The Tribune

By Rev'd Canon S. Sebastian Campbell C.M., J.P.

Quitting, giving up, failing, judging - all these begin with an excuse. Never allow your life to become an alibi - which is simply egotism turned the wrong side out.

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things (Rom, 2:1 NIV). We Christians should be people who make progress, not excused. When we alibi, we always point the blame somewhere else. This causes further judgment to come our way.

There have always been people who have tried to make excuses to the Lord. Some knew their alibis were not true. And then there were those who made excuses and actually believed them; these ended up in much different circumstances.

In Luke 14:18-20 (NIV) Jesus told a parable of the great end-time banquet and the men who were invited to the Lord's table:

"But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, 'I have just bought a field, and I must go to see it. Please excuse me.'

Another said, 'I have just bought five yoke of oxen and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.'

Still another said, 'I just got married, so I can't come.'"

These men alibied and missed out on salvation. All of them made the mistake of believing their alibis rather than God.

Two other men in the Bible, Moses and Gideon, also made excuses to the Lord. The difference is that, although they alibied, they recognized their excuses were not the truth. Moses tried to alibi to God. In Exodus 4:10-12 (NIV), he said:

… "O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the pass nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue."

The Lord said to him, "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or dumb? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? It is not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say."

Gideon, in Judges 6:15 (NIV), argued:

"But Lord …how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, I am the least in my family."

The Lord answered, "I will be with you, and you will strike down the Midianites as if they were but one man."

When you are confronted with an alibi, do as Moses and Gideon: chose to believe God, and not the excuse. In John 15:22 (NIV), Jesus said, "If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin."

Recognize an alibi for what it is - a sin against God.