I don't know about you but sometimes I think the world has gone crazy over abbreviations!
This was brought home to me the other day when I was diagnosed with BPPV. (I won't bore you with the details!) I have to confess that I simply don't understand some of them.
Of course there are many abbreviations which we've got used to over the years as a form of helpful shorthand. For example, most of us would recognise the GP to be the family doctor, or the TV to be the television set.
Some can also be quite amusing, especially when they're made to form an acronym. For example, RSVP (Remember to Send Valuable Presents) instead of its French translation and proper meaning. On the other hand, a computer troubleshooter friend of mine used an acrostic to form a sort of code with a colleague when diagnosing a fault. He'd occasionally refer to it as a 'picnic' problem... 'Problem In Chair, Not In Computer'. Or when I worked for Lothian Social Work Department, for a spell I was a member of the National Association of Local Government Officers, though some of us translated NALGO as 'Nae Action, Let's Go 'Ome! I even invented my own abbreviation when in Christian publishing I shortened Thematic Evangelistic Literature to TELit.
GOD'S WARNING
There is however one particular abbreviation that really concerns me greatly, and that is when someone, as an expletive, utters the term OMG! It greatly troubles me if they're referring to our Creator God... the God with whom I've entered into a personal relationship. This is because I've come to know Him, love and serve Him, and His glory and honour are very important to me. For this reason I hate to hear His name abused in this way. If only those who do use this term would realise how costly the consequences of this will be as they're breaking the 3rd commandment...
You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not
hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
Exodus 20:7
I do suspect however that the vast majority, if not all those who use such a term, give no consideration to the God who made them and to whom they will ultimately be accountable. But I reckon that for most, this is simply a popular, everyday expression which readily trips off the tongue. On the other hand, if they are not referring to the God of the Bible, it begs the question... to which God are they actually referring?
GOD'S PROMISE
It's been said that we all have a 'God-shaped space' in our life. But, most of us prefer to keep Him at arms length as we don't want Him to take us in a direction that we don't want to go! Instead, most of us try to squeeze other things into that space. And of course, because it's 'God-shaped', nothing else fits.... money, possessions, power, sex, comfort, family, shopping, food, a partner/spouse... or simply, basic self-centredness! A personal relationship with Him is the only way to a life of true meaning, solid purpose and lasting fulfilment... Christ Jesus says...
...I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
John 10:10
So, if you ever use the term OMG, to which God are you referring... and worshipping?
