Breaking Free From the Crushing Grip of Excuses
It’s so easy to make excuses when things don’t go your way. Right? One particular friend of mine, who’s a big sports fan and also a youth coach, has a hard time accepting defeat in a pure and humble way. Whenever one of his teams loses, he has a ready excuse. Every single time. There’s literally always an explanation for why they didn’t win. I rarely hear him say something like, “The other team was just better than us. Plain and simple.” Instead, here are a few of his favorite responses:
- Well, we didn’t have everybody eligible for the game.
- Well, that other team has more recruiting resources than we do!
- Well, we weren’t able to practice as hard this week because of facility issues.
- Well, our players were tired from having to be up early for that school commitment before the game.
I fall into a similar pattern when thinking about my sin sometimes. It’s so easy to make an excuse for wrongdoing and attempt to explain away feelings of guilt and shame. For example, when I fell into a habit of gossiping (negatively!) about a couple coworkers, I reasoned to myself, “Well, they’ve said plenty of unkind things about me behind my back. And I’m just trying to help prevent other people from naively falling into the same fake friendship trap that I did.”
Although excuses and explanations might temporarily make us feel better about ourselves, they also stop us from taking ownership of our shortcomings and mistakes. If I’m constantly “justifying” my mess-ups, am I ever actually acknowledging them for what they are, taking ownership and resolving to change?
When John the Baptist preached, preparing the way for Jesus prior to the start of His public ministry, the message was crystal clear: REPENT! Nowhere in Scripture do we find John saying, “Well, honestly, your house is pretty inadequate for the size of your family, so in this situation, it’s probably okay for you to covet your neighbor’s house just a little bit.” As he traveled through the Judean countryside, I’m certain he never said, “Ya know what? I know your dad neglected you when you were a kid, so if you don’t honor him unswervingly, it’s not a huge deal.” And never do we read about him preaching a message like this: “Yes, you should love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul and mind, but if it’s your first time purchasing a property, then just for that month, you can skip tithing, as long as you get right back on the wagon the next month.”
Not a chance. The Gospels tell us that John preached a consistent, bold message of repentance. Loudly, repeatedly and unashamedly. To repent is not only to acknowledge sin and feel bad about it, but it also includes moving in a new direction. It involves turning away from the sin and resolving to make a change—of heart, mind and/or behavior.
I wonder what would happen if my friend who coaches would simply acknowledge his teams’ weaknesses and struggles and get busy figuring out how to guide his team to positive change? The excuses do nothing but maybe give him some temporary peace and false comfort, and the same is true for you and me. When we make excuses for our mistakes, we might feel better about ourselves for a while, but we’ll probably end up staying stuck in sin. Sometimes the cold hard truth is exactly what we need and subconsciously even want to hear. Why? Because it’s the first step to a different way of life, and not just any life, but life lived closer to Jesus.
And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. -Mark 1:4-5
John preached the honest truth, and crowds of people yearning for change were drawn to him. As a result, they were baptized and made ready for their Savior’s arrival. What kinds of positive changes do you think you might experience in your life if you stuck to the facts? …if you acknowledged and confessed your sins, asked for forgiveness, and turned a corner to do things differently? I guess there’s only one way to find out.
Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord. -Acts 3:19