“’Come; for everything is ready now.’ But they all alike began to make excuses.” ~Luke 14:17b-18a
Excuses. We have them for everything. Chances are, you’ve made an excuse for something already today. Excuses are reasons, whether true or not, for not doing what we know we should.
In this parable, Jesus told a story of a man who was hosting a big dinner. When everything was ready, he sent his servant to bring in the people who had been invited. They all gave excuses for why they couldn’t come. The master then told the servant to bring in the poor, crippled, blind, and lame. When that didn’t fill the house, the servant was sent to find more people. The master had determined that there was no room for those with excuses.
I want to look at those excuses today. There were three given and I think we can each find ourselves in each of them.
“I have bought a piece of land and I need to go out and look at it.”
This guy wanted to look at his stuff. I read that and think, “It’s just a piece of land. Why not take a break and go to the dinner?” But this is a parable about following Jesus and being invited to His banquet.
Do we ever use that excuse? We show off our stuff on a regular basis. My kids are always showing me their creations, which is fine at their age. But how many adults still show off their new cars or their new houses? It’s a status thing. Our culture says that we need a big house in suburbia with a white picket fence and 1.8 children, right? So when we achieve anything that looks like those things, we show them off.
What if that’s not what we are supposed to be striving for though? What if those things are actually a distraction from what Jesus says matters? Those things in themselves are not bad, especially since it’s just as easy for those without the stuff to become envious of those with the stuff, but it’s our attitude toward our stuff that matters.
“I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out.”
Distraction. I confess that this is the excuse that I fall into the most. How often do we us our toys as an excuse for not fully participating in life? Does Facebook suck you in? I have the Kindle and Nook apps on my phone and will read books from my device, but social media is still a solid temptation.
The biggest conviction point on this is how many times do we forget to bring a Bible to church, justify using a Bible app on our phones…and then midway through the sermon find ourselves playing games instead of paying attention?
Technology is the easy culprit for this excuse, but what else do we need to “try out” instead of following Jesus? Anything that distracts us from fully devoting ourselves to God falls into this excuse. Be careful not to fall into legalism with this though – following Jesus does not mean following a set of rules. That overabundance of craft projects isn’t necessarily a distraction. He says to “be joyful always (1 Thess 5:16)” and “make a joyful noise to the Lord (Psalm 100:1, and elsewhere).” What might be distracting us from worshiping Him joyfully?
“I have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come.”
Family comes first, right? Usually yes, except when family is coming before God. God desires our worship above all else. Are you using your kids’ sports or work schedules as an excuse to not attend church? Watching sermons online has it’s merits, but Hebrews 10:25 says we also need to meet together. The community aspect of church is important. Having small kids makes that hard – I get it, we’ve been there. But bring them and even if they have meltdowns and you need to leave early, at least they’re learning that it’s worth getting out of bed on a Sunday to meet with God for those few minutes.
What about praying before meals? Are your kids just so hungry that it’s more peaceful to skip the prayer and just eat? Are you even eating together? While this post is about putting God first above family, what if part of that is recognizing that God says investing in family is more important than sports?
There are so many other excuses we use for not meeting with God. Things like “school comes first,” or “I had to work late.” Those things are important, but if it’s true that there’s nothing we can do to earn more of God’s favor, then why are we investing in them? God likes to do things in threes, and three is enough to communicate the point of the story, but He easily could have listed a dozen more reasons the invited guests missed the banquet. I have my list of excuses that I’m working on. What excuses are you using for not making God a priority?