But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent . . . but I am slow of speech and of tongue.” Exodus 4:10
In our corruption, addicts have a surplus of excuses ready to ease our behavior into places it shouldn’t go. I deserve this. I need to sleep. It’s no big deal. God will forgive.
God of course, forgives, but He does not buy my excuses any more than I do. Moses, too, in today’s passage, had his excuses. In the story, God commanded Moses to go back to Egypt to lead his people to freedom, but Moses wanted nothing to do with this plan. He wanted to stay where he was, so, he started with the excuses. They won’t listen to me. I’m not a public speaker!
God was already aware of his speaking abilities, but that did not stop Moses from trying. I often think that if God came down and told me to do a thing, I would surely do it. The truth is though, most of the time, I know what I should do. Like Moses though, I make excuses.
Most of us do this with God. If we do not think this to be the case, we need only to ask ourselves if we are living exactly how God wants us to live. If we are not, why not? The answers that come to mind are the same empty excuses that Moses (and I) used.
God, I would love to feed the poor, but I don’t know where or how. I don’t have the money or ability. I can’t save the world, I’ve got a job and family.
I should get up and spend time with you every day God, but I’m so busy. Maybe when the kids are older.
Moses’ proper response, and our proper response, is to simply do what we know God wants us to do. We must choose not to make excuses and we must choose to pursue him every day, denying self and doing His will. Anything else is just an excuse.