Excuses or Excellence

Colossians 3:17 CEB

17 Whatever you do, whether in speech or action, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus and give thanks to God the Father through him.

Excuses or Excellence

Imagine sitting next to someone who seems to have a PhD in making excuses. Go ahead, raise your hand if you can relate! We've all been there, haven't we? Sometimes, it feels like we have an endless supply of creative excuses at our fingertips. Here are a few classics in case your excuse bank needs a refill:

"I'm swamped with work right now."

"Sorry, I don't have insurance coverage for that."

"My life is a bit of a whirlwind at the moment."

"I never agreed to take on that responsibility."

"I've got a mountain of laundry waiting for me at home."

Let’s look at some excuses people might have about church. There is an old song that has these words:

Excuses, excuses, you'll hear them every day. And the Devil he'll supply them if the church you stay away. When people come to know the Lord, the Devil always loses So to keep them folks away from church, he offers them excuses.

In the summer it's too hot. And, in the winter, it's too cold. In the spring time when the weather's just right, you find some place else to go. Well, it's up to the mountains or down to the beach or to visit some old friend. Or, to just stay home and kinda relax and hope that some of the kin folks will start dropping in.

Well, the church benches are too hard. And, that choir sings way too loud. Boy, you know how nervous you get when you're sitting in a great big crowd. The doctor told you, "Now, you better watch them crowds. They'll set you back." But, you go to that old ball game because you say "it helps you to relax."

Well, a headache Sunday morning and a backache Sunday night. But by worktime Monday morning, you're feeling quite alright. While one of the children has a cold, "Pneumonia, do you suppose?" Why the whole family had to stay home, just to blow that poor kid's nose.

Well, the preacher he's too young. And, maybe he's too old. The sermons they're not hard enough. And, maybe they're too bold. His voice is much too quiet-like. Sometimes he gets too loud. He needs to have more dignity. Or, else he's way too proud.

Well, the sermons they're too long. And, maybe they're too short. He ought to preach the word with dignity instead of "stomp and snort." Well, that preacher we've got must be "the world's most stuck up man." Well, one of the lady's told me the other day, "Well, he didn't even shake my hand."

But let's delve deeper. Beyond the humorous side, the story of the Good Samaritan touches on something profound about human nature—our choices and the excuses we craft around them. It's a tale of what we want to do, what we should do, and those moments when what we should do clashes with what we want to do, leading us down the path of searching for excuses. This is a universal experience, isn't it? We all find ourselves in this struggle at some point.

Think about it. What's our first instinct when faced with something we know we should do but don't particularly want to? Excuses start to sprout like weeds in a garden. It's almost a reflex, isn't it? We're all masters at justifying why we can't or shouldn't do something, even when, deep down, we know it's the right thing to do. Recognize this pattern in yourself?

A Tough Decision

In the story of the Good Samaritan, three characters are faced with the same situation. They each see the same victim, and each can respond. From these three characters, Jesus taught us how to respond in love when facing a neighbor's unexpected needs.

The priest was the first character to make an excuse. We are unsure of the excuse because Jesus did not offer that information. Apparently, it was sufficient to justify not helping the victim and leaving the scene. What are some possible excuses the priest may have had?

What about: "I'm too tired. I've been working hard for God all week." We can all understand that excuse. You were at church all morning and then stayed for an afternoon meeting. You are tired and want to get home. Suddenly, you see a traffic accident ahead of you. Should you stop and offer to help or pass by and get home? You may have heard the famous quote from Vince Lombardi: "Fatigue makes cowards of us all."

Or how about this as an excuse for the priest: "I can't become unclean by touching the unclean." If the priest becomes ceremonially unclean, he will not be able to perform his priestly duties for seven days and will be required to go through the cleansing ritual described in Numbers 19:11–12: Whoever touches a human corpse will be unclean for seven days. They must purify themselves with the water on the third day and on the seventh day; then they will be clean. But if they do not purify themselves on the third and seventh days, they will not be clean. Jesus said the man was "half dead," which could mean he appeared dead to anyone who did not get close enough to find out for sure. Obviously, Jesus did not deem these excuses acceptable.

The Levite was the next excuse maker to come along the road and view the victim. What might his excuses have been? Perhaps, "I'm too tired," "I am too busy," or "My family is waiting for me to come home. Whatever his excuses may have been, they were unacceptable to Jesus.

No good excuses exist for not obeying God's call to help others. We are called to live for God's glory with an attitude of thanksgiving. Making excuses not to obey is a form of idolatry. It is making an idol out of our comfort and putting that before obeying God and bringing him glory in our lives.

The Samaritan,a man shunned by the Jews, took the only acceptable action. The Samaritan stopped what he was planning to do and took action to help the man, regardless of whether he was tired, busy, or trying to keep to a schedule.

I bet we could come up with many creative excuses for not helping someone in need today. Of course, we would not call them "excuses." We would call them "reasons." What is the difference between a reason and an excuse? A reason is what I come up with, and an excuse is what you come up with!

The actual difference has to do with our inner motivation. If our inner motivation is not to help, then we will look for excuses to justify not helping. However, if our inner motivation is to help, anything that restrains us or hinders us from helping is a reason why we cannot help, even though we want to. For example, if you were a mother with several small children in your car, it would be risky, if not irresponsible, to leave them unattended in order to help someone else. That's a reason that restrains you from helping, even though you want to help.

Jesus honored the Samaritan for his action and condemned whatever excuses the priest and Levite might have had. Instead of coming up with excuses, we need to consider the possibilities.

