Excuses

Isn't it interesting how an excuse is SO easy to find when we are looking for one? I know this to be true in my life. I've also seen it in the lives of others. Why are we so prone to making excuses? The truth of it is that most of us call them: reasons. In reality, the vast majority of the time...they are excuses, pure and simple. I know, because I do it masterfully. They are not reasons; they are well-thought-out, intricately-designed excuses.

I was thinking about this today, particularly in regards to why we don't do what we know we need to do in our Christian walk. I was SO moved this weekend. I was blessed to be in the same room with over 150 Christian men who came together to eat a meal, fellowship with others, and pray together. I've had many times in my life when I felt that men (most men) were all about women, sports, sex, and testosterone gone-wild. But to listen to the speaker share his story with such emotion and such surrender to God and such devotion to Christ was powerful to me. To see a huge room full of men bow their heads in prayer together after hearing such a real life MANLY story moved me to tears. It was an amazing experience for me. It was for them too. It moved me because God has changed my perception of men--Christian men. My perception was warped by some men that I allowed into my life outside of God's plan for me.

So what does all of this have to do with excuses? I know there were men that needed to be there. I know that there were men that had real reasons why they couldn't be there. And I know that there were men that had excuses. Lame excuses. But excuses that they crafted so well that they couldn't even recognize them as excuses anymore. I know, it's easy for me to say, right? Right, it is easy for me. It is, because I am an expert at doing this too. But the reality of it is I know that there are many Christian men that need other male Christian relationships. I know that not pursuing such relationships can be SO EASY, because all that has to be done is to concoct all kinds of "reasons". But the truth is...all of these hundreds, possibly thousands of men, continue to miss out on something God wants to share in their lives. He wanted more men to be a part of such a moving, bonding, and spiritual experience, but the excuses were rampant. It breaks my heart that men that needed that "stirring" in their lives, hearts, and spirits didn't receive it this weekend because the excuses were just too easy to conjure.

It breaks my heart for them, but it breaks for all of us, myself included, that have missed out on so many, MANY things God wanted to bless us with, that WE decided were not worthy, not needed, not comfortable, etc... Shame on me for doing this MILLIONS of times in my life. I pray that I start TODAY recognizing my reasons for the lame EXCUSES that they really are. I hope that you join me.