Following Jesus requires discipline, loyalty and persistence. For example, when you become aware of sin that hurts others, what do you do?

Well, here are some things I have actually heard:

  • “I don’t want to know what happened.”
  • “Our leaders are ordained and so must be right.”
  • “If I stand up for what is right it will cost me too much, and so I am sorry. I can’t do anything. I do care, though.”
  • “I think you should fight it. I can’t help, but you should fight.”
  • “The whole matter is over with now, so let it go.”

no-excusesJesus learned to be obedient through suffering, not excuses. “Although Jesus was the Son {of God}, he learned to be obedient through his sufferings…We have a lot to explain about this. But since you have become too lazy to pay attention, explaining it to you is hard” (Hebrews 5:8, 11 God’s Word).

What athlete excels without pain and sacrifice? What battle against evil was ever won without training and obeying orders? What farmer ever harvested a crop without plowing and planting and fertilizing during long workdays that sometimes extend into the night? Excuses for being lazy do not replace determined effort to succeed!

So, what’s your excuse for being a lazy religious person? Before you deny that you are lazy, what did you do in the last year  to support a victim, confront an authority, achieve justice for the wrongly accused? Not what did you say or think or feel, but what you did? “You fool! Do you have to be shown that faith which does nothing is useless?” (James 2:20 God’s Word).