Monthly Archives: August 2012

Has the thought ever occurred to you that everyone would become Christian if only they truly understood what Christianity was about?  That if we could just really convince everyone that the Christian faith is truly centered on love, and that Jesus really came and died for all of us and rose from the dead, and promised eternal life in Heaven to those who believe—if people really got that—then surely no one would reject the Gospel.

I often feel that way.  And I do think it’s partially true that many people just do not have a proper understanding of the faith, and that’s largely our fault as members of the Body of Christ; and it needs to be rectified through the actions of our daily lives.

But still, we have to remember: Pride is not the same thing as ignorance.  Satan knew from the beginning who Jesus was; and that God planned to bring about salvation through Jesus.

Still:

“The dragon stood before the woman about to give birth, to devour her child when she gave birth”  (Revelation 12:4)

Satan hates Jesus.  So much so that from the moment it was revealed to Him that salvation would come through a man in history, he went to wait for the moment of Christ’s birth so that he could “devour him.”  He hates Jesus not because he doesn’t understand Jesus’ role in salvation.  He hates Jesus precisely because he understands, but refused to bow down and worship a man.

Think about it.  Satan fully realized the implications of his choice.  God, the creator of everything (including Satan), creates everything for a specific purpose.  Everything is created for a rightful end, its telos.  The goal of creation is to be united to God, the creator.  It logically follows that anyone that does not reach this proper end will not be completely and lastingly fulfilled (read: happy).  So God provides a way for creation to be united to Him; and that way is Jesus Christ.

When presented with the choice after God’s will is revealed to them, the options are clear in the intellect of the angels: Worship Christ, and be eternally fulfilled being united to God in Heaven; or refuse to worship Christ, and be eternally separated from God (read: unhappy, unfulfilled, Hell).

Again, Satan understood the implications of his choice.  But to worship a man was too much.  God should have done it a different way.

If that’s what it takes to be happy, well then I’d rather be miserable. 

Pride is not the same thing as ignorance— for Satan or for us.

This isn’t an excuse to give up on people and equate them with Satan.  On the contrary: it’s a reason to repent of our pride, and to pray that love of God may eradicate the prideful tendencies in the hearts of all people, so that through Jesus Christ we may all come to enjoy full and lasting fulfillment with God in the Kingdom of Heaven.

If you’ve noticed how hard it is to watch a movie or to turn on the TV for any significant amount of time without hearing the name of God being taken in vain…. well, then you are better off than I am.

In theory, I know that it’s a big deal to take the name of God in vain.  I know that as Christians we are supposed to have great respect and reverence for the Holy name of God; and we are never supposed to treat God’s name as if it were something common or, even worse, as something to be cursed.  Personally, I myself do not speak the name of God in vain.

But what I’m realizing lately is that I don’t exactly take notice or particular offense when others do, either.  And this is no good.

This became clearly apparent to me when my fiancé and I decided to check out a popular TV series on Hulu last week.  We ended up turning it off within the first 25 minutes, because in that brief amount of time the characters had already cursed God’s name three times (which was a shame, because it was an interesting show otherwise).  I wish I could say that my fiancé and I were both equally appalled by this, but the truth is that had Tyler not pointed it out, I probably wouldn’t have blinked.  I’ve become so desensitized to hearing God’s name be taken in vain that I hardly even notice when it happens.

So I have been thinking about how to rectify this.  On the one hand, we shouldn’t be looking for and/or anticipating the sins of others; but in the same breath, as members of the Body of Christ, it should pain us to hear the name of our God disrespected and spat upon.

My solution: A three-step check-list that might help you out if you’re like me and struggle in this area.

1. Pray

Pray for greater respect and reverence towards God’s name.  Try the Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus, or the Divine Praises, or simply and earnestly ask God for a greater love for His name.

We need to pray that we never forget that God is a Person (actually, three Persons) with whom we are called to be in relationship.  When we hear someone cursing the name of the one we love, what other logical response is there but to be pained by it?

 2. When God grants you the grace of noticing when His name is being disrespected, acknowledge and respond.

If it’s a TV show, turn it off right then and there.  If it’s a song, skip over it.  If it’s a friend in conversation, be so bold as to speak up in defense of God’s name, and ask kindly that he or she not insult you by belittling the name of God.

If we don’t acknowledge and take action, then it will remain commonplace for us to hear God’s name being slandered.  If we begin to acknowledge and take action, we’ll start to notice more and more.

 3. Pray

The point of seeking to become more aware is not so that we can be appalled and angry; it’s to yield a greater love and respect for God.  As we start to notice more often God’s name being disrespected, we have more opportunities to respond to God in love.  And that’s kind of the point of all of this anyway.