NO EXCUSES

Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes. Job 42:6

     A company found itself in the middle of tense negotiations with union leaders. Company officials insisted that workers were abusing sick-leave privileges. The union denied it.
     One morning at the bargaining table the company's negotiator held up the sports page of the local newspaper. He pointed to a picture showing an employee winning a golf tournament in town. "This man," the negotiator declared, "called in sick yesterday. But here he is in the paper beside a caption describing his excellent golf score."
     After a moment of silence a union man spoke up. "Wow," he said, "think of the score he could have had if he hadn't been sick!"
     Nice try! We can deny - we can try to cover up deceptions or our misbehavior. But it usually doesn't take us very far. Our sins have a way of finding us out. The wise man is abundantly clear: "He who covers his sins will not prosper" (Prov. 28:13).
     Hollow excuses really don't provide many substantial answers. Flimsy reasoning is sometimes used to cover the grossest sins.
     John Wayne Gacy, Jr., was convicted of murdering scores of children in his Chicago home. He claimed innocence despite the discovery of 27 bodies in a crawl space under the house. How did he respond as he faced death by lethal injection? Gacy said, "In my heart, as God is my witness, I haven't killed anyone."
     "It wasn't really me." "I couldn't help myself." Such excuses have become all too common recently.
     Scripture calls for something far different than lame excuses.
     In a culture that often denies the reality of right and wrong, God calls for boldfaced, on-your-knees, heartfelt repentance. Repentance is a deep sorrow for sin. It is hurting because I have hurt the heart of God. It is weeping over my sins because God weeps over them. It is grieving over my sin because God grieves over it. It is feeling the pain of my sin because God has felt its pain.
     Excuses produce only more guilt. Repentance leads to forgiveness. Forgiveness gives way to healing, and healing brings wholeness.