Monday; February 20

While Presidents Day has come to honor all of the presidents of the United States, there are a couple that tend to stand out on this day: Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. Since Washington’s birthday is this week, I got to looking at some of his quotes. (I am not sure if he if famous because he is so quotable or if he is quoted so often because he is famous, but either way, there is a lot of stuff out there.) As I perused some of his sayings, I came across a short one that packs a powerful punch, “It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one.”. At first blush, there is an obvious simplicity to this observation, but the further you dig, the more wisdom you find. Years ago I heard someone describe an excuse as a “tissue-papered lie”. Sure, there are times when we have reasons for why we do or don’t do something, but all-too-often, we try to excuse our way out of failures. There are times when we are tempted to out-and-out lie about our failures; then, probably more often, we try to manipulate things in such a way that we spin them to our advantage. While there may be some truth in what is offered, the primary reason we offer it is to make us look better.
Excuses that are provided to cover up our deficiencies would be what Washington would cite as "bad”. Not only are they bad because we set out to fool others, they have a tendency to fool ourselves. It is bad enough to try to excuse our actions to others, the real danger is when we begin to believe our own propaganda. The problem is that while we might believe it, most people can see right through it. This is especially true of God. We might be able to dress something up enough to convince others, but God knows our hearts so we might as well be honest with Him. The New Testament reminds us, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9).
Let’s practice honest and accountability. When we do, God will forgive us and others will be more apt to respect us.
Think About It!

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