No Excuse

It is said that silence can speak volumes, and I suppose that those are very true words given the correct circumstance. And in my mind, I can see that what the Bible DOESN'T say can speak volumes as well. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those people who think that if Jesus didn't directly address an issue then such issue must be permissible. For instance, Jesus didn't directly address homosexuality, but I do not believe that it is a permissible lifestyle, as some churches have now adopted. The Bible is plain on this issue, as it can be found in several scriptures. And I also believe murder to be wrong, even though Jesus doesn't directly address murder. But I do believe that God loves all of us despite what sin is in our lives, whether we call it sin or a lifestyle, or if it's just a bad decision.

But lifestyle is not the direction of this blog, but rather the volume of what the Bible DOESN'T say; and how that affects our lifestyles. We should do our best to follow God's word and the Bible has given us wisdom, good news, and hope as it provides guidance on how we should live our lives. We can search through the Bible and find answers to our problems and how to behave in the face of our problems.

But what we will not find are excuses. We will not find a verse that tells us that God's words are conditional, even though our circumstances are. On the contrary, I can recall some scripture that says all men are without excuse. The only "exceptions" seem to be a verse in Proverbs, I think, that says to leave a man who is in despair to his drink, and that divorce is unacceptable, except in the case of infidelity; a lesson that we probably need a refresher course on in our society. Other than that, I can think of no excuses, exceptions, or any amendments to God's guidelines for our lives. Granted, we dilute God's word and His plans by adding our own amendments, as if the Bible is a constitution or some kind of parliamentary procedure; but no such provisions exist other than in our own corrupt minds and our own rebellious hearts.

And maybe you think it is harsh to use words such as "corrupt" or "rebellious", but they are accurate words and the sooner we learn this, the better we will be.

No excuses.

Slaves are not told to revolt against their master because their rights are being violated. They are actually told to obey their masters; regardless of their circumstance. A person is not told to take a person to the cleaners in a court of law if they are harmed, hurt, or mistreated. On the flip side, they are said to give more to the one who opposes them than what is asked for. Enemies are not taught to be treated using Machiavellian code of ethics, but are taugth to be be prayed for and to be kind to. Someone wants you to walk a mile, go two. Render unto Cesar what is Cesar's, even if you are cheated, mistreated, or unrepresented in congress. Love your enemies.

But I try to get back to the point again; and more importantly are not the words that are written, but the words that aren't.

Consider the situation of a bad co-worker, someone who lies and hurts you. Are you entitled to payback an eye for an eye by, in turn, becoming harsh and dishonest towards the one who initially hurt you? Someone back stabs you at church and harms the ministry, are you entitled to sling mud in order to clear your name? SHouldn't you be entitled to do such?

"Treat your neighbor as yourself"; as long as they behave in a manner that agrees with you. The amendment after the semicolon is human, a worldly inspired reaction, the first part is Godly. "Do good to those who wish to harm you"; unless you just can't take it anymore." Pray for others;unless you think they never will change.Then don't waste your time." "Do the best you can, considering..."

Even go further than the "action/reaction" scenarios we encounter in life. Think about situations that are not in our control; situations that we could never control. Consider "No Win" situations and situations where hope is seemingly impossible to find. Think about diseases and disorders. Surely there are some exceptions as to how we should behave that would be acceptable to God if we consider cancer or depression. "After all, I have a condition so God must understand why I am mean-spirited or surly. God surely would alter His word for me since I am so hindered in my thoughts and my body." "Surely the mental anguish that I encounter must give me an excuse to not behave as those more fortunate than myself conduct their lives; afterall they are able and I am not." Our society may tell us that this philosophy is acceptable, but God's word does no such thing.

On the contrary, I see where people with depression and affliction are not only NOT excused, but asked to do more than a "regular" person. My Bible tells about depressed and hindered people leading an exodus into a desert, men thrown into lion's den, imprisoned in Rome, crying for the nation of Israel, and so on and so forth. I can find nowhere that a man is excused from living by the guidelines that God has layed down for us; regardless of situation, circumstance, or facilities.

So I submit that the words that are NOT written in the Bible, are just as important as the words that ARE written, and that all men are without excuse not only deals with salvation and life after death, but the manner by which we live our lives now.

Try to rise above the common, "This is how God made me and it is all I can do" mentality. Try to rise above the arrogant mindset that we can bend God's rules and still not be rebellious; in certain circumstances that WE deem acceptable. It is time to stop using our flaws and our situations as excuses to live our lives as WE see fit; then trying to fold God into OUR emotional mixture of half-truth and deceit. It is time to stop rationalizing away our sins and time to begin moving forward. A more clear-minded person could probably patch these thoughts together better than I can today, But I hope you can understand what I am trying to say. I hope that you understand that we are without excuse and God DOES know what is best, that we do all things through God and He can accomplish great things through us; despite physical or mental circumstances. I hope that all of these thoughts combine to help you, and myself also, to find our purpose so that we can change not only our communities, but our world.

And this will only be done when we understand what is NOT written in the Bible and when we begin to live our lives as though we have no excuse.