Taking God’s Name In Vain

Exodus 20:7  “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.”
This is one of the more well-known portions of Scripture, mainly because it is one of the 10 Commandments.  Most people refer to this passage as using God’s name when cursing.  However, it does not say, “Thou shalt not use the name of the Lord thy God in vain.”  It does not say, “Thou shalt not use the name of the Lord thy God as a curse word.”  While it is true that we should never use the most powerful name in a cursing manner, I believe the meaning goes way beyond that.

To start with, we need to look at the people group to whom this was written.  Was it written to the believers or unbelievers?  This passage was part…