In Vain

Gospel: Matthew 7: 21-29

"Not everyone who says to me 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven."

We have come to believe that taking the name of the Lord in vain is in using it in a cussing action or as a swear word.  To be sure that is not a good way to use God's name, but it is hardly what Jesus meant and not at all what the ancient prohibition entails.  We take God's name in vain when we attribute our will to be God's will, when we claim an action is God's will when it is in fact just the opposite, when we perform actions for our own glory but attempt to pretty them up with vain appeals to God's name.

Consider: to drive out demons, to prophesy, and to perform mighty deeds are good things, but not if they are done with our own glory, fame, and wealth in mind.  How often do we find the charlatans of religion do these things for profit and fame, using God's name as a prop in a circus show.  How often do we find the false prophets of religion use God's name to justify unspeakable acts of war, genocide, maltreatment of the poor, vulnerable, and marginalized.  This is taking God's name in vain!

If we wish to honor God's name and do God's will, let us love others and extend mercy to those in need.  Let us protect the poor and vulnerable, house and feed the homeless and hungry, shelter and care for the stranger, clothe the naked, heal the sick - all because we see Christ in others, because we see in others the image of God, all because this was the work of the Lord Jesus on earth, the work we are called to do as his disciples.