What's Your Excuse?
"You acted foolishly," Samuel said. "You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you." -- 1 Samuel 13:13a
Saul was a foolish man. God had given him a kingdom and much success. He threw it all away. His pride and arrogance caused him to sin greatly against God. So God sought a man after His own heart. David.
That's what God does. And that's what we do. We get so caught up in our own goodness, our own mission and purpose, that we forget it all comes from God.
We get lazy. We started skirting the basics. We're good, we tell ourselves. It's okay to skip today's Bible reading. God understands. I'm so busy because of all the things I'm doing for Him.
Or we don't make it to church. We don't feel well. We're tired. We've had a rough week. We don't like the pastor or the music or the coffee. Seriously?!
I know a woman who fought and won a battle against lung cancer a few years ago. She will always have stamina issues and many at the church still treat her as a shut-in. The woman goes to Wal-Mart shopping. She runs errands. She is able to come to church. She chooses not to. Don't put her in the same group as people who are literally not physically able to attend. You're enabling her, encouraging her excuses.
Or let's look at the man who got shingles, something that is really and truly painful. We prayed for him and worried about him. He is better now, though not completely healed. He's back at work, running errands and doing pretty much what he wants. But he hasn't quite made it back to church. Shingles is a convenient excuse but if he can live the rest of his week normally, then he can come to church on Sunday.
So what's your excuse? Do you attend church regularly? Why not? Do you give God credit for everything good that happens to you? Do you set aside time every day to spend with God? Or is He last on your list?
How often do we make excuses, telling ourselves that God will understand? In a way, He does. God knows us far better than we know ourselves. But it means that He also isn't fooled by our excuses. We're only fooling ourselves.
Jesus died for us. For you and for me. God loves us that much. How dare we make excuses, especially when it comes to the basics. So show up! Read your Bible. Pray every day. Attend church when you are able. There's enough sin in each of our lives without compounding it with foolishness.
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