Mistaking a crumb for the feast.

One of the biggest barriers to understanding the Bible is already understanding the Bible. We somehow acquire an interpretation of a passage that isn’t necessarily wrong, but misses the big point and keeps us satisfied enough to stop looking for it.

For instance, the Third Commandment says to not take (carry) the Lord’s name in vain. People commonly think this means to not swear, which unfortunately leads them to believe they are satisfying it so long as they don’t say, “Jesus,” with the wrong tone of voice.

Actually, the real thing prohibited here is religious hypocrisy; saying you follow God but living like you don’t. You’re vainly attaching God’s Name to your life precisely when that life denies God’s Lordship over you, like an ambassador who dishonors his home country.

Once you see this as the main point of the Commandment, it becomes easier to explain why Jesus was so furious with the God-lipping (but not God-living) religious leaders of His day…leaders who probably never spoke God’s Name the wrong way even one time in their whole lives.