Larry was late for his job interview. Tongue hanging over the side of his jaw, he panted heavily as he pounded up the stairs to reach the CEO's office.
The CEO was an elderly tom cat who didn't seem to mind Larry's tardiness. He bade the dog sit and offered him a drink.
"Thanks..." Larry read the nameplate on his potential boss' desk: "Jake Tibbs" "...Mister Tibbs."
"Let's get right to it, then." said Mr. Tibbs, glancing at the watch on his paw. "Why should I hire you?"
Larry took some dog biscuits out of his pocket and crunched as he spoke. "Well, you've wead my wesume. I fink 'at (crunch crunch) I gould thafe you a wot of money wif my ideath."
"Yes, a very impressive resume. I see you were a manager at Bones R us for six months."
Larry lit a cigarette. It smelled absolutely foul. "And I was senior closer at hydrant world." he added as he went over to Mr. Tibb's refrigerator and helped himself to a cup of milk. As he did so, he was dialing a number on his cell phone.
The cat was getting annoyed, but continued patiently. "In the job you're applying for, you'll need to be able to work well with people. Can you work well with people?"
"Oh sure! I get along great with people. In fact I..." walking back to his seat, Larry stubbed his toe on the desk and chipped a claw. A string of horriffic obscenities issued from his mouth, interspersed with something else. "JAKE DANGIT!" he shouted. "Oh, for the love of JAKE! FOUL FITH AND FILTH FOUL FOUL JAKE DIRT AND FILTH!"
Ears back and fur bristling, Mr. Tibbs rose to his feet. "Did you just use my name as a swear word?!" he demanded.
Larry assumed the aspect of a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming freight train.
"Lawrence, I cannot give you the job you've applied for. The disrespect you have shown me today tells me that I cannot trust you to work with people. However, I believe there is a position for you here in this office."
For the next five years, Larry made a living scooping Mr. Tibbs' litterbox.
Respect. It's a basic emotional need, and its fairly universal. People go to great lengths to get it. Some of us earn it with charity and kindness. Others try to win respect through fear. All of us get upset when we don't get it. Even someone who has brainwashed into believing that he is completely worthless is pleased when someone respects him.
Our desire for respect is by no means a bad thing. Respect is the basis of every healthy relationship. Parental, sibling, employment, friendship... Without respect, there can be only an abusive relationship. Respect must be there for a business partnership, a marriage, a friendship... even between a businessman and his client.
In these respects, God is no different from any one of us. Having the same emotions we do, God demands respect. It should come as no surprise. God is love. He desires a meaningful relationship with each of us. How can there be a meaningful relationship without respect?
Certainly, God respects us. That is not to say that He always HONORS us, or that if we oppose Him, he won't flatten us like plantain chips. But he is just, fair and good. He has given us free will and he allows us to do what we wish. Even if we say we do not want Him, he will respect our wishes and allow us to live without Him, to our own damnation. He forces nothing from us. He is not sadistic and does not harm any one of us without a very good reason. His arms are open to anyone who would approach Him for the duration of their entire lives. Even if King Herod the baby killer came to God with sincere repentance, God would have accepted him.
Do we treat God with the same respect He shows us?
Let's take a look at the third commandment.
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.It's a very simple request. Now if He wanted to, God could have demanded a lot more. He could have insisted that all of us prostrate ourselves six times a day and pray in the direction of the temple. He could have demanded excessive monetary tribute. He could demand ten years of slavery from each of us. He could. He's earned the right. He created us. He offers us salvation of our souls and has made us heirs to the universe. Nothing is too much for Him to demand as a show of respect. But what does he say here? He asks that we not abuse His name.
Personally, I find it odd that people would even think of doing so. When was the last time you heard anyone else's name used as a swear word? We don't even do that to our greatest criminals. When you hit your thumb with a hammer, how many of you shout "PHAROH RAMSES!" or "AL CAPONE!" or "BIN LADEN!"? I'd be surprised if any of you did. I think the closest anyone else has come to that kind of treatment is John Crapper.
Yet we hear "Oh God!" and "Jesus H. Christ!" every time someone gets charged too much on their phone bill. Why in the world would someone do that? Even when they're happy, they do it. So many times, I've been watching Extreme Makeover Home Edition, and one of the first things people do when they walk into their new home is exclaim "Oh my God!" Quite in contrast to those who actually take a moment to thank Him.
You wouldn't think of doing this to anyone else. Yet people who take the Lord's name in vain seem to think nothing of it. To them, it's just another way of speaking. But God doesn't think little of it. To Him, it is extremely offensive, and justifiably so.
The name of the Lord- any of His names or titles, really, is extremely precious. what's in a name? In the name of Jesus, there is power and glory. The name of our Lord has all the authority of the universe's originator. It is the name that makes demons flee. It is a name that we adore and the world fears. The hatred of the name of Jesus has spawned world wars. The love of it has built civilizations. It is an awesome thing, and it has been entrusted to us. We are told to pray in Jesus' name. We act in His name. We are even called by His title. "Christian" means "Little Messiah". Jesus' name is a precious gift. To me, it is unthinkable to miisuse such a gift.
Now in our story of Larry and Mr. Tibbs, it was using the name Jake as a curse word which brought the interview to an end. But Larry was disrespecting the CEO in other ways that got his hackles up.
When you've made an appointment to meet with someone, you spend that time paying attention to the one you're meeting with. You don't go making calls on your cell phone when you're supposed to be talking with the boss.
God could easily demand a huge chunk of our time to be spent in arduous labor and tedious ritualistic worship. He doesn't. He only asks us to take a day off once a week to focus on Him. It doesn't have to be hard work. It doesn't have to be tedious. In fact, it's supposed to be restful. God invites us to come into his house once a week to meet as a family.
Now I don't know how things work where you live, but at my house, we gather once a day around 5:00 to have dinner together. It is restful and refreshing. It is also a time to demonstrate love simply by enjoying one another's presence. What God asks of us is similar.
Exodus 20:8-11All we are required to do is take a break from our daily work and concentrate on our God, and allow others to do the same.
8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Now the Jewish Sabbath is on Saturday. We happen to gather on Saturday to worship as well. Some people will tell you that the Sabbath HAS to fall on a Saturday. This commandment never says that. Indeed, history has shown that God accepts Sunday every bit as readily as Saturday. Friday, too. Monday's also good. It really doesn't matter which day is your Sabbath as long as you use it to honor God.
That's also not to say that you're going to be condemned if you work on the same day you worship. Sometimes you have to. Take me- I'm working right now. I also deliver newspapers, a job which I must do every day. Kaninus delivers pizza. He NEEDS to work on Saturday nights. It is not disrespect to do a job that needs to be done. Jesus proved that when He healed on the sabbath. What IS disrespectful is to chase after profit and ignore God.
Today's challenge kind of goes without saying. It would be good for each of us to examine our habits to see whether we treat God with the proper respect by honoring His name and His day.
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Pastor Oren Otter
April 29, 2006
Today's reading:
Exodus 20:7-11
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.
8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.