I cringe overtime I hear the phrase, “OMG!” But, I hear it almost every single day.`
“OMG, I love your sweater!” or “OMG, those are the BEST brownies in the world!”
Women, of all people, are notorious for using this irreverent phrase. And let me be the first to say that moms should really, really stop saying “OMG!” Want to know why? Sure, let’s chat about it!
Most people are familiar with the ten commandments, right? Whether you’ve been a born-again Christian for many years or you’re not a Christian but live in a semi-religious country, you can most likely name at least two of the 10 commandments that God gave Moses when he was on Mt. Sinai.
Let me ask you this, is murder wrong? Is stealing wrong? What about lying? Is adultery a sin? Is coveting wrong? The honest and moral answers to those questions is a simple “yes.”
But all those wrong-doings are forbidden in the ten commandments. Now, let me just get side-tracked for a moment and mention that there are many, many more commandments in the Bible. But, the ten commandments give us a good, basic overview of what we should and shouldn’t do. The ten commandments is a good place to start. But, do you know what else is listed in the ten commandments?
In case you want to look up the ten commandments yourself and give them a read, they’re found in Exodus chapter 20.
And if you read down to verse 7, you’ll find the words that say this:
“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.”
An honored leader is someone that deserves respect. Think about presidents, prime ministers and kings. Do people go around and use their names flippantly? Do people slap President Obama on the back and say, “What’s up, Barack?!”
But, sadly in today’s culture we have lost respect for leaders and authority in our life — but especially for God.
God, our creator, is in a much higher position that any prime minister, president or king — yet we use his name as an expression or expletive, instead of only using it when we are referring to Him in a reverent way.
As our culture tries to make God more personal, they often tend to smear His holiness, majesty and power in with man’s depravity. We soon forget how powerful and wonderful He is and how little and unworthy we are.
Dear mom, let’s be an example and only use God’s precious name when we are knelt in prayer or are teaching our children about His Holy word.
I know it’s a tough habit to break.
When I first became a Christian, I was told I talked like a “valley girl.” I said “like” about a hundred times in one dialogue and also almost every expression had “OMG” in it.
But, the very next day after I trusted Christ to wash away my sins, I was careful about His name. I did say “OMG” again — and again. But each time, I was pricked in my heart that I was using my heavenly Father’s name in a dishonoring way. Within a few weeks, that expression was completely exterminated from my vocabulary.
Are you an expressive, chatty mom? Then it’s especially difficult to part ways with this expression. Ask God to help you to only use His precious name when you’re speaking of Him. Psst! I’ll tell you a secret. God is probably already reminding you and pricking your heart about using His name in vain, but other things in your life maybe preventing you from hearing His voice.
The God of heaven is the one true King, the Creator of the Universe and the Savior of the world. His name is worth more than a thousand words — but may I use it most sparingly unless I am praising his name, thanking Him for His goodness or telling others salvation through His Son Jesus Christ.
Dear mom, next time you want to shriek because you’re so elated about a surprise trip to the Grand Canyon, cover your mouth and think of a more appropriate phrase to use like:
- Wow!!
- What?!
- Amazing!
- Really?
- Oh my grief!
- Are you serious?
- Whoa! That’s awesome!
And most of all, don’t forget that last part of verse 7 that tells us that God will not hold us guiltless if we use His name in vain. That’s serious stuff. So, yes, moms, it is serious if you say,”OMG!” Just don’t do it.
Have you struggled with this expression? How did you finally stop saying it? Did you replace it with any other expression? Does the expression “OMG” bother you? Chat with us about it on social media!