Question
Hi gramps!
Is saying “Thank God” taking the Lord’s name in vain? I tried to do some research on this; I came up with that “in vain” means using it as a swear or without thinking of the Lord, such as in omg, or using it to promote something unholy “in his name”. But I found no specifics on using “Thank God”. Since I am a Christian, who uses it in the context of being grateful for a situation, which is always to God because he has a hand in all things, as long as I have the Lord in mind, is it ok?
Lorelai
Answer
Lorelai,
The use of the phrase “in vain” (in this context) has two meanings.
- Having no meaning or intent — especially having no “holy” intent or meaning when taking the Lord’s name in vain.
- Having no authority to back up the claim
Your question is primarily about the first one, so I’ll address that here.
The common phrase “Thank God”, unfortunately, is used in vain far too often. What I mean by this is that the person saying it is not really speaking to God or about God at all. As such, it “has no meaning or intent to invoke thoughts of the Almighty.” If one is actually, really, literally, giving thanks to God or encouraging such by uttering that phrase then it is NOT taking His name in vain. So, the intent behind the phrase is what is the determining factor.
Can you imagine the situation when a family is waiting for medical test results and they find out that the patient is going to survive? Certainly, those who care would be giving thanks to the Lord for such a blessing. This is not in vain. It is actually a short prayer.
But all too often, people say such a phrase for trivial things “just because” and the person saying it isn’t thinking about the Lord at all. This is in vain.
Gramps