“They shall be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God.”
-Leviticus 21:6
This picture talking about the priests and their being holy, set apart for God, but what I love about the end of that sentence in verse six, “They shall be a holy to their God and not profane the name of their God,” is it’s such a powerful reminder that the priests were responsible for maintaining, in a sense, promoting, glorifying the reputation of God’s name, that the way they carried out their work, their lives, their responsibilities, would be a reflection on God, would affect the way people think about God. If they did their work with reverence and awe and fear and joy, then they would reflect positively on the name of God. If their lives, their work, responsibilities were carried out casually, without respect, reverence, fear, begrudgingly, without joy, then that would reflect on the name of God. And they were called not to profane his name.
What are we communicating about the nature of God to the world around us?
So, it just causes me to think and encourage you to think, again, as we see ourselves in the New Testament as a royal priesthood, the reality is our lives have an effect on how people perceive God.
Leviticus 21:6 Reminds Us that We Represent Christ
We are associated as his people, as followers of Christ, worshipers of God, and if the world sees in us a fear and a reverence and an awe and a respect and love for God, joy in worshiping and serving God, then that will reflect on God’s reputation in the world around us.
Conversely, if the world sees the people who are casual with God, we just kind of appease God with religious motions week after week, after week, and kind of a dull drudgery, if they see a people who are casual with sin, don’t really look that different from the rest of the world and lack joy in following and worshiping God, then that will reflect on the reputation of God in the eyes of those around us.
So, I would ask you, what are you communicating about the nature of God in your life? What are you communicating about the nature of God in your family? What is your church communicating about the nature of God to the world around you? We need to ask this question soberly, honestly, humbly, and we need to pray.
A Prayer Based on Leviticus 21:6
Oh God, we want your name to be honored in the world around us. This is how you taught us to pray. Lord Jesus, Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. God we want your name to be made known as holy, to be seen as glorious and good and just and gracious and awesome and wonderful and loving and merciful. We want your character to be clear, so help us God, we pray.
God we pray in our lives and our families and our churches help us to reflect all these things. When people in the world see our lives, may they see a people who fear you and revere you. Who love you and glorify you with joy. And who love worshiping you, and don’t see like following you as a matter of religious routine and rote, meaningless, thoughtless begrudging following of your laws. God, we pray that we would be a people who are eagerly following you, who are in love with you, and it’s evident in the way we love and serve the people around us. God, we want your character to be cleared through us. So, help us, we pray, not to profane your name. Help us to honor your name in the world around us.
May God Use Us For His Glory
God We pray for that today. I pray in my life today, and those who are listening to this today. Just as it reminds us in Leviticus 21:6, God, please, please, please use our lives today to reflect well upon your name. Use our lives today, we pray, to cause your name to be more hallowed in the people around us. God, use our families. Use our churches this week. Cause your name to be more hallowed in the community, in the world around us. We pray this for the sake of your name. Keep us from profaning it in Jesus’ name. We pray these things. Amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder of Radical, an organization that makes Jesus known among the nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Don’t Hold Back, and How to Read the Bible.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
