3 Cheap Excuses

“Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.

Luke 14:16-20KJV

The invitation was to certain people. The man took his time to prepare for them. He sent an invitation to tell them that all things are now ready. The invitees would have told him on time that they would not make it to his dinner. They allowed him to spend the money, do the cooking and set up the table.

In one accord, they refused. So many things contribute to speaking with one voice. It may just be a phone call, a suggestion by one person to sway the minds of others.

They may not necessarily consult each other, but the way the story is told will bring everyone to one decision. Sometimes it may be a deliberate poor attitude, awful examples, and cold spirit, which is easy to copy, especially if others are getting away with it.

Then came the first excuse:

I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused.

He paid for what he did not see before buying. He is not a prudent man. What is the ‘must’ about a lack of due diligence? No wonder he rejected the noble invitation. This piece of ground has been there before his forefathers and will still be there after he had gone. The ground is not running away. He was not qualified for the King's dinner, yet he was invited. He blew the chance with a cheap excuse. The Bible says "while we were yet sinners, Christ died for the ungodly".

The second excuse is like the first:

And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused.

He had paid for them before going to prove them. If he had bought them in the open market as in those days and find out they are weak and sickly, will he send them back to who? Again, lack of diligence and rejecting noble invitations will not mean much to him.

The third excuse:

And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.

This may sound reasonable but one can ask if they wedded that day. If not, could he not have taken his wife out to such an outing for a good dinner? He would have told the man that his wedding is about that time and that he could not make it.

Reflecting over this parable, my thoughts went to the many excuses, vague and intentional excuses, we have made to the things of God. A popular one is being held in traffic. No one will ask you to jump the queue, but you know Bible study is at 6 pm. The person left office late, went into the shop on his way, and knows the road condition in the evening: he will be held up and will not make it to church. They call to say that the traffic is much, and they must go home. Another is intentionally avoiding some meetings so that one can say, I was not there and did not know what decisions were made. You can multiply these excuses.

We pray that our Heavenly Father will forgive us and help us know when an honour is being offered. We pray that the Lord will take away profanity in the name of excuses.

The call to dine on the Royal table of Elohim, to be a royal priesthood, a chosen generation, a peculiar people, is a privilege.