Scripture links the fourth commandment with God's great acts of creation and salvation. In creation God worked for six creative days; then the Creator rested and rejoiced in what he made. We, his creatures, must also rest and rejoice after a week of work (Exodus 20:11).

The Lord's Day is also linked with salvation: "Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there" (Deuteronomy 5:15). The Israelites spent many decades as slaves, decades without a day off. Then God saved them. But why be rescued only to be enslaved by their own schedules rather than by the Egyptians?

I sometimes meet people who misuse God's name. When they learn I'm a preacher, they may blush and say: "I didn't know--sorry if I offended you." They should worry less about what I think and more about what God thinks: "The Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name" (Exodus 20:7).

God's name is misused in many ways. One way is outright contempt for God's name: deliberately mocking or directly attacking the honor and name and reputation of God. Perhaps more common is carelessness with God's name: saying "O my God" or "Good Lord" not as the start of a prayer but as a way of expressing surprise; using "God Almighty" and "Jesus Christ" not to invoke the Lord of heaven and earth but to show emotion; or simply using the word "God" every sentence or two for punctuation, almost like a spoken comma or period. Another way of violating God's name is cursing: using words like "damn" and "hell" casually. We have no business uttering such solemn, dreadful curses; only God can damn someone to the everlasting sorrow of hell.