Prov. 22:13

"The lazy man says, "There is a lion outside! I shall be slain in the streets!" Prov. 22:13

Excuses, excuses, everybody has excuses. Way back in the dark ages, when I was a boy, excuses for not having homework done ranged from "my sister destroyed it" to "I finished my work but it dropped out of my notebook into a mud puddle on the way to school."

Solomon tells us that the sluggard or lazy man always has an excuse. Solomon's example is that there is a lion outside and it might eat the sluggard. Indeed there were lions roaming Israel at the time of Solomon, but not in the streets of Jerusalem! Note that the sluggard is afraid he will be killed in the streets, not in the forest! It seems that lazy people have no lack of imagination when they need an excuse, and the more outrageous the better!

The real question is "why does a sluggard need an excuse?" Why doesn't he just say, "I didn't do my homework?" Or "I just don't feel like coming in to work today." The answer is rather simple. The sluggard doesn't want to look lazy! He is, but he wants to appear better than he is. The result is that the lazy man with excuses appears to reasonable folk as more of a fool that he may truly be.

So what's the point? There are several. One, don't make excuses. If you don't get something done, admit that you didn't and promise to keep working until it is finished. Two, if you don't want to do something, say no when first asked. This won' t work when the boss, or teacher, gives you an assignment, of course, but it will work about any other time. We all must learn to say "no." It is hard. I have a tough time doing it. But all of us have a limited amount of time and if that time is already allotted to other tasks, we must learn to refuse to allow others to burden us more. Three, when you are assigned a task that you can't refuse, assess how best to accomplish the job, plan a step-by-step procedure to accomplish the assignment, plan to finish the task early, and keep at it until it is finished. Always allow extra time in the schedule for unforeseen obstacles that steal time.

"So what is the spiritual application, Brother Edwin?" The planning stage fits God's assignments to you as well as those from a boss. Seek God's direction, and He will help you formulate the plan and accomplish it to perfection! Come to think of it, He desires to help with every task we might undertake. He desires to be our partner in our everyday lives. All we have to do is ask for His guidance, and He helps us say "NO," too! Amen and Amen.