Don't Be a Hypocrite

Don’t be a hypocrite
Jesus does not talk directly about saying “oh my god” or “oh my gosh”, but he does give us examples of other things in which we walk a fine line of defining what is sin.

27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’; 28 but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Matthew 5:27-28)

The concept during this time was that as long as a person did not directly violate the written word, he did not sin. Jesus tells us if we even think about committing a sin, it is a sin. If we take upon ourselves the teachings of Jesus and allow our mouths to profess words and phrases which mimic worldly or pagan ways—saying gosh, heck, jeepers, etc.— it is as if we are still uttering the words. If we want to free ourselves from the evils of speech, we should let our words be pure. We should avoid minced oaths such as oh my goodness, oh heavens, oh jeez, etc., and we should speak to glorify God in all that we say and do.

Do Not Judge
Another one of Jesus’ teachings is the rebuke to not judge others. It can be easy when we hear someone say something which we do not approve of to shake our heads and assume the person will receive condemnation for their words. However, we need to be careful. The way we judge another person is the same measuring stick which will be used to measure us.

“Do not judge, so that you will not be judged. 2 For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and look, the log is in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye! (Matthew 7:1-5)

Do we have perfect speech? Do you never say anything which harms another person? If we have less than perfect speech, we need to refrain from judging others about their speech.

If we hear others around us saying words we do not approve of, we should remain calm. We are not to be judges of others. Perhaps the other person does not believe uttering minced oaths or words which invoke God’s, Jesus’ or the Lord’s name mean anything. As we see from research, the letters “omg” to generation z and generation alpha have lost their meaning.

If another person’s speech bothers us, we have a few choices. We can ask the person if he/she would mind not using phrases which offend us. We can ask the person if he/she realizes what words are pouring forth from his/her mouth. We can pray for the person. Or, we can interject and turn the words into ones of praise and gratitude. If someone says, “Oh Jesus!” We can silently or say out loud, “Yes, thank You Jesus for making this a glorious day!” We can turn words which may be considered of no value into ones which bestow great blessing on the Creator of the universe.

Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. (Colossians 3:17)


How do the Jews observe the 3rd Commandment?
The classic interpretation of the third commandment is that the third commandment is referencing taking God’s name in an oath. We see this interpretation in Leviticus 24 where the Israelite blasphemed and cursed God. We also see a smilier occasion occur with Peter and His denial of Jesus. However, many Jewish scholars have taken the third commandment farther.

In the Book of Deuteronomy, taking oaths is also associated with fearing God’s name.

You shall fear only the Lord your God; and you shall worship Him and swear by His name. 14 You shall not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who surround you, 15 for the Lord your God who is in the midst of you is a jealous God; so follow Him, or else the anger of the Lord your God will be kindled against you, and He will wipe you off the face of the earth. (Deuteronomy 6:13-15)

You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him, and cling to Him, and you shall swear by His name. (Deuteronomy 10:20)

In Judaism, God’s personal name, the tetragrammaton is sacred. It is NEVER uttered. If a person is reading the text, the letter yud-hey-vav-hey are uttered as adonai. The word adonai is usually reserved only for Torah study and worship service. In general, the word adonai is not uttered in every day speech.

To reference God, many Jews will say the word “hashem”. This translates as the name. When writing, many Jews will not write God as G-o-d. Instead, they will write it as G-d. The word Lord is also spelled the same way L-rd.

Depending on the tradition, a Jew may or may not say the word God. A Jew may say the letters G-d to reference God or he may say the full name God.

God seems to be used more freely and loosely than the word hashem. Even among orthodox Jews, the word God seems to be widely accepted to use in every day language. Recently, I was listening to a n orthodox rabbi give a teaching. During the presentation, the rabbi said, “Oh my God!” as a speech exclamatory. The remark had nothing to do with his God, but everything to do with using the three words as a speech euphemism.

 “Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not make false vows, but shall fulfill your vows to the Lord.’ 34 But I say to you, take no oath at all, neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35 nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 Nor shall you take an oath by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. 37 But make sure your statement is, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil origin. (Matthew 5:33-37)