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The Pastoral Lens
Excuses, Excuses!
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
As a coach of minor sports, I have heard some pretty pathetic excuses by kids over the years for why they can't do the drills I'm asking them to do in practice. I can remember one girls' basketball practice where one girl stopped a scrimmage in midstream because...are you ready for this?...she broke a nail! With all the tenderness and sympathy of a drill sergeant I told her that a good nail was not needed to shoot baskets and run defensive formations. Another time, at a boys' soccer practice, I got complaints that we were doing "too much running and not enough playing." I informed the 'hard-done-by' squad of young men that soccer was a game of running. They looked at me like I was the meanest man on the planet.Lately, the excuses have been coming from the boys' and girls' cross-country running teams that I coach. Most of the daily workouts begin with one or more students giving me an unconvincing organ recital (translation: weak reasons why they can't (won't) run the prescribed workout). Some even try to jerk my parenting chain by insisting that their mom said they didn't have to run that day. I've had kids show up in crocs, dress shoes, and no shoes! I've seen more fake limps than a workman's compensation representative. At the end of the day I have to ignore these irritations and instead concentrate on the kids who actually want to be there and are putting out the effort.
What is true in sports, I have found, is also true in the church. If someone doesn't want to do something they will simply come up with a reason (excuse) for why they can't do it. Of course, this is not usually the case in the workplace because there you are paid to do what is asked, whether you like it or not. Not so in the volunteer world. As a "paid staff member" it can seem unreasonable for me to demand total commitment from a volunteer. I know of a pastor who is a former Marine, having served 2 tours of duty in Vietnam. He has a saying: "Soldiers report for duty; volunteers come when they can." In other words, you can always count on a soldier, because a soldier is committed. His premise stems from a key verse in 2 Timothy 2:4: "No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier." Anyone who calls themself a Christian needs to understand the importance of this verse. When I was 17-years-old I "enlisted" in the Lord's Army. Since that time God has been my Commanding Officer and I take my orders from Him. It is not a burdensome thing, either. Nevertheless, there are still days when I just don't feel like doing what I know I should do. As soon as I try to wiggle my way out of it, though, I think of some of the excuses I hear on the playing field. I know how I feel when my ears hear these insipid excuses, so how much worse must it be for God to hear my whining. How about you? When it comes to serving God, are you coming when you're called, or are you giving the Lord a lame excuse?
