Bringing Shame on God's Holy Name
Here in the United States we do not live in a shame and honor culture like they have in the Middle East, which includes the Holy Land. We talk about people who are ashamed because they did something illegal or unethical, but mostly we think about whether people do right or wrong, good or bad deeds. However, in a shame and honor culture the worst thing a person can do is to bring shame on his or her name or on his or her family's name. We need to keep that in mind when we read the Bible. God warned the people of Israel very strongly about this sin when it came to His name. (Leviticus 22:32) He commanded them not to bring shame on His holy name, because He would display His holiness among the people. He said this as the Lord who made them holy. I believe this is still a huge problem with believers today, and we need to think about how we may be bringing shame on God's holy name. One of the 10 Commandments deals with this sin. It commands us not to take the Lord's name in vai...