There are many and varied reasons why we make excuses. An excuse is a reason or explanation to either defend or justify one’s words or actions in a particular instance. For example, the home owner took immediate action to prevent the fire from spreading to his neighbor’s property. And there is the lawyer who attends court to defend his client from criminal charges. Depending on the circumstances, people will try to find an excuse to clear themselves of blame or suspicion. Some excuses have proven to be genuine and truthful. Others have been false, deceitful, and proven to be lies.
Excuses began with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. God specifically told Adam not to eat of the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” The Bible tells us “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, “but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat or it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:16,17). After this God created Eve as a wife for Adam. Then came the divine interrogation when God asked Adam, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate” (Genesis 3:11-13). Here we have the excuses of the “blame game.” The more things change the more things remain the same. Isn’t that exactly whats happening today? One of the problems is that some don’t want to take responsibility for their own actions, hence their false and flimsy excuses.
Some of us are familiar with the story of Aaron and the ‘Golden Calf.’ Moses was delayed in returning from the mountain where he went to receive the Ten Commandments. It was a long time, so the people being restless requested Aaron: “make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him. So Aaron said to them, “Take off the rings of gold . . . and bring them to me” (Exodus 32:1,2). The people complied. And Aaron made them a golden calf. Then people said “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt!” (Ex. 32:4). On his return, Moses asked Aaron if he had made the idol. This was Aaron’s response. “So I said to them, ‘Let any who have gold take it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.” (Ex. 32:24). According to Aaron’s excuse, he was not to blame, because it was the fire. This was an “outright lie.”
Do Christians try to make excuses for not doing the things that God expects of them? They sure do. Some of us are aware that it happens. For example, not taking time for prayer, or reading/studying the Scriptures. Others will try to find excuses for not attending Church services, or sharing their faith with others. Still others will even have an excuse to justify not “lending a hand” to those in need. These examples are acts of the flesh and not of the Holy Spirit. The Bible says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold the new has come” (2 Cor. 5:17). A “New creation”means seeing things from God’s perspective and being obedient to His Word. The statesman Benjamin Franklin said: “A person good at making excuses is seldom good for anything else.”
So many will do their best in finding excuses for not trusting the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. Jesus gave the parable of the Great Supper. “When one of those who reclined at the table with Him heard these things, He said to Him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” But He said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. “And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ “And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ “And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’” (Luke 14:15-20). Excuses, excuses, excuses.
We all make excuses for one reason or another. We have heard this excuse by kids “the dog ate my homework.” Or, “the devil made me do it.” Also, “it’s better to make a flimsy excuse than no excuse at all.” Excuses that are not true should not be treated lightly because they are lies. Let us consider well before making excuses. The Bible says, “A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will not escape” (Proverbs 19:5). Just like lying, excuses can become habitual over time. And it may be difficult to quit the habit.
Some of us have tried to share our testimony with the unsaved and talk to them about accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior. It is interesting to hear the various excuses to justify why they refuse to become a Christian. These are not only missed opportunities but it is a very sad mistake. The Scripture says, “Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).