How many of us have noticed that our society is consumed with making excuses? America was once a nation established upon personal responsibility; her citizens felt it was their duty to uphold the very principles upon which she was founded. Today however, everyone is looking for what their country can do for them instead of what they can do for their country. They excuse themselves from any responsibility, and Christians are found doing the same.
By definition, an excuse is a justification or reason. Luke 16:15 says, And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God. God does not tolerate excuses because He knows what is in our hearts; He knows our motives, and He knows whether or not we are telling the truth or just making excuses. In Matthew 16:8, Jesus asked, …why reason ye among yourselves,…? We are not to look within ourselves or among each other to come up with excuses. Instead, we are to reason with the Lord. (Isaiah 1:18) Unfortunately, today we make excuses so frequently that it has become a habit, and we do not even realize we are doing it. In our minds, we think we are not making excuses but providing legitimate justifications for what we do and do not do.
Far too often, I hear people say that they do not have time to pray or read their Bibles. They provide the excuse that they do not have time because they are just “too busy.” Friend, if we are too busy for God, then we are too busy! We must never forget that our Christian lives and our spiritual wellbeing depends upon the time we spend communicating with God.
We may think that our being too busy and not having enough time to read the Bible is a valid excuse because of the day in which we live; after all, we work eight to twelve hours per day. Wrong! Our modern age makes this excuse invalid. We have hundreds of modern conveniences to give us more time. We also have direct access to the Bible, electricity for light to see It day or night, and the education to read It.
Our forefathers spent more time reading the Bible than any other book, yet they had no modern conveniences, no electricity, and many were uneducated. Our forefathers cherished the Word of God and based every aspect of their lives upon Its principles. Today however, even with all of our conveniences, we struggle to find the time to spend in God’s Word.
Prayer does not cost money! We do not need a phone or special equipment, and we do not need to be done at a certain time or in a certain place. Prayer is us talking to God and can be done anywhere at any time! If we drive to work, we have time to pray while doing so. We do not need to close our eyes or get down on our knees. We do not need an appointment either; however, if we put it on our schedules, it is more likely that we will actually do it. God is always available and ready to listen to us!
When reading the Bible, we allow God to talk to us. When we pray, we are taking time to talk to God. Not reading our Bibles or praying can be compared to a husband and wife living together but never speaking to one another. If we truly love the Lord, we will want to hear from Him on a daily basis. We already know that He wants to hear from us. We make time to do the things that we enjoy, such as watching TV, reading a book, talking to friends, shopping, etc. Why do we not start enjoying spending time with the Lord? If we actually enjoy it, we will be sure to make time for it! Psalm 1:2 says, But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. When we start delighting in the Bible, It will become part of our daily lives. Like anything else in our lives, if it is important, we will make time for it. Prayer is important and essential, so we must make it a daily part of our lives also!
We need to stop making excuses and determine today to be the Christians that Christ wants us to be. When we find ourselves making excuses, we must stop and remember the cross. Jesus could have made a million excuses on the way to the cross: “These people won’t accept Me as Messiah;” “These people are just going to keep sinning;” “The pain is too much;” etc. Instead, He made no excuses and died willingly on the cross for each of us. (Hebrews 12:2-3) I have no reasons to make excuses when I see my situation in light of the cross, and neither does anyone else.
by Crystal Collingsworth