Please Excuse Me!
By
Shelby G. Floyd
On one occasion, Jesus went to the
home of a prominent Pharisee for dinner.
A man sitting at the table with Jesus said, "Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the
"The first said, I have just
bought a field, and I must go and see it.
Please excuse me. Another said, I
have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me. Still another said, I just got married, so I
can't come" (Luke
The
world has not changed much today as far as making excuses for not doing the
will of God.
Many Christians today make excuses for
their lack of interest in the work and worship of the church. For example, some go out for dinner on
Saturday night or to some place of amusement and stay out until very late. And then they make the excuse that they did
not feel well and therefore could not come to Sunday school and worship.
Others give the excuse that they have
worked very hard all week putting in many hours. They state they have gotten up very early and
did not get home from work until very late.
In their mind since Sunday morning is the only morning in the week that
they can sleep late, God will accept this excuse for not going to worship. They ask God to accept their excuse, but they
would not offer the same excuse to their boss for not going to work. Disobeying
God's Word and not carrying out our duty is sinful.
Since
Christ came down from heaven and lived among us and spoke to us the will of
God, we are without excuse when we do not fulfill our responsibility. Jesus once said concerning people who were
rejecting him, "If I had not come
and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their
sin" (John