How to Avoid Committing the Unnoticed Blasphemy

Murder and rape are heinous crimes. But do you know that there is a more heinous crime committed in classrooms, in ordinary conversations and even in sending SMS (Short Message Service) or what some refer to as text messages?

It is the crime of blasphemy. It is a crime not against a human being but a crime against God himself.

Most people, even professed Christians, do not realize this, and ignorance of this fact is a major obstacle in spiritual development. It may even be the primary reason why in most of our churches of whatever denomination the spiritual life of their members is at a very low level. That is why I said it is an unnoticed blasphemy.

Blasphemy in the Classroom

A teacher scolds her student and says, “My God! Is that all you have learned today? Can you not do better?” This teacher may not realize she has blasphemed the name of God himself. If anyone reproves her for using the name of God in vain she may simply reply, “I did not mean to blaspheme God. I was just using an expression, used by almost anybody.”

That is the trouble, using the name of God in vain is done by almost anybody and so it has become so familiar that nobody thinks it is a crime against God.

Blasphemy in Conversations

In a conversation, we often hear of expressions like “Goddam good”, “O God, what did you do?”, “God damn you”, and so forth. Our ordinary conversation is seasoned with such expressions. And we don’t care. We think it is just a matter of words or sounds.

Blasphemy in SMS

I often receive SMS or text messages saying, “God bless you”. The intention is good. The sender of the text message is invoking God’s blessing upon me. But the way it is done, it is done in so ordinary a manner that I suspect it is merely a decoration in the text messages. It is not done in a reverential way, with fear of the name of God. The sender just presses some keys and off the message with the word “God” goes out of the cell phone to another cell phone.

If the enormity of the crime depends on the dignity of the person we wronged, then blaspheming God in these ways is indeed a very great crime, greater than murder and rape which are inflicted only on human beings.

So the question comes: How do we avoid committing this unnoticed blasphemy? Here are the steps.

Steps to Avoid Blaspheming God

First, do not localize your God. Do not think that he is up there in the clouds. Do not think that he is inside the church building. The Spirit of God is everywhere. I know some will object to this statement. But what I just want to emphasize is that you do not localize your God, you do not pin him down to a certain place. God is greater than all the worlds, all the universes, galaxies that we know or can ever discover.

Secondly, do not materialize your God. Do not think of him as a bearded father up there somewhere. He is father but not in the manner of our human fathers. He is father because he is the source of all, just as our father is our human source. But he does not look like us, with a physical body.

Thirdly, be aware that God is greater than all that there is, and is present in all that we think, say and do. This awareness ought to give you a sense of reverence for him. By reverence I mean fearsome respect, not servile fear, but an awareness of his immensity.

Fourthly, when you catch yourself blaspheming God by using his name in vain, as in conversations or when you are surprised or excited, say a prayer for pardon. The Spirit will sooner lead you to reverence the name of God in your conversations.

Fifthly, when you hear of others using the name of God in vain, bow your head and quietly say the first petition in the Our Father, “Holy be your name” or “Hallowed be thy name” or “May your name be ever honored,” whatever translation of the Our Father you are using. This is to counteract the blasphemy which you have just heard.

These steps are very simple and very doable. If you want to progress farther in your spiritual journey, you need to honor God’s name.

A word of explanation is in order. You may have noticed that I do not capitalize the pronouns which refer to God. I do this on purpose in full obedience to the Lord. He does not want pronouns referring to him to be capitalized, at least in my usage. For God, every word is sacred, for he is Word. Grammarians have put a rule to capitalize pronouns referring to the divinity. It is merely a human rule. You will not find this rule in the Scriptures.

And now may you be one of those who give due respect to the name of God and because of this may you come closer to him and enjoy him more.

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http://bit.ly/spiritworld for knowing more about spirituality or spiritual realities

http://bit.ly/alterhealthcare for your health

http://bit.ly/novotrends for learning about the new trends around us

http://bit.ly/bepaidonline for earning some income from the Internet

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