Profane: What happens when you cross the line?

Ammon, ‘Hear the word of the Lord GOD! This is what the Lord GOD says: “Because you said, ‘Aha!’ against My sanctuary when it was profaned, and against the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and against the house of Judah when they went into exile, 4 therefore, behold, I am going to give you to the people of the east as a possession, and they will set up their encampments among you and make their dwellings among you; they will eat your fruit and drink your milk. Ezekiel 25: 3,4

EXPOSITION: Our word for today is profane. From it, we get our word profanity. Profane, in Hebrew, is chalal. Chalal means to pollute, defile. In laymen’s terms it means to take what is sacred and make it secular; to make what is morally lofty and make it low, to drag the spiritual through the proverbial street. When you do that, you have crossed a line that brings grave consequences.  The etymology of profane is rooted in the Latin compound The etymology of profane comes profanus, which literally means "outside the temple". Breaking profanus down into its Latin parts paints a graphic of its general meaning: pro-: “before" or "outside of" and fanum: "temple" or "sanctuary."  To profane is to  allow someone or thing to make spiritually valuable vulgar. When you do that, you have crossed a line that brings grave consequences.

BACKSTORY: Four enemies of God and his people had crossed the line: Ammon, Moab, Edom, and Philistia.

Ammon, whose patriarch was the incestuous son of Lot and his daughter, rejoiced over God’s people’s misfortune—their Babylonia exile. Ammon’s consequence: they will be possessed by a people, probably, the Babylonians. Don’t celebrate your brother’s troubles. That is profane.

Moab, also descendants of an incestuous relationship between Lot and one of his daughters, belittled God’s people in their Babylonian exile situation, deriding them as worthless as other nations, showing disrespect to them as God’s chosen. For Moab’s disrespect, the consequences will be the same as Ammon—their people from the east will possess themselves. Don’t disrespect your brother. It’s profane.

Edom is also counted among those people outside the sacred standards of God—the profane —in Ezekiel 25. The Edomites, descendants from Esau who devalued his birthright, trading it for a bowl of stew to his brother Jacob (Gen. 25), enacted vengeance on his brother’s people, Judah. For that, God vowed to destroy Edom by the hand of Judah. Vengeance is mine’s says the Lord (Deuteronomy 32:35), not Edom. Vengeance on your brother—getting even—is profane. It’s outside the acceptable.

Finally, Philistia is judged for their profanity. The Philistines were frequent enemies of the God’s people, most often depicted in the story of David and Goliath. Ezekiel 25 describes the heavy-handed vengeance they exacted even to the destruction on their enemies’ souls. The fate of a soul is the province of God not man. The Philistines went beyond the acceptable boundary of God. Their vengeance will be repaid by God on them in greater degree. They crossed the line of being profane to their enemy and neighbor.

Illustration: How does the opposite of profane —that which is within the sacred values of God’s sanctity—illustrate how far we have strayed from the heart of God and how possible it is to come inside the temple of compassion for your brother. Consider 8-year-old Cayden Taipalus was in the school lunch line when he saw something that broke his heart. A classmate was denied a hot meal — handed a cold sandwich instead — because his lunch account was negative. That moment stuck with Cayden. When he got home, he asked his mom, “Why can’t all kids eat the same lunch?” Instead of just accepting the answer, he decided to change it.

With his mom’s help, Cayden started a project called “Pay It Forward: No Kid Goes Hungry.” His mission? To raise money to pay off school lunch debts so no student would ever go hungry — or feel ashamed — again. He began by recycling cans. Then he launched a small donation page. The response was overwhelming. Cayden raised over $14,000, clearing lunch debt for more than 300 students. Each dollar meant dignity. Each meal meant kindness.

And he didn’t stop there. He kept fundraising, personally delivering checks to schools — each with a handwritten note: “From Cayden — so no kid goes hungry.” When asked why he did it, Cayden said simply: “A small thing can turn out to be a big thing.” He didn’t just pay for lunches. He restored dignity. He inspired kindness. And he reminded us what compassion really looks like.

Application: Don’t go. Be. What happens when you cross the line of the profane—turning sacred values to vulgarity—to living within the temple of God’s sacredness, profanity becomes humanity? Church becomes, not a place you go, but a space you become.