Sunday, December 29, 2013

OMG

I won’t let my daughter use the acronym OMG.

I know that it can mean “Oh, my gosh!” or “Oh, my goodness!” but just because she might mean it that way doesn’t mean that others will take it that way. I don’t even like to hear people say “Lord,” “Good, Lord,” or “Lordy,” because the word Lord is used about 8,000 times in the Bible and most of the time it is referring to God, (living in the South, I know many disagree with me on this point).

Although I’m used to saying things like “Holy cow!” I’ve been trying to not use the word “Holy” carelessly either. One of my favorite scenes in Alone occurs when Tanner picks Laci up for the prom:

“Holy crap, you look good,” I said, once she was standing before me.

“Tanner,” she chided. “Don’t say that!”

“I can’t say ‘Holy crap’ now either?”

She thought about it for a moment . . . honestly thought about it.

“You can say ‘crap’,” she finally decided. “Just not ‘holy’.”

“Why not?”

“You know,” she explained, shrugging her shoulders uncertainly. “Holy is  . . .”

She hesitated, obviously unsure how to word what she wanted to say.

“Well, it’s holy,” she finally said.

I looked at her for a moment in mild disbelief. Somehow, “Crap, you look good,” didn’t quite have the same ring to it.

Not taking the Lord’s name in vain was one of the ten things that God commanded: You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. Deuteronomy 5:11

He is holy . . . His name is holy. To fully revere God, I feel the need to fully revere His name as well. It's something that's very, very important to me.

And yet I’ve had my characters say “Oh, my God.”

Greg says it when they arrive at the landfill in Mexico, Samantha says it several times casually, and David says it when he talks to Laci after first seeing Kyle. I’ve been told by some that this is wrong . . . that it is wrong for a Christian writer to ever, ever have their characters say, “Oh, my God!”

In answer to that, I would say that in the instances of David and Greg, they were not taking God’s name in vain, but were so upset that they were calling out to Him (as Tanner realizes Laci is doing when she says the same thing over and over again in Alone). And Samantha and David discuss whether or not saying “Oh my God!” actually constitutes taking the Lord’s name in vain. One of the things I am happiest about is a review on Teen Lit Review (Real Reviews for the Christian Parent) of Chop, Chop which states in part: “I especially liked how the author explains that the exclamation “O_ M_G__,” used often as an accepted way of taking the Lord’s name in vain, is in fact wrong.”

In vain means useless . . . without purpose.

I had a purpose.

5 comments:

  1. I would like to thank you for posting this. I personally have heard many of my Christian friends loosely use the term "OMG," or even the entire phrase. Every time that I hear those three words, or even a variation of the phrase, come out of a person's mouth I cringe. We, as Christians, should not allow such things to escape our mouths. God gave us very clear and specific commandments to follow. I believe that in today's culture many people's thinking has turned towards the thought process of "Well, this commandment doesn't aply to our lives anymore. I'm not going to kill anyone, or steal anything, but everyone else is saying OMG, so that must be okay." I have heard several of my close friends and fellow Christians say as much to my face and this truly is a troubling subject for me. That is one reason why I love all of your books so much. You were not afraid to show that it is wrong to use the Lord's name in vain, and even have Laci say that she does not like to hear Tanner use the word "holy" because it is holy.
    Thank you so much for standing up on this issue and also for writing such amazing books!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I cringe too . . . it hurts my heart. Thank you for your encouragement!

      Delete
  2. Finally I'm learning I'm not the only one who is extremely bothered by this! My friends frivolously use this and I've often wondered it they realize that they're throwing His name around. I am a Christian. I am not into legalism. But this is disrespectful of Who He is and has nothing to do with calling on His name. My heart jumps every time I see this......So there you have my thoughts. Bless us all.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Leeann, Marilyn, and the Anonymous person-I couldn't have said it better myself. The phrase OMG has always hurts me when I hear it, but it seems that it bothers no one else. Leeann, I like that you are teaching your daughter that she doesn't need to do as all the other kids do. It's good to see parents teaching their young people that values are a part of everyday life, not just something in isolation.

    ReplyDelete
  4. It is hurtful to hear others take the Lord's name in vain, and I am so happy that you have had the courage and commitment to the Lord, Leeann, to gently teach against it in "Chop, Chop." My family had the opportunity to learn under a godly pastor for 33 years. He preached a sermon a year or so ago, brought out of retirement for an anniversary event, and he used that time to preach on how people, and Christians as well, were using OMG in a way that took the Lord's name in vain. My father, even at his age, was astounded, never thinking how that was wrong! And my father evidently had never given it any thought before the retired pastor preached on the incorrect usage of the Lord's name. Made my heart smile to know that he took that stand, which I am sure did not make him a popular person with many in the congregation. Makes my heart smile, too, for your heart to be committed so to the Lord.

    ReplyDelete