Lord, I will follow You. But let me first go and bury my father. Lord, I would follow You, but I've bought a field, purchased a herd, married a wife...."In my recent time away, God brought to mind a great deal about excuses. Such a fascinating practice, excuse-making! I came to realize that excuses are exquisite (when we find the perfect one for the right occasion) and simultaneously deadly (because they successfully block us from making further progress).
By way of definition, it occurred to me that an excuse (as opposed to a reason) is a "verbal response allowing its giver to shun responsibility and accountability."
We offer up excuses in the social realm, the marriage realm, on the job and then, above all, in the spiritual life. For me, among the sorriest of communications are those by which we "excuse" not following Jesus and not pursuing His agenda (Matthew 6:33).
So, over the next few days (or weeks!) I want to untangle my thoughts about the issue by jotting them down here. I'd welcome your responses! Certainly, there are the out-and-out lies we utter as excuses: "The dog ate my homework." There are the excuses which might carry within them a kernel of truth. "I've been so busy!" What seems clear is that:
- With them (excuses) I blame others for my failure or ineffectiveness. (Adam: "This woman You gave me...")
- With them I choose a lesser value over a greater one.
- By them I can do what I want and yet not appear to be self-absorbed!
- By them I can avoid doing hard things.
- With excuses I blend into the crowd. (ah, the safe mooing herd!)
- With them, I avoid risk, loss and the accompanying pain or humility.
Next time I want to describe what I see as the spiritual nature of excuses -- that explains in my mind how they become so deadly.
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