In reading Ezekiel 36 yesterday, verses 16−−21 caught my attention; God talks about sending His people into captivity because of their behavior. Look at what He says in 20 and 21:
“When they came to the nations where they went, they profaned My holy name, because it was said of them, ‘These are the people of the LORD; yet they have come out of His land.’
“But I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations where they went.” (NASB)
Their bondage prompted slurs against God.
Moving forward, I wondered about the church: I’ve read that divorces among Christians are equal to or higher than divorces among non-Christians. Does this profane God’s name? Or more to the point, I considered myself: do I have problems in my life, bondages or behaviors, that make God look bad? Does someone says, “I thought he was a Christian; why does he do that?”
In various work settings, I’ve seen that hypocrisy and general meanness profane God’s name; people reasonably expect that Christians will be true to their beliefs and demonstrate kindness. As I teacher, I’ve been troubled by the behavior of Christian students more than once. I think particularly of one young man I taught several years ago who self-identified as a Christian; he told me about where he went to church and other information. He was smart, and I was initially impressed. But then, he came to class late most days and did assignments for other classes during my class. He also made fun of other students when they weren’t there. By the end of the semester, I concluded that his biggest problem was lack of maturity–but I wanted to say to him, “Listen, don’t tell any of your other professors you are a Christian; you make all of us look bad.”
What if I’m generally kind and responsible, but I complain about my job or my wife? What does that say about me? More importantly, what does it say to others about God?
Make no mistake: God is concerned about His name (note that He says “My holy name”). In verse 22, He explains why He will bring the captives back to Israel: “It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name.”
Young’s Literal Translation uses pollute instead of profane, and for me at least, that word has more resonance. I don’t hear much about “the profane”, but pollution is a fact of life, and it’s easy for me to picture the impact of polluting something.
We’ve all heard it before: “watch how you act, because people are watching you.” And it’s good to be reminded of this from time, especially when we remember that it’s not just for my sake but for the sake of His holy name.
Charis means grace, and that’s what this blog is about: grace, in all its—sometimes messy, always magnificent—manifestations. I’m Dan Butcher, and I invite you to join me in learning to lead a Christ-centered, grace-filled life. 
Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version ®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.