It's Not You; It's Me

Dear Phoebe, Joey, Rachel, Ross, Monica, and Chandler,

I have to break up with you.  I know we go back a long way...like twenty years or something.  But the time has come.  We have grown apart.  I have grown up, and you are still sitting in the coffeehouse trying to figure out your life.  I have grown into a woman with a full-time husband, full-time children, a full-time job, and many other full-time responsibilities.  And you are still sitting there in the coffeehouse.

I used to look so forward to our time together each week.  You made me laugh.  Sometimes you made my cry.  (And that's okay...sometimes a good cry is needed.)  We hung out.

And I was blind to something.  I was so caught up in the drama and the one-liners that I totally missed it.  Or maybe I just didn't care then.  I am not sure which.  But I notice it now, and it bothers me now.  And I can't let it go anymore.

You take my LORD's name in vain.  A LOT!  I was watching an episode the other night, and you  did it seven times in twelve minutes.  Seven times in twelve minutes.   That's when I turned it off.  That's when I knew it was time to break up.  For Good.

His Name is being used as a way to express disbelief or incredulity with a situation.   Couldn't you achieve the same effect by saying, "No way!" or "I can't believe it!"  or "Are you serious?"  Those are some of the expressions I use instead.

I can't sit idly by, and let you continue to misuse His name.  I know that I can't change you using it, but I can control whether I listen to it or not.  I can't stand the way you (and so many other people) have cheapened His Holy Name into something so trivial.  

So with that being said, I think it is time for us to see other people.  So long, Friends!

“You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. (Exodus 20:7 NIV)