Excuses Breed, I

Luke 14:^18-20 “But they all began making excuses. One said, ‘I have just bought a field and must inspect it. Please excuse me.’ Another said, ‘I have just bought five pairs of oxen, and I want to try them out. Please excuse me.’ Another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’”

We are still learning about Traction, and for the next few days we will be fixing our gaze on spiritual traction. The reality is there are a lot of people who are saved but they are not strong spiritually, and as such, there is no strong continuous forward movement and control. In other words, they do not have Spiritual traction. Luke 1:⁸⁰ “And the child grew and became strong in spirit…”. In the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, you will grow and become strong in spirit. All our children will grow and become strong in spirit. When you have spiritual traction, you are not blown about by every wind of doctrine. You are not blown about by the whims and caprices of the devil. You are focused, making progress, moving forward, and your life is under control. You will have spiritual traction because God is sorting out all that pertains to your spiritual traction.

We will start by looking at three things that reduce spiritual traction and three things that give spiritual traction. The things that reduce traction are pretty effective and the reason is, they are always hinged on excuses. As lame as excuses sound, excuses are actually very potent in keeping human beings stuck in a rut. So, what are these excuses that wear out our spiritual grip and ensure that even when we have a grip there is no traction? The first is The Excuse that breeds SELF-INDULGENCE. We have decided to focus on what the excuse does, because the excuses are different for different people depending on background, culture, etc. But these excuses, no matter what it is for everyone, breed self-indulgence.

We will look at one such excuse that cuts across, even though people may have different variations. And it is the excuse of ‘Just This Once’. For instance, you need to get up early to pray before going to work. Or you have a project you are working on that your day job does not allow you time for and you need to carve out two extra hours. But when it is time to sleep, you decide to see what movies are on telling yourself that it is just this once and you indulge. You know you should quit drinking, but you take a drink and tell yourself just this once. You are spending time with someone you are not supposed to be with, and you tell yourself it is just this once.

These excuses take out spiritual traction. They reduce the treading of your spiritual wheels. Television adverts tell you to ‘Obey Your Thirst’ or ‘Just Do It’. Some say, ‘I owe it to myself’ or ‘if it feels good, just do you’. These are excuses for self-indulgence, and they are so powerful at keeping people spiritually dull and reducing spiritual strength.

Prayer: Father, help me make progress spiritually and not make excuses, in Jesus Name. Amen!