No excuses!

There are reasons for everything we do. We like to take credit for noble causes, while it's much easier to blame others when we make a bad choice. Because when we decide to do something, the choices involved in that decision reflect our priorities. When those decisions are misguided or thoughtless, or when they reflect indifference toward the things that really matter, (for example, our faith), we make excuses to justify them. This practice of making excuses is at least as old as Adam and Eve, and continue today.

Here's the situation. So you went to the ball game last night. Your team won and you stayed out a little bit later than you should have. Fast-forward six or seven hours and you're still poking along nowhere near being ready to leave for work. What do you do?

A. Tell your boss the truth and assure him this is a one-time thing.

B. Cook up an elaborate tale that involves checking the morning's traffic conditions, implicating your children and cursing the inventor of orange juice.

One in five admit to making up fake excuses to explain their tardiness. While excuses may have a humorous side, it often says something vital about our character. As Christians, we offer God all kinds of excuses (many of which seem reasonable to us) why we cannot be committed disciples.

There's a difference between interest and commitment. When you're interested in doing something, you do it only when it's convenient. When you're committed to something, you accept no excuses; only results. We were interested, but on own terms and convenience. We want a less demanding religion, a convenience store Christianity where we can choose a smorgasbord of religion that will meet our needs. We become "Consumer Christians" who shop for a church that is most convenient for their needs and switch, as casually as they change brands of dishwasher detergent, if they think they can get a better package deal.

The market mentality is clear: so long as faith meets our needs without imposing too many burdens on us, we maintain our interest. But when it comes to accepting the hard demands of the Gospel and the risks associated with discipleship, we often shirk from the task at hand. And though we offer many good reasons for placing the demands of Christ lower on our priority lists than we should, they become empty excuses when we remember that God placed us first by offering His only Son to death for us.

Jesus is not calling us to a convenient religion. He is calling us to a fundamental transformation of life -- a life of committed, responsible discipleship. We must realize that we cannot live the Christian faith on our own terms. We cannot mold God into our liking. We must accept the burden the Cross imposes upon us. Jesus is asking us to choose the "best" instead of the "good."

He wants first place in our lives, so we never look back, but always look forward to the Cross that leads us to victory and eternal life. No excuses!

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Editor's note: The Rev. Dr. Scott Stewart is the pastor of Pea Ridge United Methodist Church and Brightwater Methodist Church. The opinions expressed are those of the writer. He can be contacted at [email protected] or 479-659-9519.