Excuses Breed, V

Proverbs 19:¹⁶ “Keep the rules and keep your life; careless living kills.” (MSG).

Excuses are very potent in keeping people stuck in a rut. Excuses that breed SELF-INDULGENCE, excuses that breed RESENTMENT, and excuses that breed CARELESSNESS. Every time we think it will be different for us, we are asking for trouble. Let me give you an example. Years ago, I used to enjoy the speed of accelerating when the stoplight changes to green. I just zoom and before I know it, I am at hundred miles in seconds. I know that is a lot of speed, but then I drop my speed to the speed limit and go on. And every time I do it, I say to myself, ‘You should not be doing this.’ Then I say to myself, ‘I will not get caught.’ And that is the problem. Even if you do not get caught, should you be doing that? But we deceive ourselves with lies such as, ‘I will not get caught, or ‘It will be different with me’.

So, one day, ‘as usual’, I was at the stoplight, it changed to green, and I zoomed. In a few seconds, I was at sixty-nine about to hit seventy when I heard the siren. When you hear that sound, you pull over. The cop checked and checked my records, he was at it for longer than normal, then eventually came back to me and said, ‘For the length of years you have been driving, you do not have a single record or a ticket. Why did you do what you did?’ I said, ‘I have no excuse.’ ‘Was there an emergency?’ he asked. ‘There was no emergency. I have no excuse’, I responded. He said, ‘You have no record. You have no points, nothing for the length of years you have been driving. That is very impressive. I will not give you a record. You can go.’

I said to God, ‘So this is how You show mercy?’ You could say that the policeman was just being kind. But it reminded me of the mercy of God even in my carelessness. Imagine how I drove home. I was purified, and my insides were cleansed by the experience. I did not say because I received God’s mercy, I will continue to be careless. That would be foolishness. We all are guilty of breaking speed limits, and we all need the mercy of God. But when God shows you mercy, you do not respond with more carelessness, you respond with gratitude. Every time you act carelessly, you are asking for trouble. Every time you are careless about your money, your words, and your relationships, you are asking for trouble. So, the challenge is people, Christians say, ‘I know this is wrong, but I wonder how long I can do it without getting caught and getting into trouble?’ That is not a good way to think. Take it from the Word of God, stop being careless.

Prayer: Father, thank You for choosing to show me mercy. I will no longer excuse self-indulgence, resentment, or carelessness, in the Mighty Name of Jesus. Amen!