By Josh Patterson
So, what are your excuses costing you? Health? Spiritual vitality? Relationships? Your marriage?
Don’t fool yourself. You are really great at justifying why you are the way you are. You can also garner a whole list of allies who will agree with you and feed life into your excuses, but you are still missing the point (Proverbs 12:15). There is a cost involved, and we usually understand it on the back end of a poor decision, fractured relationship, health issues or a life full of regret.
It is God’s good grace toward me that He is pressing this question on me. I want to run it through every area of my life. I really do want to drink deeply and steward this life well. I want to walk faithfully and fully with Christ. I want to love my wife like Christ loves the Church; commend the works of the Lord to my children and invest in my overall health now, not when I am out of excuses. It will take action over intention. These will all take sacrifices (Romans 12:1-2). Nothing could be more worth it.
As we enter the Advent season, take some time to examine your life, priorities and possible excuses that you have grown accustomed to in your life.
Josh Patterson is the Lead Pastor of Ministry Leadership at The Village Church. This article first appeared at TVCResources.net.