“But they all . . began to makes excuses.” Luke 14:18 NKJV
“Success in any arena of life comes from effort not excuses.”
My thoughts today are about “excuses.”
It’s an old, old story. People and excuses seem inseparable. You can rarely find one without the other somewhere nearby. Some excuses concern things a person thinks they can’t do, but too many excuses are about things people just don’t want to do. My Dad once warned me that “an excuse is often just a lie wrapped in a reason.” I do not remember the exact occasion, but I guess I must have been making some excuse to avoid something I did not really want to do. I learned quite early that my Dad did not like excuses much.
An excuse is the clever avoidance of an unwanted responsibility. Sometimes that also results in missed opportunities. Success comes from effort not excuses. “Ninety-nine percent of the failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses.” George Washington Carver. I have observed that I, and others, can always find an excuse about lack of time or insufficient means to avoid something we do not want to do, yet find a reason and opportunity for things we desire to do. Benjamin Franklin wrote, “He that is good at making excuses is seldom good for anything else.”
Jesus told a story about a very wealthy and generous man who graciously invited his friends to an elegant dinner. When it was the time for their arrival at this extravagant occasion, “they all with one accord began to make excuses.” Luke 14:16-24 NIV. Haven’t we all? Now, there are times when you have a legitimate reason that you cannot do something or be somewhere, but let’s be honest, much of the time the reasons are pretty thin and flimsy when examined.
Apparently, the three individuals in Jesus’ story made unacceptable excuses why they could not do what they previously had said they would. The first excused his bad behavior because of a property investment recently made. His pretext? “I must go see it.” Who would buy property sight unseen? The second declined because a business matter had arisen. What business man would have bought 10 oxen without first testing them? His excuse? “I am going to test them.”
The third person had made a subsequent, personal commitment that preempted his prior commitment. His explanation? “I have married a wife.” Why wouldn’t he simply have included her in the festivities? Their reasons were seen by their intended host to be inexcusable explanations. The Bible describes a person who walks uprightly as one who “always does what he promises, no matter how much it costs.” Psalm 15:4 TEV. “The real man is one who always finds excuses for others, but never excuses himself.” Henry Ward Beecher.
You have been given a generous invitation of grace. Whatever justification you offer for delaying your wholehearted response, it is merely an excuse that forfeits God’s best for your life. “They have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God.” Read Romans 1:18-20 NLT. Adam excused his disobedience by blaming his failure on Eve. Genesis 3:12-13. Moses excused himself from obeying because he professed lacking the necessary abilities. Exodus 4:1-14. Felix, Roman governor of Judea, procrastinated his decision with the excuse of a more convenient time, which never came. Acts 24:25. What excuses keep you from doing God’s will today?
My prayer for you today is that you allow yourself no excuse.