I hear a lot of excuses in the work I do. “Oh, Risë, I wasn’t able to follow through on what we talked about because …. I don’t exercise because… I can’t stop eating at nighttime because ….” The because could be followed with “I’m too busy,” “pain,” “lack of energy,” “I don’t have the will power,” “travel,” “the time of day or month,” “my spouse,” “availability,” “the weather,” “my mood,” etc.
My response to the excuses is something like, “I get it.” And I do. I do get it. I’m human. Making excuses is natural to us and started when Adam pointed the finger at Eve, and Eve pointed the finger at the serpent.
Excuse can be pronounced and mean a couple of different things. The excuse I’m referring to is defined as a reason or explanation given to justify a fault or offense, to lessen or eliminate liability, accountability, or responsibility.
The problem with excuses is that they don’t get us where we want to go. They are dead-end detours. No one ever excused themselves to success; whether that is successful weight loss, or lifestyle changes, or careers, or meaningful relationships. Nope. One of the first lessons taught in the Navy SEALS training is taking responsibility for outcomes—period. The highest leadership tiers role model this, and can be fired for subordinate mishaps. Why? Because it’s not about the person. It’s about the mission.
Jesus told a story of a wealthy man who had prepared a grand supper and invited guests. He sent his servant out to gather the guests and let them know the supper was ready. The response from the guests was unanimous. “But they all with one accord began to make excuses” (Luke 14:15). One person had just purchased property, another had purchased cows, another had just gotten married. I guess because I am a true foodie, all these excuses sound lame to me, and I hope I wouldn’t have said the same thing if I had been invited to a feast. But, I’m human, too. Regardless, this tendency to seek to justify our actions or inaction is worth fighting against. You see, if it’s important enough to us, we will find a way. If it’s not that important, we’ll find an excuse.
Learning to be liable, accountable, responsible, and to follow through no matter what is something Scripture honors. “Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? … He who swears to his own hurt and does not change” (Psalm 15:1, 4). The Bible points out that one of our primary responsibilities is to look out for our physical bodies. We are the ones who, at the end of the day, present our bodies to God (Romans 12:1–2). We stand by our decision to have self-mastery and choose to be temperate in all things (1 Corinthians 9:25). We are the ones who bring our bodies into subjection (1 Corinthians 9:27).
This is no easy task. We could focus on numerous factors that work against us faithfully carrying out this responsibility, but the promise that all of God’s biddings are enablings means that we have the resources of Heaven at our disposal to help us live without excuses.
