Excuses, Excuses
Exodus 32:19-26; Psalm 51:1-12
“He [Moses] said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you, that you led them into such great sin?” “Do not be angry, my lord,” Aaron answered. “You know how prone these people are to evil. They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will go before us.”
- Exodus 32:21-23
In our text for today we find Moses coming down the mountain after receiving the Law of God written on stone tablets. The first 2 things written on those stone tablets were: “You shall have no other gods before me, and you shall not make for yourselves any idols.” And yet what was it that Moses saw as he emerged from the fiery cloud with the law engraved tablets? A golden calf which Aaron had made to appease the people. Considering the contents of the tablets and the scene Moses stumbled upon back down the mountain, it’s no surprise that Moses smashed them to bits.
But put yourself into Aaron’s sandals for a moment. We’ve all been there. He knew what he had done was wrong. Surely he had that sinking feeling in his gut. Guilt. Shame. Cowardice. So, naturally the only thing to do is to admit his wrongdoing and repent, right? Wrong. Rather than owning up to it, Aaron pulls his best reenactment of the world’s original couple. Just as Eve blamed the serpent, and Adam blamed Eve, Aaron’s excuse is, “The people made me do it.” “It’s their fault.” “I didn’t really have any choice in the matter.”
Such is the human condition. We are prone to wander. We cannot escape our original sin. David describes it this way in Psalm 51 after he was caught in adultery with Bathsheba. “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.”
If we’re honest with ourselves we know our guilt. We know when we do wrong. And we know that all too often our initial reaction is to shift blame, to justify our actions, and to make excuses for our bad behavior.
Oddly enough though, this excuse-making points beyond the material world, and toward a God who is really real, and who really cares about our conduct on this earth. God’s law is a gift, and his law is established in his Word, and written on our hearts. All 8 billion people on this blue planet know deep down in their souls that they are accountable to something beyond themselves because everyone appeals to a higher standard of conduct, and decency. A moral law given by a Moral Law Giver.
However, many in our world today scoff at the idea of an objective morality. But if morality really is malleable or relative, then why is everyone so prone to find excuses for their poor actions? Why do humans by and large all agree on what is right, and what is wrong? Why don’t people just go on with their lives without defending themselves? If there’s no higher standard for someone to fall short of, then no one should ever have to apologize for anything.
But that is not reality. As C.S. Lewis explains in Mere Christianity: “The truth is, we [all humans] believe in decency so much – we feel the Rule of Law pressing on us so – that we cannot bear to face the fact that we are breaking it, and consequently we try to shift the responsibility.”
So, stop making excuses. Turn back to God. Own up to your inability to live a righteous life trusting that Jesus Christ has already fulfilled the requirements of the law on your behalf. Because if “Progress means getting nearer to the place you want to be. And if you have taken a wrong turn, then to go forward does not get you any nearer. If you are on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; and in that case the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive man.” (C.S. Lewis)
I invite you to join King David & me in this prayer today:
Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Amen.