The name of our Lord Jesus Christ is dragged through the mud every day. Is it any wonder that our kids grow up with a warped view of Jesus and what He did on the cross?
My son and I were in line at Costco when we heard Jesus Christ’s name shouted out in a very profane way. Instinctively I turned to see where it came from. One of the cashiers was laughing with a customer and he did it again. My heart started beating and I knew I had to say something. “Are you sure Lord?” I asked silently. His response was simple, “It’s My Name.”
I smiled at my cashier, Roma, and said, “I don’t know if you’re the one I should talk to, but one of your cashiers just used Jesus’ name in a very profane way. I’m a follower of Jesus and it’s deeply offensive when the employees of a business I patronize use His name like that.”
Roma was gracious, “Oh,” she replied, “You have to understand, it’s just a word.”
“Unfortunately,” I replied, “Christians have let it become ‘just a word’ by not standing up for it. But it’s not just a word, Roma. Jesus is the name of my Savior and God and it hurts me deeply to see Him degraded. Why is it okay to take my Savior’s name in vain when we would never use the names of Mohammed or Buddah in such a way?”
Roma looked at me wide eyed and put her hands in the air. “Lord,” her voice was soft and sad, “Forgive me. I’ve done it myself!”
I talked with a manager who was completely unimpressed with my convictions but said she would let her team know to refrain from using Jesus’ name on the job. As we walked out of the store my son said, “Well mom, one lady got it and one lady didn’t.” More importantly to me–my son got it!
You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse His name. –Exodus 20:7 (NLT)
Bless you Kathy! And bless Sir Reepicheep. What a man he is!!
Just so you know, every time I am in a store and see an uncovered Cosmo Magazine, I turn it around, just like I learned from you. Then I look for the nearest cashier, so that we can have a little chat about the visual assault of children(and everyone else) in their stores. Just like I learned from you. Aren’t we a scary sight to see-a-comin for the grocers of our towns 🙂
I love it! Can you imagine what a difference we could make if all moms would help grocery store managers see the importance of protecting our children from the sexually driven pictures that line the check out lanes?