Looking at Possibilities

Remember, your actions, no matter how small, can make a significant difference.

Even if the circumstances are challenging, make the most of the situation and offer your help. Understand that you are in this situation for a reason. Perhaps your role is simply to offer a prayer for someone in need. In other words, do what you can.

A woman happened upon a traffic accident in which a lady was pinned inside her vehicle. Someone had already called emergency services, and rescue workers were en route with the hydraulic tool that could bend the metal that was trapping her inside the car. Before the rescue workers arrived, the woman held her hand and prayed with the trapped lady until she was freed from the vehicle. Looking back on that traumatic event, the trapped lady reported that she not only appreciated the emergency workers but also greatly appreciated the unknown woman who held her hand and prayed with her. She called her an angel because she brought her the comfort desperately needed at the time.

Do what you can to help.

Don’t let your plans become idols.

We can make idols out of anything. We can make an idol out of something good, like planning. Planning is a good thing. Some of you need more of that good thing! Planning is the key to being more productive. But remember, planning can become an idol if we are unwilling to change our plans when divine providence directs. Whatever your plans are, recognize that God is Lord over your plans. If His divine providence places you in a new situation, your plans need to change to fit that new situation. Plans can be and must be altered to fit God’s new direction. This is not a restriction, but a freedom to adapt and grow.

For some, the idea of altering their plans seems like a significant sacrifice. If this resonates with you, consider that you might be placing your plans above the Second Great Command to “love your neighbor as yourself.” If this is a recurring pattern, make a conscious decision: 'I give God permission to change my plans.' Write it down and post it somewhere visible. You might have your day meticulously planned, but God might have a different agenda. We must be prepared to pivot if God presents a need that disrupts our plans. This is divine providence at work, guiding us towards a different path.

The apostle James cautions us about the presumptuousness of our plans: 'Listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” You don't even know what will happen tomorrow. Your life is like a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you should say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that” (James 4:13–15).

We must be reminded today that our plans may be presumptuous! Maybe we should leave room for God to change them by saying, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” We should understand that our plans should be discarded if God guides us in a different direction. Acts of divine providence are God’s way of guiding our direction. We should believe that God is guiding our steps. Any change in circumstances may be the hand of God redirecting our plans. Remember, life is unpredictable, but God's guidance is a constant, providing us with security and direction.

Do you believe that God guides our steps? Psalm 37:23 (NASB) says: The steps of a man are established by the LORD, and He delights in his way. To believe this promise means we believe God is guiding our steps and delights in walking with us in these new adventures.

The Samaritan changed his plans. We are not told where the Samaritan was going or what he was doing, but we do know he set aside his plans to prioritize the victim’s needs. Rarely are we strolling along with nothing to do, looking for victims to help! It’s always going to be “suddenly.”

Prioritize the needs of your neighbor.

We all have needs. We all have laundry that needs to be done. We all have something we want to do with our time. But when providence takes us into a needy situation, we should change our priorities in response.

Helping the needy always means changing priorities. The Samaritan changed his priorities when he saw the victim's needs. That was what Jesus was commending about the Samaritan: his love for his neighbor changed his priorities. "Love your neighbor as yourself" means prioritizing your neighbor's needs as much as you prioritize your own.

Do whatever glorifies God in the name of Jesus.

Paul taught the Colossian believers a principle that applies to many situations: And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Our words and deeds are to be done in the name of Jesus for the glory of God the Father and with an attitude of thankfulness to God.

 What does it mean to serve “in the name of Jesus”? It means we are serving in the place of Jesus in the way that Jesus would serve if he were physically here. Serving in the name of Jesus should be reflected in how we serve: Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters (Colossians 3:23). Our service to others is also our service to God. That service is to be done with a good attitude, reflecting how much we love the Lord and how much we care for others.

When we serve in the name of Jesus, we are putting his fingerprints on our actions. We are serving with his hands and feet, as he would do it. When you and I help our neighbor because Jesus has called us to love them, we bring glory to his name.

Religious duty cannot be an acceptable excuse for ignoring our neighbor's needs.

Our choices are usually not between "good" and "bad" but between "good" and "best." The "good" can become the enemy of the "best." The "best" is following God's new direction, not sticking with our previous "good" direction.

The priest and the Levite may have been committed to doing some good religious duty. Maybe they thought their calling to be priests or Levites was fulfilling God's plan and performing their religious duty to God. But Jesus disagreed. Their good became the enemy of their best. Helping their neighbor was their best religious duty. Sometimes, following God means interrupting other good religious duties.

Excuses or Excellence

Jesus commended the Samaritan for changing his plans and priorities, getting off his animal, and making the personal sacrifices to bind up the victim's wounds. We all commend the Samaritan and admire his actions, but Jesus didn't stop there. He said, "Go and do likewise." This is where the story gets personal. We are no longer talking about a Samaritan two thousand years ago. We are talking about you and me today.

Jesus said, "Go and do likewise." He's talking to you. "Go and do likewise." He's talking to me. "Go and do likewise." He's talking to our church. "Go and do likewise."

Jesus is commanding us to engage our neighbor in his name!

Are your plans flexible enough for Jesus? Are we doing what we can to prioritize our neighbor's needs as much as we prioritize our own? Are we making excuses, or are we glorifying God in our actions?

Maybe today, you need to consider how you can "go and do likewise." Don't think up excuses. Go and do like the Samaritan did.