“It’s hard to figure out who is high integrity and low integrity. Generally, the more someone is saying that they’re moral, ethical and high integrity, the less likely they are to be that way. . . . If you openly talk about how honest, reliable, and trustworthy you are, you’re probably not that honest and trustworthy. That is a characteristic of a con man.” –Naval Ravikant, How to Get Rich (without getting lucky.)
Coming of age in the Vietnam era, with my best buddies trained in the vernacular of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines, it was common while in my 20’s, 30’s, 40’s—and sometimes even now—to hear the G*d Damn expletive used freely and often, with colorful addendums and extrapolations. No big deal.
Yet this expletive is what I was taught, as a young Methodist, entailed the breaking of the third commandment: “Though shalt not take the Lord thy God’s name in vain.” In addition to the above expletive, when a fellow accidentally hits his thumb with his hammer, he blurts out: “Jesus H.….etc.. etc.” . This, too, according to childhood understanding, was taking the Lord’s name in vain.
So as very young kids, to avoid ever-lasting damnation, we learned to say, “dog-gonnit,” or “pickles! Maybe, gosh darn, son of a gun… dumb old… cotton pickin’… heavens to betsy, great goofy moogly” and nats—among other intercessory expletives, in order to avoid taking the Lord’s name in vain.
As I matured in my spiritual understanding (slowly, oh so slowly) it became obvious that the maker of the Horse Head Nebula (3.5 light years across), not to mention the rest of the vast What-Is, and What Is Going On, would not be too concerned, or upset with, (or perhaps even take notice of) the momentary utterance of a man or a woman in a moment of frustration. Would certainly not be moved to change His (Her) loving, supportive relationship with that man or woman—like providing oxygen and gravity—simply because of such a powerless utterance.
(If such utterance momentarily blinded said man or woman from the splendor of the vast cosmos within and without, it would be to the person’s detriment, perhaps, but not to the detriment of the splendor (Splendor) itself.)
So I wondered what the old prophets (including Moses?)meant when they urged against taking the Lord’s name in vain. I was puzzled.
As with most human creatures, I have had those dark nights and painful days when I have cried out to the Lord for release from some major or minor affliction. Although such crying out—such prayer—has been helpful at times (even life-saving) I have as often experienced no such results from such crying out. I can easily accept that I myself was to blame, “praying amiss,” and thus my prayers had not been answered.
Still, in the back of my mind—a little suspicious—I worried that I may in such time have taken the Lord’s name in vain. I had called out, without result. I had called out to the Lord, “in vain.” Was it something I did, or didn’t do? Or was the ball, in that moment, in the Lord’s court? It was a mystery.
As I continued to study and mature and as my hair turned white and my understanding of my childhood spiritual tradition advanced (1/2 inch by ½ inch) I was led to understand this third commandment – although with a multitude of meanings for different people at different times—could simply be offering caution against using the Lord’s name—using the whole great spiritual tradition—as a prop to puff up one’s own vanity, one’s social standing among others. One need not—probably should not—be vain about one’s personal relationship with the Maker of the Horsehead Nebula (again, 3.5 light years across), and all else.
In today’s lingo, it might be summarized, “Be careful not to try to puff up your own vanity by claiming the Lord and the great tradition as your own, personal possession, just for public appearance sake.”
Many of us, be we mega-church preachers or laymen, politicians or their apologists, or just ordinary people on the street, must plead guilty to breaking this commandment, accidentally or otherwise: Claiming the Lord’s work in order to puff up our own social status. Some of us recognize the silly vanity of what we are doing, have done. Others, alas, not yet.
One Response to How Not to Take the Lord’s Name in Vain