Bill trashed the name of God with casual regularity. “GD” to him was normal language. His parents swore; his aunts and uncles swore; his school buddies swore. It wasn’t that anybody set out to abuse the name of God; it was just their cultural language. It came with the territory.
In all honesty, Bill was ignorant about God’s command. He meant nothing by it—and no one had ever said a word to him about his profanity. Bill was uninformed about the seriousness of using God’s name.
Then Bill met a genuine, authentic, honest believer whose life was consistent, a new friend deeply devoted to God. Bill liked hanging around with this guy and soon began to experience God’s accepting love through him. He was under conviction because the very God he cursed actually cared about him. But Bill’s resistance ran deep, and he responded to God’s gentle prodding by pushing back. He intentionally started offending his new Christian friend, notching up the profanity, looking for every opportunity to embarrass him.
But something began to happen to Bill. Each time he cursed the name of God, he became aware of the presence of the God he cursed. He realized that he was actually addressing God, provoking a response of presence. And Bill was softened by the exchange.
