"god Told Me!" Really?

“You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.”

If you have been a follower of Christ for more than a few months, you have almost assuredly heard some dear soul assert, “God told me…” This assertion was possibly made in support of some specific information that the one testifying claimed to have received directly from God. If the individual was claiming nothing more than that they had discovered some biblical principal as they read the Bible, and they are now sharing what they believe they have discovered through their reading so that others may judge the verity of that position, I doubt that any of us would have a particular problem with the statement. Such an assertion is, to be certain, inarticulate and liable to misinterpretation, but the speaker meant no harm in what was said.

However, if by that statement, the speaker intended to indicate that God spoke to him or her, there is a problem. In this instance, the speaker making this specific claim is appealing to the Lord’s approval in an effort to compel people to agree with the speaker. After all, who wants to be found in opposition to something that God has said?

However, if you claim that God has told you something, is it possible that you are guilty of misusing the Name of the LORD? Is it actually possible that such a claim is blasphemy? Not only is this possible, but if you claim to have received communication from God that you never received, you are guilty of misusing the Name of the Lord GOD! And according to the Word of God, misusing the Name of the LORD is a serious matter. The Lord takes very seriously misuse of His Name.

MISUSING THE NAME OF THE LORD — A recent translation of the Bible treats this verse as follows: “Do not misuse the name of the LORD your God, because the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who misuses his name” [EXODUS 20:7 CSV]. It is a tragic truth that the intent of what is said in the Bible is often masked by familiarity of what is written. Thus, while many people have heard warnings against taking the Lord’s Name in vain, they are often confused or ignorant of what is meant by this proscription. People are often misled by the concept of taking the Lord’s Name in vain.

The common perception is that misusing the Name of the Lord is a matter of using His Name as a curse, as pleading an imprecation on someone or something. To be certain, cursing is a terrible blight on the language of the faithful, but cursing itself is not blasphemy. It is not within our prerogative to damn anyone, so any effort to call on God to damn another person is doomed to failure. I well recall a young seaman stationed at Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay. He was participating in a Bible study I was leading in the Outer Mission district of the city. One evening he told of some trouble he had encountered at work. His chief was a profane man known for always cursing, especially taking the Lord’s Name in vain. One day, the chief was especially profane, cursing an IBM Selectric typewriter that wasn’t performing as he wished.

Thinking quickly, the young seaman spoke up, saying, “Chief, when God answers your prayer, I hope we aren’t hit by the scatter.”

The brief statement was shocking to the chief, and he responded, “What do you mean?” Then, catching himself, he understood. He had been asking God to damn the typewriter, and if God were to answer his plea, the impact could devastate everything. The shrapnel would by flung far throughout the office.

I had something of a similar incident happen during my final year of graduate studies. A friend whom I had met in New York during my time at the Einstein College of Medicine had secured a post-doctoral position at the medical school in Dallas. Dave was a practising Jew, though he claimed not to really believe what he did. You need to know that Dave was rather profane, often cursing in an effort to emphasise whatever it was he was saying or to simply shock those who heard him speak.

One particular morning, as I listen to Dave speaking about his work, I casually commented, “Dave, I am really embarrassed.”

“Why are you embarrassed?” Dave inquired in response to my statement.

“You’ve prayed more in the last five minutes than I did all morning,” I responded.

“What do you mean? I haven’t prayed!” Dave exclaimed.

“Yes, you have been praying,” I said. “I’ve heard you call on the Name of Jesus Christ repeatedly. Not once have I heard you say, ‘Oh, Abraham,’ or ‘Oh, Isaac,’ or ‘Oh, Jacob.’ I have not heard you call on the name of Buddha or Mohammed or Confucius, but you have been calling on the Name of Jesus, the Anointed One of God continually. You’ve been praying more in the past five minutes than I did all morning.”