Stop Making Excuses

One of my favorite people in the world is Eric Weaver.  Eric is the Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church in Forrest City, IA and is an extremely gifted husband, father and communicator of the gospel.  He is currently guest blogging for Doug Wolter (another one of my favorite people) and in his first ever blog post (that I know of) he really hits a home run as he talks about excuses.  He writes:

Excuses. Excuses. Excuses. I’m tired of excuses. I’m not pointing fingers because I know in the middle of my chest beats a highly proficient excuse making machine. I make excuses for my apathy. I make excuses for my lack of discipline. I make excuses for my persistent indifference. I think after all these years I finally get what my dad meant when he said, “Son, excuses are like…” Well, never mind what my dad said. Let’s just say the sanctified version says something like “we’ve all got excuses!”

Excuses abound where the gospel is not prized. This is a truth I’ve learned first hand over the past year. When a community loses sight of the awe and wonder of our holy God, excuses will creep into conversation. When husbands fail to confess selfishness and greed, excuses drift into marriages. When parents leave behind the abundant grace offered through the cross and discipline toward behavior modification rather than capturing their children’s hearts, excuses become all too frequent. When friends in the church forget their role as instruments of restoration in the hands of the Reconciler, excuses replace authenticity. Intimacy suffers where excuses remain. That’s true in marriage. It’s true with your kids. And it’s an unfortunate reality in the church.

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