Enough With the Excuses

I must admit I really have no tolerance for people who make excuses! I'm sure you've heard enough yourself and we could debate on those that are the most annoying. But the excuses most irritating to me would be:  giving an excuse for not sending an RSVP, excuses for lying and ANY excuse for being late! (That last excuse will literally throw my husband and I over the top! Probably because we both grew up in homes where our parents taught us the importance of being on time. We were held accountable on every occasion we were late.)

Excuses are defined as "rationalizations of behavior to avoid the true explanation or reason behind what you did or didn't do." (Webster's Online Dictionary) Excuses = Denial.

If that's true and excuses equal denial, then it's my opinion it should be very hard for Christians to use "excuses". I know there may be occasions when it really is the truth that you were stopped by a train or ran into traffic on the highway putting you behind your original schedule. But if you continually show up late to church, work, or the PTA meeting where you serve as a board member, your excuses are merely "a rationalizations of your behavior to avoid the true explanation or reason behind what you did or didn't do!"

Excuses are an easy way out! Take responsibility for your actions. If you show up late to a meeting where people are waiting on you so they can start, apologize and in the future leave ten minutes earlier allowing yourself enough time to arrive on time. If you overlooked the RSVP and didn't respond to the party invitation on time, call the host and apologize for your stupidity, don't just ignore it!

I mentioned one other excuse above, the excuse to lie! Really there isn't ANY excuse in which lying is acceptable (Proverbs 19:5,9) and it baffles me to witness so many who continue to excuse their lying without ever considering the consequences. Revelation 21:8 tells us "liars shall have their place in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone." We better be careful when we communicate incorrect information to someone, or make false accusations about people, or lie to cover up our own mistakes.  Lying is sin...excusing ourselves from this behavior will only distance us farther from God.

Snared By the Words of Your Mouth

I taught Business Education to middle school students a few years back. You know that group of kids, who have not yet reached adulthood, but still aren't considered children. The group so easily mis-understood and so eager to be accepted--I grew to love them! Each year I would search a database of quotes to hang from my walls to encourage and cheer on my students. I figured if they daydreamed in class at least I could have something productive hanging on the walls to keep them motiviated. I scattered quotes everywhere and usually I would post my favorite on the door of my classroom, that way every period when i greeted my students they would see the quote, hopefully read the quote and by the end of the year, I had hoped it would sink in. 

Day after day week after week, I greeted them with a high five and referred them (by pointing) to the quote that hung on the door. It read:  "Whether you think you can or can't, you are right!" (Henry Ford) Oh you don't know how many times I was able to use that quote in my classroom. So many times I heard "I can't", "I won't", and "I'll never" but they got so use to me following their "I can't" with "Whether you think you can or can't you are right!" they started to quote it with me. Eventually the entire class would chant out the quote and then burst into laughter.  

Years later I run into some of those students at football games, grocery stores and restaurants and the one thing that always comes up in conversation, is that quote.

It's true we can only achieve what we think we can! Too often we think this instruction is only for the young and immature. But how frequently do you say these words? Maybe not out-loud, but to yourself. Maybe not about learning to write a business letter, but about saying I'm sorry or dealing with a difficult person, or learning a new skill. The bible says, "we are snared by the words of our mouth!" ---how serious does that look? I picture myself standing with a ball and chain around my ankle trying to move one step in front of the other and finding it simply impossible because of the weight attached. Yet, that's exactly what happens when we allow words like, "I can't" to effortlessly roll off our tongues at the slightest hint of resistance. It's time to start setting the example for those who follow in our shadows. The words "I can't", "I won't" and "I'll never" shouldn't be allowed in our vocabulary. We should be determined to instead speak words that free us like "One day I will", "I'm trying" and "With God's help I can"!