WATCHING MY WORDS
Today's reading: Leviticus 18-19, Mark 4:21-41, Psalm 41:5-13

"Do not use my name to swear a falsehood and so profane the name of your God. I am the Lord." Leviticus 19:12 NLT

Maybe you have trouble with cussing. Maybe those four-letter words just slip from your lips. Maybe your language has brought you embarrassment, regrets, and if you are from my generation, a few instances when soap has been applied to your mouth.

Let's put all that aside and think about this...

In our conversations. In our communications. In our use of the language we've been given, what are we doing with God's name?

Are we just using it to make emphasis?

Are we throwing it around like an adjective before an expletive?

Are we utilizing it in sentences like we do a long-lost aunt or uncle?

Are we making reference to God's name, but not in a personal way?

It is time we think about our use of the Lord's name. To think about the single fact that without Him we couldn't even speak the name.

Think about the power held in it.

The majesty attached to it.

The awe it should inspire within us.

The privilege we have to call upon it.

The holiness attributed to it.

The humility with which we should even whisper it.

The boldness with which we can speak it.

The message contained in it.

The fear it should strike within us for using it lightly, flippantly or errantly.

Great is the name of God--and we should be very, very careful when we use it!