The Words of The Mouth

I wanted to write today about ways to express ourselves that bring honor, and not dishonor, to the Lord. The Bible says in Matthew 12:46, "But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment." SO we're each going to give an account of ourselves to the Lord one day.  So we need to be mindful of the words and expressions we use. There are many (professing) Christians are dishonoring God with their choice of words, making them very poor ambassadors for Christ.

A whole new generation of people are using God's name in vain, as though it were meaningless and they won't be held accountable. They use his holy name to express anything from surprise, joy and amazement to frustration, disappointment and sadness. Some insert filthy words along with it. Even though it has been reduced to initials (OMG) the intent is the same. They aren't trembling now, but they will one day. Such a frightening thought.
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. Exodus 20:7
What about those who say that when they use OMG, they really just mean "Oh my goodness". They might think God sees their heart so they're not worried about it.  But are they off the hook....because God sees their heart? For one thing, goodness is godliness. When the rich young ruler said "Good Master" Jesus said there is only ONE who is good — GOD (Jesus himself).  So even this is an inappropriate expression as well as unnecessary, because there are many other words available to use.
All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the Lord weigheth the spirits. Proverbs 16:2
Human nature makes us all want to fit in. The Lord calls us sheep and that is a fitting description. But even though we're sheep, we can still honor the Lord. Loudly, quietly, steadfastly faithful to him. He gives us the strength to do so.

I suggest Christians start bucking that trend and using our freedom of speech to bring honor to the Lord and shame to the devil and his children. There are many words of exclamation to express our surprise, joy, frustration, etc.

You know the people who win the tv contests, game shows, and the people who open their eyes for a home improvement reveal? They all say OMG.

How about the next time someone near you says "OMG", you respond with, "Holy is his name!" I actually did this the other day in a store when a woman in the same aisle as me was on her cell phone. I overheard her say "OMG" to the person on the other end of the line. I had been thinking about responding this way for a long time and next thing I knew it just spilled right out of my mouth. (Out of the treasure of the heart the mouth speaks!) The woman didn't hear my response, but God did.

Many people use pseudo-cuss words (words derived from Holy names of God) and don't even realize it. Such as:

Gee (form of/short for Jesus)
Geez (form of/short for Jesus)
Gee-Whiz (form of/short/pseudo for Jesus)
Dagnabbit (mixes up sounds for d*mn and God)
Doggonit (mixes up sounds for d*mn and God)
Holy Cow (reference to Old Testament animal sacrifice for sin)
Oh my goodness (only God is good; at the very least, a description of God)

Do we need to use these stupid yet common forms of expression? Certainly with one voice at a time, we can stop the trend of dishonoring/blasphemous utterances and bring some dignity back to the English language. Let's communicate our emotions and reactions in an intelligent and God honoring way. :)

Here are just a few examples:

Wow
Super
Terrific
Isn't that something!?
Just brilliant!
Who'd have thought?
That's amazing
That's fantastic
How wonderful
I'm just amazed
What fabulous news
Incredible
Wonders will never cease
Words fail me
That is disappointing
How sad
Oh dear
I'm so distraught
I'm sorry to hear that

I think that we as Christians should not remain silent anymore when others around us speak God's name in vain. To respond with "Holy is His Name" is neither a rebuke nor a comment. It's praising the Name of the Lord. If a stranger wants to inquire about it, it's an invitation to share the gospel with a lost soul. Let's be ready to Praise His Name. He's coming back soon! :-)

What do you think? Do you have any expressions to add to my list? Are you silent when you hear a casual OMG said around you?

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