Thursday, August 19: What is your excuse?

Many years ago, when I was a freshman at the United States Air Force Academy, we only were allowed five responses during the entire year when “conversing” with upper classmen. They were “Yes, sir,” “No, sir,” “Sir, may I ask a question,” “Sir, may I make a statement,” and the final response, which was required anytime anyone asked a why question, “No excuse, sir!” The system was designed to break the individual mentality, and have every cadet think with a focus on the group. Each of us who endured that first year would remember it as senseless and demoralizing, but certainly, the goal of getting a group to act collectively as one was met for the most part.


One of the greatest lessons had to do with making excuses. In the military, if you messed up, there was no excuse. No matter how much explaining was accomplished by the culprit, the situation only seemed to get worse. As Christians, an excuse is even more ludicrous, for instead of giving that excuse to a superior ranking official of varying intelligence, we are giving that excuse to our omniscient Creator. God isn’t fooled for a moment. Instead, He knows much more about the situation than anyone directly involved. In any disagreement, there are always three points of view: ours, theirs and God’s. Which one of those do you think is the only correct one? In the Gospel of John, when Jesus heals a paralytic man, the man is filled with excuses:


After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches. 3 In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water. 4 For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had. 5 Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?”
7 The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”
8 Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” 9 And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.
John 5:1-9


In his short statement, the paralytic man offered three excuses: “I have no man to put me into the pool,” “the water is stirred up,” and “another steps down before me.” Each of those excuses sounds similar to the ones we make. His first excuse echoes when we say there is no one around to help us. This points to a reliance on other men rather than a reliance on God. His second excuse sounds like when we erroneously believe that conditions are not right for a miracle, pointing to a dependence on circumstances, rather than depending upon the Lord. Lastly, his third excuse sounded similar to us saying that others always get in our way. This points to us blaming others rather than trusting God.


Even when we make excuses, that doesn’t mean that God won’t continue to use us. Instead of looking at the life of a paralytic sinner, we can look into the life of a man selected by God to lead His chosen people, Moses. When the Lord called him to lead the children of Israel, Moses made seven excuses to God, with the last two being identical. It appears he was running out of excuses, but still the Lord used him mightily. Here are those excuses:

1. But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt.” (Exodus 3:11)
2. Then Moses said to God, “Indeed when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?” (Exodus 3:13)
3. Then Moses answered and said, “But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The Lord has not appeared to you.’” (Exodus 4:1)
4. Then Moses said to the Lord, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” (Exodus 4:10)
5. But he said, “O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send.” (Exodus 4:13)
6. And Moses spoke before the Lord, saying, “The children of Israel have not heeded me. How then shall Pharaoh heed me, for I am of uncircumcised lips?” (Exodus 6:12)
7. But Moses said before the Lord, “Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh heed me?” (Exodus 6:30)

Are you making excuses to God? Frequently in the lives of believers, those excuses have to do with sins we are not willing to walk away from. Additionally, we also have a tendency to make excuses involving ministry opportunities, just as Moses did. If God asks why we did something without Him or against Him, our answer should be a resounding, “No excuse, Sir!” Yet even with our failures and excuses, He continues to love us. But He certainly desires our willingness!

And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said: 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, 3 and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come.
Matthew 22:1-3