God doesn't want us to misuse His name
When Europeans came and began signing treaties with our tribal leaders, they often changed our names because they couldn't pronounce or write our Indian names. We know that Creator God cares deeply about His own name and He's known our name from before He created this land we call Turtle Island.
Sometimes I find myself so involved in an exciting conversation with others that I've gotten into a bad habit of including an exclamatory phrase that uses God's name. When I'm chatting with my friends about an exciting event or situation, I've been guilty of using God's name in a disrespectful way.
After I've said those words, I know I shouldn't have, because I remember the Third Commandment tells me, "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain." And that is just what I have been doing, taking God's name in vain.
Recently, we've been discussing the "Ten Commandments" in our circle gathering with Pastor Don. We learned that in Bible times, a person's name represented something of his character or personality. We also know that in Indigenous cultures, names play a very significant role. Unfortunately, when Europeans came and began signing treaties with our tribal leaders, they often changed our names because they couldn't pronounce or write our Indian names.
We also know that Creator God cares deeply about His own name and He's known our name from before He created this land we call Turtle Island.
We discussed the meaning of "in vain" as it applies to followers of God. Pastor Don asked us to remember that God is the guiding force in our lives. It is important we show reverence for His name. We should not say His name in a careless or profane way, as I had been doing, because we have a responsibility to uphold God's reputation to the world. We should always keep in mind that God is holy and we should show reverence for His name in our speech.
Thinking of Pastor's reminder, I felt guilty and thought back to the time during the summer when members of my beading group were sharing a day doing crafts together. It was a pleasant time, and there was chatter and giggles when Ruth told the story about her young daughter Mary who had been mixing up a cake batter and accidentally put several spoonsful of salt rather than sugar in the mixture. Of course, when Ruth's family bit into a piece of the delicious-looking cake, it tasted bitter, and no one could keep from frowning and choking.
Imaging the scene, I chuckled impulsively and cried, "Oh (blank)! How awful!"
Then I realized, I swore, misusing God's name. I felt sorry about it, and asked God to forgive me.
Pastor Don also reminded us that we should show respect to our God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth. We need to approach Him with respect, worship, and love as we live our daily lives.
God is our refuge and our strength. He cares for our needs. He heals the sick and helps us earn our daily bread. He provides daily miracles so that we can recognize them. One of God's greatest gifts of all is His Son, Jesus. He came to die for us so we might live.
I will hold the pastor's message in my thoughts, and review them often, as he closed our meeting with these words: "Believing and knowing all this, it is easy to agree that God trusts us to avoid using His name in a thoughtless way. Instead, we should continue to worship and honor Him by only using His name with words of worship, love, and praise."
And I resolved, from now on, I am going to be more aware of my language when I become too excited in my conversations. I'm going to make a real effort to be more careful in my speech, and I'm going to remember the Third Commandment and God's words, when He says I am not to use His name "in vain."
