The Third Commandment

"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" (Exodus 20:7)

The Third Commandment focuses on respect. It addresses the way we communicate our feelings about God to others and to His. This includes our speech, attitudes and behaviour.

Respect itself is the cornerstone of any good relationship, and the quality of our relationship with God depends on the love we have for Him. It also depends on the way we show respect for Him in the presence of others. We are expected to always honour who and what He is.

Using God's name in a degrading or in any other disrespectful way shows an attitude of disdain toward Him. This includes misusing God's name in any way. A condition for having a close relationship with Him is that we represent Him sincerely, accurately and respectfully.

The most obvious way of breaking this commandment is by using profanities; using God's name in an abusive and vulgar way. Sadly, historically, most of mankind has failed to show God the respect that he deserves and as a result, the defiling of God's name and that of His Son Jesus is pretty much universal.

Many people who have heard a lot about God assume that they know Him and that they have an acceptable relationship with Him. Yet they have never learned how to respect Him. They demean and degrade Him by flippantly using His name all the time. They carelessly announce to all who listen that respect for God is simply not important to them, even though they may believe He exists. Even saying something like 'Thank God!' can break the commandment if God is not being truly thanked.