"BUTS" AND EXCUSES

If you remember your grade school grammar, you'll recall that the word "but" is a preposition. I've discovered it's also an excuse!

I was discussing weight loss with a friend today (via email) and said something about I could lose weight BUT . . . I may have used the word "IF" -- another preposition just as bad which also signifies an excuse.

Have you ever considered how large a place these two words -- "BUT' and "IF" -- hold in our conversations?

I'd read my Bible more IF . . . I'd pray more IF . . . I'd be more generous in giving to the church IF . . . I'd go to church more often IF I could, BUT . . . I'd witness to my friends and familes BUT . . .

Remember the story in II Kings 5 about Naaman, the leper. Verse 1 tells us that he was an important and honorable man BUT he was a leper. In this story the word "BUT" is not used as an excuse. It was a matter of fact. It was only after Naaman got past that BUT and stepped into the waters of the Jordan River in obedience to the command of God's prophet Elisha that he was healed. No longer was he a leper.

We need to get past the "BUTS" (the "IFS", too) in our lives so that we can move ahead in our relationship with God. To put it simply, we need to quit making excuses for our spiritual shortcomings! For other things, too!

Or am I the only one who makes excuses???

Preacher's Kid