“But they all began making excuses” (Luke 14:18).
Excuse-making has been around for a long time. It began in the Garden of Eden when Eve blamed the serpent, and Adam blamed Eve for their mutual act of disobedience. Since then we humans have fine-tuned the art of making excuses. Do you need some real life examples?
We all know what excuse-making is because we’ve all done it at one time or another. It’s the attempt to get out of something without taking ownership. It’s passing the buck. But stop and consider how foolish excuse-making really is. If Aaron couldn’t convince Moses of his innocence, do we seriously think we can bluff our way through with God?
When we do wrong, God isn’t waiting to hear an excuse. He is waiting to hear a confession. When we are faced with a commandment from the Word, God isn’t waiting to hear an excuse. He is waiting to see obedience. We can attempt to vindicate ourselves all we want, but the words of Romans 2:1 shoot down our puny arguments, “You have no excuse.”
Excuse-making will lead to a life of mediocrity. We can justify our shortcomings to the point our lives count for very little in the realm of the kingdom. Saul, Israel’s first king, is a timeless example of this possibility. He literally excused himself right off the throne of Israel.
No one ever excused themselves into success. God’s best lies beyond our excuses. For every excuse we may offer, God has a definitive answer.
So save yourself the embarrassment of making excuses that neither God or anyone else will believe or wants to hear. Face up to the truth. Take ownership. Stand on the promises of God’s Word in every situation. And instead of explaining to others why you can’t, begin declaring why you can! “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13).
Pastor Todd Weston
Excuse-making has been around for a long time. It began in the Garden of Eden when Eve blamed the serpent, and Adam blamed Eve for their mutual act of disobedience. Since then we humans have fine-tuned the art of making excuses. Do you need some real life examples?
- An excuse for a car accident: “The telephone pole was quickly approaching. I was attempting to swerve out of its way when it struck my front end.”
- An excuse for non-payment of rent: “We knew we wouldn’t be able to pay next month’s rent, so we decided to not pay this month’s rent either.”
- An excuse for speeding, “I was low on gas, and I wanted to make sure I had enough speed to coast home.”
We all know what excuse-making is because we’ve all done it at one time or another. It’s the attempt to get out of something without taking ownership. It’s passing the buck. But stop and consider how foolish excuse-making really is. If Aaron couldn’t convince Moses of his innocence, do we seriously think we can bluff our way through with God?
When we do wrong, God isn’t waiting to hear an excuse. He is waiting to hear a confession. When we are faced with a commandment from the Word, God isn’t waiting to hear an excuse. He is waiting to see obedience. We can attempt to vindicate ourselves all we want, but the words of Romans 2:1 shoot down our puny arguments, “You have no excuse.”
Excuse-making will lead to a life of mediocrity. We can justify our shortcomings to the point our lives count for very little in the realm of the kingdom. Saul, Israel’s first king, is a timeless example of this possibility. He literally excused himself right off the throne of Israel.
No one ever excused themselves into success. God’s best lies beyond our excuses. For every excuse we may offer, God has a definitive answer.
So save yourself the embarrassment of making excuses that neither God or anyone else will believe or wants to hear. Face up to the truth. Take ownership. Stand on the promises of God’s Word in every situation. And instead of explaining to others why you can’t, begin declaring why you can! “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13).
Pastor Todd Weston
