If you ask for Kleenex, you won't necessarily get that brand of tissue. The same is true if you request Scotch tape, a Coke, or a Xerox copy. Then there's the Jeep, the Band-Aid, and the Thermos. Specific trademark names often take on broader meaning than the original product.

Those names, though, are important to the companies that own them. That's why a corporation like the Coca Cola Company, which may have the most widely known trademark in the world, maintains a large legal department. It even has field inspectors to protect its "name."

Much more is at stake, however, when the name of God or His Son Jesus Christ is misused. His is the most important name in all the world. That's why He will one day show everyone the difference between how His name is abused and what it actually stands for. He will reveal to all living creatures why God and Jesus Christ should be used with the utmost respect and honor.

That is why we need to ask for the Lord's forgiveness when we are guilty of disgracing His name. There is so much to be gained by using His name reverently, and there is so much to lose by taking it in vain. God is jealous for His holy name!  — Mart De Haan