Blog: Max Dawson
February 15, 2016
Any excuse will do if you don’t want to do something. Make up something. Anything. It doesn’t have to make sense.
I first heard the words in the title above when I was in high school. I had a casual friend named Linda Elder. She was a nice girl. We were talking one day and she revealed to me a little story. The punch line was “Because ice cream doesn’t have any bones.” That absurd little sentence was something that could be used if somebody asked you to do something you didn’t want to do.
A conversation would go something like this:
“Can you help me with my homework?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because ice cream doesn’t have any bones.”
The answer was silly, ridiculous, and made no sense whatsoever. But it was a way of saying, “I just don’t want to do it!”
I think there is nothing particularly wrong with that as long as it is just said in fun.
But I think it is a sentence that some folks ought to use because, in a strange way, it actually speaks the truth. It says, “I don’t want to!”
THE FINAL WORD
What kinds of excuses do folks have for always being late to worship? Or worse, what excuses are given for not showing up at all on Sunday night or Wednesday night?
“The kids had homework.” Was that really the truth? When you have the whole weekend, is Sunday night the only time they can do homework?
“The weather was too bad.” What a strange thing! The weather was too bad to go out to worship. Yet in the course of the week, we go everywhere else regardless of the weather. Was the “excuse” really the truth?
“The weather was too good.” By that they mean that Sunday evening was just so nice outside that it would be a shame to be indoors. Did a little yard work at home.
“The kids were tired.” Maybe they needed a nap. Did you plan for an afternoon nap?
“One of the kids had the sniffles.” And so the whole family had to stay home?
Like the silly excuse about ice cream and bones, these may be only excuses. But we try to make them sound legitimate and respectable. To use the “ice cream” excuse would make it clear that we just don’t want to worship God.
And that is the issue, isn’t it? It is about wanting to worship and please God! The quote below is from . Our relationship with God is about voluntary service. It is about wanting to please God. Volunteers don’t need excuses. They are present to worship and serve. Think about it.
“Your people shall be volunteers in the day of Your power.”
I hope to see you Wednesday at 7:00 for Bible class,
–Max