Text: Luke 14: 15 – 24
Memory Verse: "I tell you," He replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out." Luke 19: 40
Welcome to May, the month of change. May God bring great and positive changes into your life and situation, this month of May; and may He make you a positive and effective agent of change throughout the month and beyond. After all, whenever God touches and blesses us, He expects us to become blessings to others.
I recently found myself singing over and over again, one of the choruses we were taught in my childhood sunbeam class. The song, literarily translated, goes like this: “I am the one you should use for your glory, O Lord; and do not replace me with stones, O holy King”. This song was an apparent reference to our memory verse quoted above. And as I sang it repeatedly, I began to ponder on those things that could make God to replace me or any other person for that matter, with stones. One of such things that the Holy Spirit revealed to me is what this Homily is about – excuses. As if to confirm it, an experience I had very recently involving one of my patients, brought to bear the frustration that our excuses might be giving God. Please permit me to share this experience.
I saw this patient in my clinic recently; his symptoms were so specific and precise, pointing to a very serious and life threatening medical condition. Frustratingly however, there were no definite physical signs to strongly confirm the diagnosis. So, I had to arrange some investigations to help confirm the diagnosis so that the correct management could be started immediately. Drafting all my communication skills, I explained my suspicion of serious condition to the patient (without frightening him and without falsely reassuring him) and strongly advised that he needed to undergo all the tests I was arranging. This was when I received the greatest shock of my professional experience. This patient began to give me every excuse conceivable in human mind, just to avoid undergoing these tests. In my frustration, I enquired to know from him why he was so unwilling to undergo these tests, giving the potential seriousness of his condition; but then came even more excuses. At that point, my frustration began to give way to helplessness, and what I began to think of was how to cleverly but firmly and safely conclude the consultation; and nicely get this man out of my room so that I can carry on seeing the rest of my patients, who by now had become tired of waiting. Whereas this man had a potentially sinister condition, and although there were available free medical solutions which I, his physician was prepared to facilitate, he could not get much help as a result of various excuses he gave.
The dictionary has many meanings for excuse. Some of my favorite ones defined excuse as: i. “an explanation offered as a reason, or a plea offered in extenuation of a fault or for release from an obligation, promise, etc”; ii. “to offer an apology for; seek to remove the blame of”; iii. “to seek or obtain exemption or release for”; iv. “a reason that you give to explain why you did something wrong”. However, the best definition I have for excuse is the one formulated by one of my daughters recently. She defined excuse during one of our family devotional times, as “something you say to make you feel good when you have failed to do what you ought to do, that would have made you feel good.” In other words, excuses are the offerings we present to appease our guilty conscience whenever we deliberately refuse or plan to refuse to do what we know is right to do. And to refuse to do what we know is right is sin, so says the bible. One main characteristic of excuses is falsehood – either blatant or subtle. With excuses come exaggeration and colouration, in great attempt to make usually simple and inconsequential issue or situation big, important and complex, in other to win sympathy. The usual effects of excuses are frustration and disappointment for the party to whom excuses are given; and loss of respect and blessings for the excuse giver. The story from our text illustrates these effects of excuses so strongly.
I dare say that many of us are as guilty of giving excuses, not only to our fellow human beings, but to also God, as my patient illustrated above in my story. We are very good at it and sometimes so good that we justify ourselves with it. However, as I was put in a state of frustration and helplessness by the excuses of a man who desperately needed my help, which I was willing to give, so often our excuses ‘frustrate’ God and make Him unable to help us. Worst still, sometimes our excuses delay the achievement of God’s ordained purpose for His creation. And this is when God will be ‘forced’ to look for alternative person or thing to bring about His purpose. After all, no power or authority in heaven and on earth can stand against God and His purpose. The surest way to disobey God and still feel good about it is by giving excuses. However, remember that God cannot be mocked; He knows the intents of your heart and He judges you based on it. He will not allow you to frustrate Him or His plans; instead He will rather replace you with something or someone who is ready to cooperate with Him. So avoid given excuses, yield promptly to God.
This is the word of the Lord for this month