Through the years I’ve heard many people’s personal definition of Exodus 20:7, which reads: “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.” The most common explanation of this verse is that you cannot say “Oh my God” or “Jesus Christ” as a swear. I’ve heard some say that this only applies to Christians, and that it does not apply those who don’t believe in God, or those who in this case think of it as just another swear. Others think it means you cannot pray to God for “silly little things” or “unimportant subjects”. Personally, I believe these all to be wrong.
The main word to focus on in this verse, to me, is the word “Vain”. This is a word that is not often used, and can easily be brushed over. But let’s look at the definition of this word. Below is the definition of the word vain in the Oxford English dictionary (2018).
1 Having or showing an excessively high opinion of one's appearance, abilities, or worth.
‘their flattery made him vain’
‘a vain woman with a streak of snobbery’
2 attributive Producing no result; useless.
‘a vain attempt to tidy up the room’
‘the vain hope of finding work’
2.1 Having no likelihood of fulfilment; empty.
‘a vain boast’
I think we can safely say that the first definition of vain does not apply here, but look at “2” and “2.1”. If we put that definition into Exodus 20:7 it reads like this:
“Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God without use or without hope of fulfillment; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.”
This is not how the average person, or even the average Christian in my experience thinks of Exodus 20:7. The commandment is not demanding that no people say the magic words OMG and JC. No, the commandment is demanding that we not use his name disrespectfully, or without acknowledgment that he is the Holy and perfect God! God wants respect and glory, not to be ignored and declared non-existant.
Does this mean that sometimes it is okay to say “Oh my God” and “Jesus Christ”, well yes and no. Of course we can cry out to God, and of course we can speak of him, or sing about him, or write his name. But when someone uses his name without respect, without acknowledgment of who he is, without trusting in his love, that is what is wrong.
So the idea that when a non-christian says “Oh my God”, they mean no disrespect, is invalid. The intention behind saying “oh my God” is not what Christians find, or should find disrespectful, but the lack of intention.
What about the idea that we should not bring “silly” or “small” prayers to God? Well, this verse does not state this, and it does not state this anywhere in the Bible. You see, God is not bound by time or space. He can be fully with everyone at all times. He has a personal one-on-one relationship with everyone. The idea that he doesn’t have time for certain prayers is not true. On top of that, he loves us more than we can fathom, no prayer or question is ever too silly for him.
So in review, taking the Lords name in vain is not an action or a specific thought someone has, but the lack of thought and acknowledgment. It is the usage of God’s name without actually talking to or about him. This is what the basic definition of vain is. If you’re reading this and you’re not a Christian, I encourage you to consider this. I encourage you to ask yourself not only whether you should “take the Lord’s name in vain”, but also why you would want to. In a society where any name calling, anything offensive, or anything that makes someone feel bad or left out, is shunned and wrong, why is something offensive to an entire religion, so acceptable?
And if you are a Christian, I encourage you to reanalyze your definition of Exodus 20:7. I also encourage you to do as we are called in the Bible, to forgive and to not judge. When you’re friend says “oh my God” or something like it, maybe he or she is truly calling to his or her Lord and savior. You can ask them, and encourage them not to take the lord’s name in vain. But remember that this is not really for us, but for the glory of our Lord and savior.
Finally, I wish to clarify a few things. I am writing this to educate, not to call out. This paper is not me “telling all y’all sinners to repent”. I am simply explaining why I and other Christians find this offensive, and where it comes from Biblicly speaking. I also wish to acknowledge that many dictionaries (including the Oxford English dictionaries) have separate definitions for the phrase “in vain” than the word “vain”. The main reason I left them out is because these definitions were created in after the translation of the Bible into the KJV, which uses the phrase “in vain”. Those definitions were made for the context of the Bible. They do not contradict what I say, however if the separate definition was created after this translation, I believe they intended the original translation. These are the two separate translations the Oxford dictionary had:
“In Vain: Without success or a result.”,
“take someone's name in vain: Use someone's name in a way that shows a lack of respect.”
Thank you for reading this paper, if you disagree with what I have said or think I missed something important, feel free to discuss it with me on my discord server:
https://discord.me/NA4A (direct link to invite) https://itcommand.wixsite.com/na4a (info on it)
Amazed by God’s grace,
Lucas Elliott
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