“My God!” More often than not that is the explosive invective when one is startled by something good or bad.
Increasingly our society speaks with brave daring-do defying and trivializing God. Why don’t they say “Oh Zeus” or “Oh Einstein”? It seems to be the heart of man will swear by the strongest thing he can think of to give words emphasis.
The unplanned exclamation “Oh God” proves the basic awareness in the core of man that there is, indeed, a sovereign God.
Invoking the name of God to damn someone is taking the Lord’s name in vain, but so is wrongly quoting Him and falsely claiming His authority. I think vain repetition in prayer comes close to profanity no matter how lofty the prose.
What started as a vengeful request—perhaps an honest but misguided prayer-- for God to damn someone or something to hell has become no more than a dramatic invective. Originally it may have been an attempt to strike fear into the heart of the target, but it is now diluted to be just ugly rhetoric.
Frail humankind use “Hell” like they are not afraid of it.
“Hell of a good time.” What sense does that make?
The devil loves to have people pretend he and his domain are mere fiction—not the hideous reality they are.
Using culturally taboo words is a way to show you fear nobody—man or God. In reality you are revealing your own insecurity and lack of communication skills or you would not have to appeal to the forbidden to communicate forcefully what concise words in a well constructed sentence could do. Exhibit A: why is poetry so revered?
“A word fitly spoken…”
Consider what inane, profane words do to The One who is called The Word. Certainly it grieves the heart of Jesus. It is the devil’s device to demean the One Who defeated him on the cross.
Words are building blocks in the construction of relationships. What builder chooses to use inferior or harmful bricks to erect a building?
If I use words to destroy you and you use words to destroy me we both lose. If we edify each other with Godly words we both win.
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