The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1956-06-14
One Man Looks
At God
CBy Charles w. Carlson, Pastor,
St. Marks Evangelical Lutheran
Church, Oakland MarylandD

To continue our series of articles
on the Ten Commandments, we
consider this week the Second
Commandment. recorded in EN-
odus POT: you shall not take the
name of the Lord in vain; for the
Lord will not hold him guiltless
who takes His name in vain"
The other day, as | was sitting
in the barbershOp. man used the
name of the Lord in vain some
nineteen times in conversation
with the barber that did not last
Imore than about three minutes.
don't know whether or not he was
aiming at setting record in this
event or not but l think he came
pretty close to doing just that, He
seemed to be an eVerage man,
dressed in clean clothing, and from
the conversation, he seemed to be
a part of some sort of travelling
construction crew At any rate,
from the experience that | have
had with working men. on the rail-
road as a brakeman-the sewer
/ pipe factory as a wheel-barrow
pusher-a ditch-digger on con-
| struction gang-and as a member
of the millwright's bull gang" at
a steel mill-he was typical. There
seems to be a feeling among men
who work at hard labor for their
living that to be able to ''cuss a
blue streak" is a very important
part of proving their strength and
manliness. And this feeling is of
course not limited to laboring men
there are plenty of doctors and
lawyers who excel at profanity
1 Nor is it limited to men, for | have
! known women who have been as
skilled as any ditch-digger at be-
fouling their mouths with the filth
of gutter language.
My first reaction to this type of
language is that it is a lack of in
telligence on the part Of the per-
son who uses it. More than any
other way, the ignorance of a per-
son is displayed by the way they
use the language of their nation,
and their inability to express them
selves in any other way than in
filth shows that they have the men
tality of d four year old.
Many times also, l have had the
experience of some person using
the Lords name in vain and then,
noticing that | was around, eXcus-
| ing themselves to me. AS l have
said many times, You don't have
to worry about me, though | hate
to hear my Lords name taken in
vain. you will not have to answer
to me for the sin. You had better
worry about what God thinks when
YOU take His name in vain" The
answer to this question is clearly
indicated in the phrase THE Lord
will not hold him guiltless who
takes His name in vain"
The sign of true manliness is not
in how we'll a person can swear, but
in how closely a person is willing
to follow his Lord Taking the
Lords name in vain is not just a
matter of swearing, but it is mat
ter of how we live When we live
in and for ourselves, we are mis-
using the purposes of God when
He created us.
We can also misuse the Lords
name by praying to Him and ask
ing that our will be done. Wher
we worship God, pray to Him, OF
address Him in any way other thar
with the spirit of following His
will, we have been taking His name
in vain. For He is not ours to con
troll, He is not just our servant, He
is our Lord, and as such He is il
control, not we.
At any rate call upon the name
of the Lord often, but don't make
the mistake that is made by the
person who says, after using the
Lords name in vain, "Oh, did moi
mean anything by it, Use His
name and mean it, and in meaning
to use it for your service by ask
ing for His guidance, not for YOU