April 13 ~ Genesis 3:12-13
“It was the woman you put here with me,” the man said. “She gave me some of the fruit, and I ate it.”
The Lord God then asked the woman, “What have you done?”
“The snake tricked me,” she answered. “And I ate some of that fruit.”
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
My maternal grandmother’s younger sister, Mary Louise, was a character. When she was asked to do something that she didn’t want to do, she made up excuses or blamed something or someone else. One Christmas Day, the family had lunch at our house, and before the last dish was washed, “Aunt Wease”, as we called her, had to go home. I asked, “You’re leaving so soon?” She replied… “Oh yes, I have to wash my hair!” Another time, I invited her and my Uncle Earl to a cookout at our house. I called to invite them at least a week in advance, and Aunt Wease said, “Oh, we can’t come… the weather is not going to be good, and I will have allergy problems.” There was no way she could know the weather conditions that far in advance… but that was her story – and they did not come to the cookout!
Like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, we have all sorts of excuses for the things we say and do… and ready justifications for not doing the things that do not interest us - or those we find unpleasant in some way. It’s never our fault… someone gave us a drink or pill and said “Try this… you’ll like it.” If we are asked, “Where did you get that?” our ready answer is, “It was given to me and I didn’t know what it was. I had no idea it was illegal/dangerous/stolen… you fill in the blanks.” We pretend to look the other way rather than confront someone who is telling an off-color joke or making a slur toward someone of another race, lifestyle, or socio-economic class. We didn’t fail to speak to Bob when we saw him at church – we simply didn’t see him (well, we did, but we walked really fast and looked in the other direction!).
Often, we don’t take responsibility for our words and actions, because to do so would mean that we have to admit we know that we are making poor decisions, at best. Adam and Eve were clearly told not to pick the fruit of the Tree of Life… yet Eve made a bad choice. When confronted, Adam blamed Eve… who in turn blamed the snake (devil). When we don’t want to do something, we rarely say, “I simply am not interested.” Instead, we roll out all sorts of excuses. Sometimes, we do this in an effort to protect the feelings of the other party. I’ve done this myself… often with disastrous results.
Other times, we are “discovered”… and more excuses start rolling off of our tongue. Instead of telling someone we didn’t come to visit them when they were sick or injured because we find hospitals and sick beds depressing and upsetting – or we got so engrossed in our own agendas that we totally forgot about this person - we say, “I’m sorry… I was just SO busy – but I thought about you!” (as if this makes it all okay). Rather than admit that we do not feel God calling us to participate in XYZ ministry or Bible study, we smile and say, “I would love to… but I’m just so busy at work/school/home.” When God says to us, “You should help that woman in front of you at the grocery check-out line who is fumbling with her wallet and a small child,” we whisper, “But God… that will embarrass him/her… she doesn’t know me!” and do nothing. Or we tell someone our allergies are flaring or we have to wash your hair in order to flee a social event that is not flipping our wig!
I am not saying to be blunt, unkind or harsh with explanations. But too many of us offer excuses to others – and to God – where none are needed. And often, these alibis and “good reasons” make things worse! God knows already! He knows what we are doing – and why – before we do! And often, the justifications we offer to others – or the blame we pass onto someone else – do nothing more than make us look ridiculous… particularly if the other party discovers the truth!
What is the solution? God is calling us to be genuine… to accept that we are sinners, pure and simple. We humans will make mistakes. We will occasionally exercise poor judgment. There will be unpleasant life situations in which we would rather not participate… and we will have to decide whether we can simply step back and refuse – or whether God is saying, “Do this for Me, and I will help you get through it.” In all things, we need to seek God… to ask Him, “LORD, what do YOU want me to do?” This will greatly reduce the number of lapses we have… and help to build our integrity in the bargain. The devil very well may have encouraged you to make a wrong choice. But Christian disciples can no longer hide behind Satan. Will you stand front and center for Jesus? Shouldn’t you?
©2013 Debbie Robus
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