To take God’s name in vain means to treat His name with disrespect, irreverence, or as insignificant. This can be done in a multitude of ways. We can take God’s name in vain by using it carelessly in trivial conversation, attached to profanities, or for personal gain. We can even take His name in vain through our actions. For instance, if we boastfully claim to be Christians on Sunday and live like the devil all week, we are misrepresenting His name and what it stands for. When we live like that, we are misinforming those around us about the true character of God attached to that name. God’s name is holy because He Himself is holy. This means we can also take His name in vain by worshiping haphazardly. When we approach worship of the One True God with an ‘at least I showed up’ attitude as if we are doing Him a favor, or without any genuine sincerity, we mock the name of God. When we do not take worship seriously, we are belittling the God who created us with a purpose and willingly gave His life for ours.
The name of God deserves and is worthy of our devout worship and total reverence. Our attitude toward God’s name should be like this:
“Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Your name; and deliver us, and provide atonement for our sins for Your name’s sake!” (Psalm 79:9).
“A praise of David. I will extol You, my God, O King; and I will bless Your name forever and ever” (Psalm 145:1).
