The thing that makes an excuse so powerful is the bit of truth tucked inside. Billy Sunday said an excuse is a “skin of a reason stuffed with a lie.” I think an excuse is a reason with self instead of faith applied to it. Here’s some examples of things that are true, but are not worthy excuses.

• “I don’t want to get too close to people. Relationships are too messy.” Yes, relationships are hard & messy. People will offend you and say the wrong things and not notice you and forget to call you. Build relationships anyway.
• “Sunday is my only day to get things done.” Yes, Sunday is the perfect day to get things done before the work week. And it’s hard to wake up. And it’s hard to get the kids ready. Get involved in church anyway.
• “People will try to take advantage of you.” Yes, if you help people you will get taken advantage of. And they do get some help from the government. And they could do more to help themselves. Help people anyway.
• “I can’t share my faith b/c I might not know how to answer people’s questions.” No, you don’t know all the answers and you will get confused by their questions and you will be afraid to talk to them about your faith. Do it anyway.
• “I don’t get along with my neighbor.” Yes, your neighbor is rude not to wave at you and they don’t seem friendly and they seem to be perfectly happy. Look for opportunities to serve them and invite them into your home anyway.
• “Serving others is outside of my comfort zone.” Yes, if you put your Faith in Action you might get your hands dirty and you may not get to consume great worship songs and preaching and you might not get home before noon. Put your faith in action anyway.

If you’re looking for an excuse you’ll find one. Apply faith to any excuse and it will fade away. For the real Christian who walks by faith, what once was hard and weird and easy to excuse becomes a necessity.