The Second Commandment
God's Second Commandment: You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. In the Jewish faith, this is the Third Commandment.
If we believe and follow the First Commandment, and respect God as our one true creator, we owe him respect according to his station. Before I go into the practicality of what this commandment calls us to do, I first want to speak of respect. There actually is a philosophy of language that explores the use and meaning of the words we use. Not to belabor a point, but you can understand the importance of words in translation. Our sources for the New Testament are in Greek, and translating the words accurately can make a great deal of difference as to the meaning. One classic example is our word for love which in Greek has several different permutations: agape/apgapao - unconditional regard, storge - parental, sibling love, eros - romantic love, and - philia /phileo (philadelphia-brotherly love) friendship love. Knowing which is inferred when we read about love in the bible is helpful knowledge. This philosophy of language has taken permutations from the time of Plato, as to what meaning a name signifies. A name can be construed as anywhere from just pointing to something to actually carrying something of the identity of what is named. Why does it matter? Respect for God’s name comes from the association that when we speak the name of God, we are saying something about him. Persons who may use the Lord's name in vain, may discount it and say, “It’s just a name, it doesn’t mean anything.” It is a mistake to take and use the name of God as if it is any other name. Because names hold meaning. Respect for God’s name is an expression owed the mystery of God himself and to the whole sacred reality it evokes (CCC #2144). It is hard to worship an imageless deity, and to have no name for such a deity is even more difficult to explain. Moses was given God's name-one common translation, "I am that I am." In Hebrew this is "YHWH." No one really knows the correct Hebrew pronunciation of this name. YHWH is the condensed form of the Hebrew words for 'was', 'is', and 'will be.' The Jewish faith held such revere for God’s name that it was only spoken by the high priest once a year in the Holy of Holies. It was not only a blasphemy to misuse it...was a sin to speak God’s name at all.
The Second Commandment calls us not just to be careful with our speech in using God’s name, but “the faithful should bear witness to the Lord’s name by confessing the faith without giving way to fear (CCC# 2145).” This means the Second Commandment implores us to not just NOT use the Lord’s name in vain, but profess his name as Lord from the mountaintops.
There are a few other caveats that go with this Second Commandment: It applies to the name of Jesus, Mary, and all the saints. It also forbids us from making promises in the name of God so as when they are broken, it doesn’t imply that it was God who deceived them. This commandment also forbids us from using God’s name to swear an oath we do not intend to keep. To invoke God’s name when you promise something means you are using God as a witness to your veracity. If you do not intend to keep that promise, you have sinned against this commandment.
Finally, it prohibits speaking ill of God either inwardly or outwardly. This is a sin many of us may have committed and not realized, when we are angry with God, we may curse him, defile, or be disrespectful to him. We may do it out of misdirected feeling, but using God’s name as if he was one of our associates here on earth, is not honoring him. And it is in this area of sin which we all have seen the Lord’s name be frequently used. It is blasphemy to use God’s name to promote your agenda. It is certainly blasphemous to use the name of God to justify violence but also to use his name to criticize persons and their behaviors. It is taking “what would Jesus do” out of the light of a positive action and passing judgment or condemning a person. I know of circumstances where a person who was a bit different or non-conventional, was made to feel unwelcome in our church by another, all under the auspices of supposedly knowing what God would like or not like. This commandment tells us to be very careful about pontificating God’s choices. Any claim that what we are suggesting is from God, is a sin.
Our Church feels very strongly that it is sinful to use God’s name inappropriately, but this commandment also warns us about misusing or besmirching the good name of another. We are to uphold the good name of another by mainly avoiding gossip. Another corollary comes from Jesus’ response to his own testing by the devil, do not test the Lord your God. There is a rabbinic teaching that states, “Do not stand in a place of danger and pray for a miracle, lest it not happen.” We often put ourselves in harm’s way expecting God will save us, that is a sin. Another interesting aspect of this commandment is that it tells us to not make God “look bad.” Any time we behave badly, we bring shame to our family, and the Body of Christ. There was little room in Jesus’ mind for hypocritical behavior- such as for us, attending Mass and then going out into the world and acting badly. Not striving to have your insides match your outsides is a sin against this commandment.