“For like a poisonous breath over the fields, like a mass of locusts over Egypt, so the swarm of excuses is a general plague, a ruinous infection among men, that eats off the sprouts of the Eternal” (Søren Kierkegaard). “It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one” (George Washington). “He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else” (Benjamin Franklin). You probably have your favorite, your go-to, excuse. We all have them to some degree. In general, it is easier to pass the blame than to bear the weight of scrutiny and guilt yourself. Let’s look at a list of faithful people and compare them to common excuses in their lives.
One very common excuse to alleviate the need to obey scriptures is, “Well I don’t want to condemn my family by obeying”. Which is to say that your obeisance would condemn those that do not obey. The heroes of faith mentioned in Hebrews chapter 11 are to be an encouragement to us as we strive to walk acceptably with God. These were people who had passed the test of faith. Abel offered an acceptable sacrifice to God, but his brother did not (Heb. 11:4). Abel’s offering did not make his brother wrong. Every individual must decide what they will do with Jesus. “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12). Never use the excuse of someone else as the reason that you refuse the Lord’s will.
Another excuse is, “It is too hard!” This is one that works for a lot of different occasions. We see Noah in this list as having worked hard for the Lord. Noah took the time to serve the Lord (Heb. 11:7). Look at all the preaching he did while preparing the ark. Noah would tell us that no work the Lord asks of us is too hard or without value. “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Gal. 6:9). We see this example in Abraham (Heb. 11:8, 17). He tells us that no commands of God are too hard. The difficulty in obeying the commands of God are not the commands themselves but rather the difficulty lies in the heart. God’s commands are not hard to keep if the heart is right.
Lastly, “It doesn’t pay to serve the Lord, bad things still happen to me.” Joseph had hope in the face of troubles (Heb. 11:22). Joseph was mistreated in many ways. There are things that others will do and say to mistreat us, but that is no excuse for quitting the Lord. The Lord has never done anything but good to and for us, “for you, you thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good” (Gen. 50:20).
“But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation…For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love” (Heb. 6:9-10).