Taking God's Name in Vain
Dueteronomy 5:11 - 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.
Growing up, I was always instructed to never use God's name in the sense of using curse words of which I totally agree because cursing is not my method of communication. However, I feel that it goes beyond cursing. Taking the Lord's name in vain actually refers to "misusing" his name in any form of communicating.
Most of us who grew up in the pentecostal experience know people submitt to and are sometimes manipulated by a person who says to them "God said or God told me to tell you". Please understand that this is in no way an attempt to minimize or squash the prophetic gift that one has been given. I just feel one should be careful in this area that they are not "misusing God's name".
I believe that God use men and women as his mouthpiece to convey his heart. However, to be totally honest, I've also had encounters that have caused me to put up walls in this regard because when I examined what was being said, it was simply "not true" and God more than anyone knew that before their words were ever uttered. I've always been careful not to respond in a harsh manner because I also know that some are learning to exercise the gift within and there are times they will simply miss it. You don't ever want to shatter the confidence one has established in obeying God. But on the otherhand, I've witnessed lives shattered and know of individuals who have turned their backs on God, because of this very thing. My biggest dissappoinment was knowing personally individuals having this gift that could "see" clearly into the lives of others and couldn't "see" into their own or they made personal decisions based on "God said" of which a blind man could have told them, it was not so.
I don't know if this has ever been discussed in this forum, but it is needed and is delicate in every respect. Its no longer confined to a few, but has spread throughout many religious organizations. In my opinion, one on one instruction and mentorship is seriously needed. Especially by leadership to those who say they have this gift. Is it because that call may not be on the lives of some leaders, so they don't know how to lead them, they don't acknowledge their gift or are alot of these individuals just "lone rangers"? It has to be addressed because it could seriously cause problems in a church.
I'm humbly asking for your biblical as well as spiritual insight on this topic because I really would like a better way of dealing with this from a personal prospective. Who knows, maybe this is God's way of getting me to deal with tearing down this wall. I am truly open for change.
Growing up, I was always instructed to never use God's name in the sense of using curse words of which I totally agree because cursing is not my method of communication. However, I feel that it goes beyond cursing. Taking the Lord's name in vain actually refers to "misusing" his name in any form of communicating.
Most of us who grew up in the pentecostal experience know people submitt to and are sometimes manipulated by a person who says to them "God said or God told me to tell you". Please understand that this is in no way an attempt to minimize or squash the prophetic gift that one has been given. I just feel one should be careful in this area that they are not "misusing God's name".
I believe that God use men and women as his mouthpiece to convey his heart. However, to be totally honest, I've also had encounters that have caused me to put up walls in this regard because when I examined what was being said, it was simply "not true" and God more than anyone knew that before their words were ever uttered. I've always been careful not to respond in a harsh manner because I also know that some are learning to exercise the gift within and there are times they will simply miss it. You don't ever want to shatter the confidence one has established in obeying God. But on the otherhand, I've witnessed lives shattered and know of individuals who have turned their backs on God, because of this very thing. My biggest dissappoinment was knowing personally individuals having this gift that could "see" clearly into the lives of others and couldn't "see" into their own or they made personal decisions based on "God said" of which a blind man could have told them, it was not so.
I don't know if this has ever been discussed in this forum, but it is needed and is delicate in every respect. Its no longer confined to a few, but has spread throughout many religious organizations. In my opinion, one on one instruction and mentorship is seriously needed. Especially by leadership to those who say they have this gift. Is it because that call may not be on the lives of some leaders, so they don't know how to lead them, they don't acknowledge their gift or are alot of these individuals just "lone rangers"? It has to be addressed because it could seriously cause problems in a church.
I'm humbly asking for your biblical as well as spiritual insight on this topic because I really would like a better way of dealing with this from a personal prospective. Who knows, maybe this is God's way of getting me to deal with tearing down this wall. I am truly open for change.
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