DO NOT (PART 23) – NO EXCUSES

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

If you falter in a time of trouble, how small is your strength! Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,” does not He who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not He who guards your life know it? Will He not repay everyone according to what they have done?

Proverbs 24:10-12         

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

We live in a world of great need. People are struggling in a lot of different areas like relationship issues, substance abuse and other addictive sinful behavior, financial difficulty, hunger, and in many nations, persecution and dangerous civil unrest. The width and depth of problems are staggering and can leave us overwhelmed as we consider how we might be able to get involved and help.

So what are we to do? How do we even begin to try and make a difference in a world where the need is so amazingly profound?

The right answer of course is to turn to the One who will always guide us to do the right (and righteous) thing. We need to turn to the Lord.

Believers know this. It’s a base principle of being a Christian as much as living as Christ lived. We do not have the wisdom and discernment to know what is best for our lives to include the decisions we need to make. We can only ensure we are going the right way by first turning to the One, Jesus, our Lord and Savior, who is the Way and the Truth and the Life (John  14:6).

The problem is that we too often fail to do this any of three fronts.

1. Our humanity gets in the way and supersedes us turning to the Lord. We think we can figure things out in many instances, relying and leaning on our own understanding. It’s no wonder why Solomon sternly warns us against doing this in Proverbs, his book of wisdom Proverbs 3:5-6).

2. We just don’t care. Perhaps this is the worst of the three fronts we might adopt when it comes to adversely addressing the problems of others. The attitude is born out of a general self-centeredness that is only concerned about whether or not things are well in our little universe. If someone is going through hardship, we simply take an apathetic stance on it and give thanks that we’re not the ones dealing with it.

3. The last thing that can happen is that we make excuses. Maybe it’s not as bad as just plain not caring but it’s not far behind. When we choose to make excuses, we see a need and somewhat feel compelled to do something but we’re either too lazy or we’re unsure how to take the first step and so instead of doing something, we do nothing and then manufacture some reason to justify it and make ourselves feel better.   

It’s this third front we can adopt that Solomon addresses in the 25th of thirty Sayings of the Wise found between Proverbs 22:17 and Chapter 24. Look at these words from Solomon and hear the “do not” caution within:

If you falter in a time of trouble, how small is your strength! Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,” does not He who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not He who guards your life know it? Will He not repay everyone according to what they have done? Proverbs 24:10-12

When we find ourselves in a position to assist someone in need, the word of God from this saying warns us to “do not” find reasons not to act. In other words, no excuses.

We are to pursue every avenue to rescue people from whatever they are facing. Solomon mentions death and slaughter but this could include any situation a person needs saved from. There is no doubt we are called to action here, not called to sit back and ponder whether we should get involved or not. When we do that, we get into the arena of excuse making. Look at the one Solomon mentions in particular here:

“But we knew nothing about this.”

The Living Bible translates this verse as, “Don’t try to disclaim responsibility by saying you didn’t know about it.”

We do try and deflect involvement by claiming ignorance at times. But note how Solomon reminds us about two things about the Lord we serve and why trying to falsely claim we had no knowledge of a need is a fruitless endeavor:

1. “Does not He who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not He who guards your life know it?”

Friends, we need to get this into our heads for there is nothing hidden from the Lord’s sight. Nothing. So why do we try and disguise our thoughts, feelings, and inner motives when He knows our every thought and sees through every excuse we create. Trying to claim we knew nothing when we did is nothing short of sinful lying and we know the Lord will never favor that. This leads to the second thing about our Lord we had better remember.

2. “Will He not repay everyone according to what they have done?”

Friends, we are accountable for our actions. It’s plain and simple. The Lord is the right and just Judge of us all. Know and trust He will mete out discipline to anyone who chooses sin over righteousness, repaying everyone according to what they have done. So why would we even consider conscientiously doing anything that is sinful, like claiming we don’t know about a problem we’re aware of and shunning our responsibility to get involved and help in some way?

In the end translation, the Lord wants and expects results, not excuses. In every situation we encounter in life, we will always go the right way when we turn to Him and ask Him what He wants us to do. Know and trust that He will always guide you the right way and provide you what you need to fulfill His purposes to include shelter and safety if what you are called to do involves danger.

Again, what did Solomon say in Chapter 3:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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