Is there anything better than a good excuse? How many movies have you seen revolve around some sort of excuse that gets out of hand? Like the time-honored favorite, Mr. Ripped and Miss Purty have to get married immediately lest one or both get deported, and somehow despite completely hating each other to begin with, they miraculously come together and find true love in their sham marriage. The more convoluted a path and the more excuses it takes to get there, the better.
Why are we so interested in the complex? Why do we have to come up with myriad (*word of the day alert*) reasons for any action? When do we lose our child-like honesty and forthrightness?
**Flashback to childhood**
Child 1: Hey, my dad asked me to help rake leaves. Wanna help?
Child 2: Nah, I’d rather go play.
**end flashback**
EXCUSE ME
Unfortunately, this abstract excusosity* blossoms as we grow into adulthood, and not always in a good way. If some friends are going to a questionable movie, and you know you shouldn’t go, what do you say?
a) “Nah, I have a lot of work to do tonight.”
b) “That’s ok, I heard it wasn’t that funny.”
c) “I can’t, the Batphone is ringing. The commissioner needs me.”
On the other hand, look at Mordecai’s response in Esther 3. Why doesn’t Mordecai bow to Haman? He is a Jew. He belongs to God, pure and simple. He won’t do what he knows he shouldn’t. Notice he doesn’t say he has a bad back, or that he bowed at the office; he flat out says the reason. It’s a freeing thing when you know who you are and whose you are. All the ambiguity starts slipping away.
CAN I GET BACK TO YOU?
What if we did that?
Friend: Why don’t you go the movie tonight?
You: I’m a Christian.
Co-Worker: Why would you leave America and go do mission work overseas?”
You: I’m a Christian.
Spuds MacKenzie: Why don’t you go to the bar with the rest of us?
You: I’m a Christian. And I hate dogs.
This isn’t to say that we should be self-righteous or more-awesome-than-thou, but we should be able to say directly, I don’t do this thing, I don’t go there, I don’t watch that – because I follow Christ.
Isn’t that reason enough?
* Yes, I know it’s not a word. But it should be.