Biblical Excuses and Our Response
We all make excuses. As we talked about on Sunday, the chief thing you tell people when you make excuses for not accepting an invitation is that your priorities are more important than someone else’s hospitality. Excuses are a means to hide fault. Excuses before God are a way of saying that what God has to offer is not as important as something in this world. Sometimes excuses are a nervous reaction to God’s Word and the feeling of inadequacy of fulfilling that Word on our part.
In the midst of our excuses, God will either call us to account on them, or He will encourage us through them so that we realize our worth and value to Him and His plan.
Here are some passages from the Bible on excuses and what they can teach us:
(1) Genesis 3:12-13 – 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
Family is easy to blame. We know them best and we can exploit the situation by finding nuanced faults and making those “transgressions” seem bigger than they really are. Now, in the case of Adam and Eve, yes, those were some pretty big issues, but it’s always easy to blame family; they’re more willing to forgive and they’re more willing to take the blame for the sake of love, and we realize that, for what it’s worth, to our advantage.
God does not want us to blame our family members for our sins. Perhaps their actions may have played a part in our actions, but ultimately, our actions are our own, and God expects us to acknowledge that. He is willing to put us on the path to forgiveness and restoration, so that we can stop the family pain.
The next time you’re considering an excuse based on the actions of a family member, recall that God has commanded us to seek forgiveness not blame, and that your loving family is not your scapegoat.
(2) Exodus 4:10-12 - 10 But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.” 11 Then the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.”
The Lord will always be there. Though we may not see it, He is working behind the scenes to help us accomplish that powerful work in God’s Kingdom here on earth.
There is no way to know for sure, but I suspect Moses had multiple reasons for making excuses as to why he could not speak before Pharaoh: (1) his past relationship with Pharaoh growing up together, (2) his lack of relationship with his Israelite people, and (3) his feeling of inadequacy as a leader for such a task. Moses seemed genuinely concerned with his ability to accomplish the task. God tried to encourage him, but he persisted in his excuses, and that made God angry.
When God calls us, it’s for a reason. When He brings us encouragement or tells us that it will work out, He expects us to acknowledge His providence. He desires trust, and He does much to strengthen the opportunity for trust.
Let us acknowledge that God has gifted us in powerful ways and that there is a reason He chose us for that mission.
(3) Jeremiah 1:4-8 – 4 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” 6 Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” 7 But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the Lord.”
Youth has its purposes. There is always the opportunity to discount the input of youth, and the church is seeing that now, perhaps more than ever. The churches that are flourishing are the ones that give a voice to youth, and the churches that are dying are the ones who refuse to change and listen to youth preferences. This is one of the biggest challenges to the church as we speak. For the churches that will not acknowledge and repent of their stubbornness, God will remove them and raise up opportunity elsewhere.
God has a purpose for the youth of this world. There are Godly leaders of the millennial generation that we should be listening to. Are we humble enough to respond as we should? Are we raising up young leaders as we should be? Jeremiah made an excuse because he understood the prevailing custom of people in charge being older, but God said your youth will not be the stumbling block, only the hardened hearts of those who may not listen to you. God reminded Jeremiah that He would be with him and deliver him. And as much as Jeremiah made an excuse because he understood the prevailing custom of people in charge being older, are we making that same excuse before God as to why things cannot change? What are we afraid of? The church falling apart, losing ground, becoming segregated by age groups? Looks like that is happening anyway, no matter the efforts of those trying to “save” the church from itself.
If you’re a youth and you feel marginalized because of your age, God is here to encourage you through these difficult times. People will try to block God’s plan because they believe they know best.
If we try hard enough, we all can get in the way of God’s plans; maybe we should stop trying so hard and end the line of excuses.
(4) Matthew 8:18-22 – 18 Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. 19 And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” 20 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 21 Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 22 And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”
Excuses mean that we’re not willing to incur the cost of what is being asked us. There will always be a trade-off to an invitation; are we willing to give up our own opportunities?
There are legitimate reasons to decline an invitation. God gives us wisdom and discernment for a reason. But, many times, we just try to get out of participating in something because we’re selfish. People make excuses all of the time as to why they can’t come to church and why they can’t participate in church activities, and why they can’t volunteer to help with a particular ministry. Life is busy, but if you’re too busy for God, you’re too busy.
God wants to encourage us that there is value in participating in worship and other activities in the church. They grow our fellowship with one another and they grow our fellowship with our Savior. All of that means that we are better prepared to address the world around us and to tackle the problems that need the change our Lord offers.
There is a cost to every choice we make; what choices are you willing to make for God?
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We all make excuses. In the midst of our schedules, let’s ask God to help us discern how we can overcome. It’s part of our spiritual growth process to give God’s plans a chance. Amen.
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