And they all with one consent began to make excuse. Luke 14:18
Though we don’t often admit it, we like to make excuses for our sin and for why we cannot serve God. It happened for the first time with the very first man and woman ever created. When God came to confront Adam about his sin in the Garden, he blamed Eve. She then immediately pointed her finger at the serpent. We are good at coming up with excuses, but most of them are fed to us by the devil himself. However, there is one excuse that the devil feeds us above all others. He is not going to tell us to out-and-out hate God. He is not going to tell us that we need to become atheists or turn our backs on God completely. No, the devil uses a tactic that is far more subtle than that. The devil’s number one excuse is “do it later.”
For those who are not saved, he simply tells them to do it later. James 2:19 illuminates the fact that even the devils believe and tremble at the thought of God. The devil may not tell an unsaved person that he does not need to trust in Christ as his own personal Saviour. He doesn’t have to, for if he can convince that person that he is promised another day of life, he can sway him to keep putting off accepting Christ until tomorrow. If you have not made plans for eternity, then you have no plans, and when your time on this earth expires, all the money in the world cannot buy you another second of life. Don’t listen to the devil’s lie. If you know not Christ as your Saviour, repent of your sins and accept Him today.
A second way the devil uses his favorite excuse is to try to convince us to get right with God later. Later often turns into never, and many Christians will live their entire lives without ever knowing what it feels like to be truly right with God, without ever knowing His power or His true potential to use them, and without ever having been on praying ground. It starts by listening to the devil tell you to take care of that sin later. Get it right with God today.
A final way the devil uses this excuse it to tell us to serve God later. He convinces us to prioritize money, our jobs, entertainment, and anything else he can persuade us to deem more important than giving our hearts in service to Christ. The moment we step into eternity, I believe we will all wish we had done more for Christ. Do it today. Tell someone about Christ, volunteer to serve in a ministry, sacrifice your time for Christ, just do something. But don’t allow the devil’s number one excuse to pervade your thinking for even one more day.
Read also: Genesis 3:8-13
Quote of the day: “Only one life, ‘twill soon be passed. Only what’s done for Christ will last.”