Sequel: A Little Child Shall Lead Them

None of us are perfect. We follow Jesus the best we can. We live a life seeking to please Him. But if we are wise, we learn to pray like the psalmist, "Cleanse thou me from secret faults" (Psalm 19:12). Then we hold on to our hat, because He will take us up on it, and the ride can be fast and furious.

My sweet mother-in-law once made a soft comment about my crying out, when something startled me, "Dear Jesus!"

"Do you not think that might be using the name of the Lord lightly?" she asked. I knew she was referencing the third commandment, the one that reads, "Thou shalt 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."

I love and respect my mother-in-law to the moon and back—but I honestly thought she was wrong. "I am not using it as an expletive," I defended myself. "It is a heartfelt short prayer crying out to God."

My godly mother-in-law said no more. But I am sure she prayed. How do I know? Fast forward a few years. I am teaching in a Christian school. Something happens in the classroom and I cry out, "Oh, my God!"

To me, it was a heartfelt cry to God. To my students, not so much.

Eyes wide in shock, one of my students blurted out, "Mrs. Tutor! We're not supposed to take the name of the Lord in vain!"

Oopsie. Big oopsie.

In a flash I saw that my "I didn't say it as an expletive" wouldn't cut it. Maybe that was my view but it was definitely not my students'. More importantly, what does God say on the matter? "Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend" (1 Corinthians 8:13).

There was nothing to do but answer meekly, "I'm sorry."

And that was the last time those words passed through my lips. Maybe I really did use those short words as a flash prayer—but perception of others does matter. "Abstain from all appearance of evil," says 1 Thessalonians 5:22.

So now I stand corrected. By a child, no less.

The name of the Lord is precious. In the days when scrolls were written by hand, when the Name of God came up in a text, the scribe would go to the Mikvah, ceremoniously cleanse himself, then return to the room containing the scroll (the scriptorium), get a new quill and then and only then write the Name. But that was Old Testament stuff, right? We're living in the New Testament.

Yes, but while it is true that the third commandment about showing reverence to God's name is in the Old Testament, Jesus clearly showed how it is still pertinent to the New Testament order. He said that the first great commandment was to love the Lord our God with all our being. The second was like unto it, to love our neighbor as ourselves. On those two commandments, He explained, hang all the commandments of the Old Testament (Matthew 22:37-40). The ten commandments might not be in the New Testament, but they help show us how the life we live should play out in everyday life, how the details of our life should look if we seek to fulfill our Savior's mandates.

For years now, due to some shocking incidents best left untold, Dennis and I have learned to google movies and shows before we watch them—just in case they fling God's Name around as a curse. Needless to say, in this day and age we watch very few movies. We aren't perfect by a long shot, but we do not want to be part of disrespecting our Lord.

We do love Him. We do respect Him. But now ... now I know there's something more I must do in climbing the ladder to His glory.

Thank you, Lord, for using the words of a little child to show me how to honor You more.

"A little child shall lead them," (Isaiah 11:12).

"Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me; and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I show the salvation of God" (Psalm 50:23).

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