The Deadly Dullness that Results from the
Vain Use of God’s Name
A
Reflection on Hallowing God’s Name
T.V.
is killing us. It is killing our minds
and our ability to think and learn. Who
wants to read about the Life of David Brainerd when you can watch the life of
Raymond Barone?
It
is killing our creativity. Why paint a
landscape or write a poem when you can be watching American Idol?
It
is killing our love for holiness. People
who love God and purity are
resented as uptight, backward and prude; those who love a good time are so 21st
century and cool. Which would you rather
be?
It
is killing our families. Why spend time
together talking or playing or praying when we can gather together and watch
the newest installment of Survivor?
But
truly, in the end, as bad as these things are, they are not the worst thing
that TV is doing to us. If this was all
that TV did we could flee from it to a safe place and a safe person. We could find refuge and strength and
holiness and creativity and love as we draw near to our great God. But—and here is the real problem—where do we
flee when TV is killing our awe of God, so that He is no longer great in our
eyes?
If
you do not think that TV is doing this, then take a few minutes with me to explore
a passage in Leviticus. By way of
warning, it is a passage that most modern Americans find abhorrent and even
Evangelicals would like to distance themselves from.
Now an Israelite
woman's son, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the people of
[13] Then the Lord spoke to Moses,
saying, [14] "Bring out of the camp
the one who cursed, and let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and
let all the congregation stone him.” (Lev.
24:10-14)
This
story raises two questions which I will try to answer: 1) Why such a harsh punishment for what
appears to be a minor crime? 2) And most important for our discussion, why do
those who heard the young man blaspheme and curse have
to lay their hands on him before he was stoned?
As
believers we know that every sin is deserving of death. Yet not all sins require physical death as a
legal sentence or punishment. God, himself,
makes clear that earthly punishment must fit the crime committed. Believe it or not the story of the Egyptian
who blasphemes is interrupted by God’s command to human courts that the
punishment must fit the crime:
"Whoever takes a
human life shall surely be put to death.
[18] Whoever takes an animal's life shall make it good, life for
life. [19] If anyone injures his
neighbor, as he has done it shall be done to him, [20] fracture for fracture, eye for
eye, tooth for tooth; whatever injury he has given a person shall be given to
him. [21] Whoever kills an animal shall
make it good, and whoever kills a person shall be put to death. [22] You shall have the same rule for the
sojourner and for the native, for I am the Lord your God." [23] So Moses spoke to the people of
If
the punishment is to fit the crime then is God not telling us that blaspheming
His Name is a greater crime than most of us imagine? Though all sin is an attack on God’s glory,
falling short of giving God the glory that is rightfully His (Romans 3:23), is
not some sin more heinous in God’s sight than others?
The
Westminster Larger Catechism teaches us “All transgressions of the law of God
are not equally heinous;
but some sins in themselves, and by reason of several
aggravations, are more heinous in the sight of God than others.” One of the aggravations that is mentioned is
that some sin is more grievous than others depending upon the “parties
offended: if immediately against God,
his attributes, and worship” then the crime is of greatest blame. All sin is an attack on God, but some sin,
such as blasphemy, is a direct assault on God and His glory.
To
seek to harm the President of the
The
second question asked above, though perhaps not as obvious as the first, is of
great importance to us: why do those who
heard the blasphemy have to lay their hands on the offender before he is
stoned? Some may already know that in
the Old Testament people commonly laid hands on different sacrifices signifying
the transfer of their guilt to the animal about to be slain. But what guilt would the hearers of the
blasphemy incur? Surely it is only the
blasphemer who is guilty in this sin?
Gordon Wenham provides some helpful insight, “Blasphemy brings guilt
upon those who hear it as well as on the blasphemer himself. To rid themselves of guilt the hearers had to
lay their hands on the blasphemer’s head.
His subsequent death thus atoned for his own sin and
the hearers” (J. Gordon Wenham, Leviticus, pg. 187).
How
can this be? How can I be guilty for
simply hearing something that I may very well have not wanted to hear? The answer appears to be that the hearing of God’s
name blasphemed or used in vain—in an empty manner—affects us. It does something to us that is not good.
This
is where we return to our original topic, the deadly dullness that comes from
hearing God’s name profaned over and over and over. You cannot watch T.V. long without repeatedly
hearing really cool and beautiful people say, “Oh, my God!” Count the number of times that you hear it in
a Friends episode. You will be
surprised. And the fact that you are
surprised is the problem. You hear God’s
name used vainly so often that you have become desensitized to it. What at one time may have greatly offended is
now a matter of indifference, and that indifference is our crime.
“Think
of it this way. When for the very first
time a child hears something bad about his or her parents, the initial reaction
is defensiveness. But when the child
hears negative things time and time again, her reaction goes numb. We take such criticism more calmly and
thereby suffer a great moral loss.”
“Or how about this?
When our political leaders are constantly criticized in the press, in
the talk shows, on late-night television, we get accustomed to hearing bad
things about them. We stop reacting
negatively, and our leaders gradually lose credibility in our eyes . . . . It’s
insidious really, isn’t it?” (Abraham Kuyper, Near
Unto God, pg. 142).
It
is. Probably much more than any of us
realize. When we hear God’s name
constantly misused, the result in our own hearts is that we begin to become
dulled or indifferent to the greatness of our God. God is brought down in our sight,
disparaged. And therein lies our sin. We, who should want to hallow the name of our Father above all
else, who realize that our greatest need is to know and delight in the
greatness of God, begin to lose our awe of God. There is no greater loss that we can suffer.
What
do we do? Let me make two
suggestions: First, stay away from the
T.V. as much as possible. I know that
some might accuse me of legalism on this point and that’s fine. The Bible nowhere says, “Thou Shalt Not View Television,” but it does say, “whatever you
do, do [it] all to the glory of God” (I Cor.
Second,
when we hear God’s name profaned, when God’s glory is belittled before us, our
reaction should not just be confirmation, “That is awful!” It should also be confession, “I’m sorry. Forgive me, Lord.” If our greatest duty is to love and adore the
greatness of God, then our greatest sin is to do or take part in or listen to
anything that keeps me from loving and adoring Him more.
Father,
help us, that our hearts might not become dull or indifferent to Your greatness and glory.
Forgive what our tongues have spoken or what our ears have heard. Let us more deeply know You
that we may more dearly adore You. Amen.
James