Quitting, giving up, failing, judging – all of these begin with an excuse. Never allow an obstacle in your life to become an alibi. “You, therefore have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same thing.” (Romans 2:1 NIV) We Christians should be people who make progress not excuses.
There have always been people who have tried to make excuses to the Lord. Some knew that there alibis were not true. And there were those who made excuses and actually believed them.
In Luke 14:18-20 (NIV) Jesus told a parable of the great end-time banquet and the men who were invited to the Lord’s table:
But they all like begun to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field and I must and see it. Please excuse me.’ Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’
These men made excuses and missed out on salvation. All of them made the mistake of believing that their excuses were not the truth. In Exodus 4:10-12 (NIV), Moses said:
‘O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” The Lord said to him, “Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go: I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”
In Judges 6:15-16 (NIV), Gideon argued: “But Lord…how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.’ The Lord answered, ‘I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together.’ “
Do not hide behind an excuse. In John 15:22 (NIV), Jesus said, If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin.”
An alibi is egotism turned inside out. It puts you first and takes God out of the picture. That’s not the place to be.
