Praying to be a Better Listener

When my youngest daughter, Devon, was three years old, she loved to plunder through my jewelry box. I'm not a big jewelry person, but I did have a few things of sentimental value in this box, include a rosary my mother gave me. Devon loved this rosary and would sneak into my room so she could put it around her neck like a necklace. She knew better, however; it wasn't valuable but it was a gift and easily breakable. I repeatedly told her to stay out of the jewelry box and not to touch the rosary.

One night, after I had given her a bath and put her in footy-pajamas, she padded off while I attended to other chores. A while later, I walked into my bedroom and found Devon sitting on the floor, looking like a freshly scrubbed angel, with one exception: she was holding my rosary, a piece in each hand. She had broken it! Reacting harshly, and I said, "Devon, WHAT are you DOING?"

Her cherubic face looked up at me, and without missing a beat, she said, "Mama, I'm praying to Jesus to be a better listener."

This is now a favorite story that gets retold at every family event. What amazes me is that, at such an early age, she was able to manipulate the situation to appear saintly while acting like a tiny devil (and it worked--it was such a cute encounter that I simply overlooked it and immediately called my mother to tell her). Devon not only disobeyed me, she lied to cover it up, and even invoked God to get her off the hook!

I've done that too (but of course it is a lot less cute when adults do it). I've disobeyed, fudged the truth to cover it up, and made it seem like I was acting rightly in the process. Maybe I've never used God specifically in one of these scenarios, but I've certainly given the impression at times that do-goodery was my hobby when really skirting the truth or responsibility was my true occupation.

This story reminds me of a sermon I heard by Andy Stanley. He talked about the Second Commandment: do not use the Lord's name in vain. Most of us think of this Commandment as regulating speech and cautioning us to retrain our profane tongues so we don't use God's name as a cuss word. It probably does mean that. But Andy Stanley pointed out something really interesting--using God's name as a cuss word is offensive, but mostly to other people who worship God. It's wrong, but is this slip of the tongue (we never literally mean the phrase spoken) the worst violation of the Commandment? Andy Stanley argues no--that this Commandment really means that we shouldn't invoke the name of God in an effort to deceive, or to forward an agenda that is not a godly agenda.

For instance, we shouldn't call a business "Christian" and then cheat people. Actually, I am opposed to businesses advertising themselves as "Christian" or "following the Golden Rule." I'm not opposed to businesses BEING Christian or following Scripture, of course. But show me by your actions and your speech that you are a follower of Christ first. Just putting it on your letterhead or your radio ad, without any effort to be Christ-like, is a violation of the Second Commandment, I think. And if you use that kind of advertising, you better be darn sure your business is beyond reproach. The consequence could be a lot more severe than customer dissatisfaction.

But it is not just in business where this Commandment comes into play. In ministry, two events are sure to happen: we will encounter people and we will make mistakes. When these two events combine, we can be tempted to use God's name or our ministry to excuse or cover up errors ("Sorry, John, I wasn't able to help you with your problem this week because I was so busy praying for others!!")

Tiny children, prominent business people, and busy ministers can violate the Second Commandment, and not just by letting a cuss word slip. Combining a quick tongue and a little knowledge of Christ can be dangerous, unless we temper that with authentic prayer and honesty in our encounters with others.

I need this reminder as much as anyone--I know where my daughter got her quick tongue.