But...But...But...

As I was reading about Gideon last night, I saw something that happened to him, that is so commonplace in our lives also. He made excuses, some of which even opposed what God wanted to do in and through him. Have you ever noticed how often we make excuses? We make them all the time! Some are good, while others are not, but that's not the point. Excuses are simply excuses. They are simply "an inferior or inadequate specimen of something specified." In Judges 6 the Lord calls Gideon, "...a mighty man of valor" and commissions him to go and defeat the Midianites. The first things that flow from Gideon's mouth are excuses, similar to those we use in our lives. The problem is that Gideon was seeing things from his own perspective and not God's. He viewed himself as weak, wimpy and incapable. Not only did he view himself this way, but confessed it openly. Our culture thrives on excuses. Whether it's a world leader, a politician, a child, a spouse, or whoever, excuses are far easier to make than take responsibility for something. Can you imagine how things would be if nobody made excuses? Excuses shouldn't be things we hide behind, trying to cover ourselves. Don't forget, the more of them you make, the greater your fall will be. Today, make the choice to stop making excuses. Be a person of your word, taking responsibility for your words and actions, and ask the Lord to let you see things as the Lord sees them :)