"You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God."
When I think of the second commandment, I typically think about not using God's name to curse or swear. Luther names this as wrong in his explanation. Or, I think of not using God's name in a flippant or casual manner, "in vain," as an older translation suggests. But today's devotion takes this commandment to an even deeper level, using the name of God to justify acts of violence against others. Historically, and sadly, this has been done not only by certain Muslims, but by certain Christians as well against other groups of people like the Jews. Luther's own legacy is tainted by this in his later life. So, today let us ask for God's forgiveness whenever we have used God's name and our religious convictions to put down or harm other people, who are also children of God. Instead, let us use God's name to "call on, pray to, praise, and give thanks to God." By so doing, we follow the true meaning of the second commandment.
Yes...Luther was not perfect.
ReplyDeleteThe prayer in the devotion book is an important one for us to repeat regularly: "Gracious God, we call on your name in love, in hope, in thanksgiving, in supplication. WHEN YOUR NAME IS USED TO PROMOTE HATRED, USE US TO ENACT LOVE"