“Ask a Priest: What If a YouTuber Casually Uses the Almighty’s Name?”
Q: My favorite YouTuber has recently started saying, “Oh God, yes” on occasion in his videos. This strikes me as mildly inappropriate and perhaps a violation of the Second Commandment. I messaged the YouTuber and asked him if he would say “gosh” instead. He replied that he wasn’t religious and didn’t mean any disrespect by the phrase and was going to continue saying it. Do I need to stop watching his videos? As I said, the phrase only pops up on occasion — certainly not in every video. I know musicians say OMG in their songs all the time. How are we to deal with these types of media? Do we have to remove all of them from our lives? Or am I just being scrupulous? – Grant
Answered by Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC A: Your concern that Our Lord’s name be respected is admirable. As for continuing to watch these videos, that is a decision you need to make. It might be good, though, to consider the bigger picture here. By his own admission, this man on YouTube says he’s not religious. One wonders how deep the message of his videos is. When we decide to do this or that — or, in this case, to watch this or that video — it is good to ask ourselves whether we are using our time well. The time you dedicate to this YouTuber is time that could be used on something more worthwhile. One of the gifts that God gives us is the gift of time. At the end of our lives, we will have to give account of how we used it (see the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30). So, the deeper question you might answer yourself: Is there a better way to spend your time rather than watching non-religious people on YouTube who use Our Lord’s name lightly? If you want alternatives, consider the videos of Father Mike Schmitz and Bishop Robert Barron and those at Catholic Answers. This might be worth taking to prayer. Count on my prayers.
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