobering thought if we consider  how often the name of the Lord is used as a swear word in films and TV programmes nowadays. It has become so much a part of our media-saturated, social-networking culture, that it can be very easy even for Christians to be shaped by the culture around them and to use God's name disrespectfully without even realising it.

About a year ago, when speaking to some younger children about the ten commandments, I suggested to them that one of the most obvious ways we can obey the third commandment and be careful not to misuse God's name is to be conscious not to fall into the habit of exclaiming, "Oh my God!" - as we see modelled for us on so many reality TV shows. 

In western culture, no one will stone us to death if we speak God's name in a wrong way nowadays.... but what a pity if our carelessness in this matter brings sadness to the heart of God and dulls our spiritual sensitivity to His voice,