By Invitation Only: Will Excuses Stop You From Getting In?

"Excuses are monuments of nothing that build bridges to nowhere." ~unknown

Senior year of undergrad I was invited to join a sorority. One of the first things we were told to learn was a quote about excuses. "Excuses are monuments of nothing that build bridges to nowhere" is how it began. I remembered it, but I didn't really soak it in to my psyche. Excuses were what other people gave. I on the other hand simply had reasons.

There was a reason that I could not go to set. There was a reason that I had to be out of town. There were reasons for every single solitary thing that I did not care to do. But, they were never excuses. I looked at excuses with a special kind of disdain. Plus, excuses were solely in the realm of reactionary responses. I believed that if I stated my case for why I could not do something upfront, my reason would have to be accepted.

Guess what? I was right. My reasons were accepted and I went about doing exactly what I wanted to do. And at the end of it all, I still made it in to my sorority. You would think that this was a success story right?????

I made it in to my sorority, but my reasons(also known as excuses) led me to have poor relationships with the majority of the members. I didn't appreciate the fact that membership was by invitation only. I hadn't thought about how my choosing to excuse myself from activities affected our relationships. I hadn't thought about the impact of those things just as many of us don't think about how excuses dressed up as reasons impact our relationship with Christ.

As Christians, we share an invitation only relationship with God. He invited us to join His family and reasoning yourself out of time spent with Him is electing to exclude yourselves from intimately knowing a part of Him. You may not give thought to excusing yourself from prayer, attending service, witnessing, or studying the word. But, excuses will ultimately leave you out of fellowship with God. Contrary to my sorority experience, those who lack relationship will not get in.


****Must read...Luke 14:15-23****

Adayinthelife :-)