Is OMG AOK?

 

Perhaps the most-heard exclamation of surprise, fear, pain, joy, wonder, and/or sarcastic disbelief is the three-word phrase, "Oh my god."

Those of you who just bristled at even reading those words to yourself probably base your discomfort and disapproval on Exodus 20:7, commonly called the Third Commandment and expressed in the King James Version as "Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain."

The thing is...God's name is not "God".

In our English-language translations of the Bible, when the word "Lord" or "God" is printed in all capital letters, it stands in for God the Father's actual, literal name, expressed in English letters as YHWH and commonly pronounced Yahweh or Jehovah.

So the Third Commandment is actually, "Thou shalt not take the name of Yahweh thy God in vain." Or as The Message paraphrase puts it, "No using the name of Yahweh, your God, in curses or silly banter."

"God" is a title, not a name. It would be like saying, "Oh my President," or "Manager! That hurts!"

Sounds a little silly, doesn't it?

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Truth is...I'm not saying I'm okay with the silly banter of "OMG" and all the other uses of the word "god" that most folks consider to be swearing. Just because it doesn't break the 3rd commandment doesn't make it acceptable. It certainly doesn't express an abundance of respect for Yahweh, who holds that title in a deeper, more meaningful sense than any other entity, real or imagined.

"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."

(Ephesians 4:29 NIV)