Don't Quote Me

It wasn't long after my son started school that he came to me with the critical question of whether or not Santa Claus really exists. In my best fatherly spirit, and with a hint of scholarly depth, I discussed with him the origins of Santa Claus and the identification with Saint Nicholas, the 4th century bishop of Myra who gained a reputation for secret giving. Of course, he promptly went to school the next day and told his friends, "My dad said the real Santa Claus died over over 1600 years ago." Nice.


Sometimes it doesn't pay to be quoted.

Maybe that thought should cause us to take a second look at the ways we quote God. Like those times when we rip a passage of Scripture out its context and use it to get our way or prove our point. Or the times we so quickly and easily say, "God told me." It's amazing how often what God tells us seems to line up with what we wanted anyway. What about the times we "defend" God or His Church, but do so in a spirit that is less than Christlike? I can't help but think that there must be times when God winces and says, "Please don't quote me - I'd rather my name not be attached to this."

For people who claim to value the Ten Commandments as a critical foundation of faith, law, and society, we often do a good job of ignoring the spirit and intent of the words, "You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God." I grew up in a church culture where that simply meant you shouldn't use God's name as a curse word. Now that's true enough, but it's hardly the whole picture. The reality is, whenever we knowingly invoke, attach, or apply God's name to something that does not reflect His character, we misrepresent Him and wrongfully use His name. Like a fake Rolex watch, we put a genuine name on something that is not genuine.

So when I twist Scripture to fit my own agenda, I'm attaching a "God said so" to something that is not so. When I easily and carelessly say "the Spirit led me," when in reality it was my own desire leading me, I have turned His name into a disingenuous stamp of approval. And when we call ourselves the followers of Jesus, and take that name upon ourselves, but choose not reflect His character and spirit in the people that we are, we misrepresent and misuse the very name we claim to honor.

Day by day, in what I do, in what I say, in the person I am becoming, I am in a very real way quoting God. I pray that I will see the many ways that, in my weakness, I misquote Him. But more than seeing, I pray for the grace to respond to those failures with humility, genuine repentance, the necessary apologies, and with gratitude for the amazing love and patience of my God. My heart tells me that's the kind of response God is willing to attach His name to - but don't quote me.