Benedictine nun Joan Chittister lists several ways that we take God’s name in vain:
1. We use God’s name to prove our piety. We quote scripture at people and expect that the discussion is over, that when we have spoken, God has spoken.
2. We use God’s name to manipulate people. We ask God to be on our side, to do our will and to harm people we ourselves would like to harm.
3. We use God’s name to avoid facing our own inadequacies. We ask God to do what we ought to be doing ourselves – feed the hungry, care for the hurting, visit the sick, put a stop to conflict.
4. We use God’s name to exert power over others. We threaten others with hell and use God as a kind of club against people and groups with whom we disapprove.
5. And then we use God’s name to satisfy our own piety and righteousness. We ask God to “hear the cries of the poor” and then we can tell ourselves that we have done enough.
Chittister concludes that “we have learned to take the Lord’s name in vain with great facility.”