Excuses: “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

This is Eve's response to the Lord asking her what she had done (Genesis 3:13).  So what exactly is Eve saying? She is saying “well,  yes I did it, but there were extenuating circumstances!” Last day we were talking about blame (not my fault), today we are dealing with blame's cousin,  “excuses!” In order to be forgiven by God we need to confess and turn from our wrong doing (1 John 1:9; Mark 1:15). The blame game is light years away from AA's 5th step “Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.”  Excuses are a little different, but not much. Excuses acknowledge that a wrong has been done, but as with blame, no responsibility is taken.   Eve's excuse was that she was deceived.  So is her excuse valid? Some excuses are, some are not! The full version of the verse I keep quoting is “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” (Galatians 6:7). Probably true for females too! Yes she was deceived, the thing is though, she still suffered the consequences of her actions,  and so do we!

What I am saying, is that we cannot let life's circumstances or  unfairness derail us from taking responsibility for our lives.  Zuby, host of the “Real Talk with Zuby” podcasts says “We all confront our own struggles, pain, personal tragedies, and ultimately, death. So, while you’re here, I recommend making the most of the opportunity.”  And we can't do that without doing something about it our part in it all.

The genius of twelve-step programs leads us through what we need to do. Step 3 is: Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. Step 4 is: Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. The God of my understanding is often called my “higher power.” Nobody has complete understanding of God,  or we would be God. But the greatest higher power is the One True God of the Bible (John 17:3).  I can do all things through Him,  not some cardboard replica of Him (Philippians 4:13).   And to tap into this promise, I also need to be growing in grace and in my knowledge of Him (2 Peter 3:18). Grace is the wherewithal, the practical help He gives.

In terms of the fearless moral inventory, we need with Eve to realize that our hearts are deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9). And the very first thing we need to do,  is to stop playing the blame game and making excuses.  Working the steps helps us to figure out what is our part and what is not. Again,  we call this taking care of our side of the street.  It involves asking for,  and giving forgiveness,  and making amends when and where appropriate (Step 8).  There is a lot of work to do before step 8.  We likely need over the long haul to show that we have changed before. Words are cheap, we need to bear fruit worthy of repentance (Matthew 3:8), and producing fruit takes time.


Father, Your Word shows me the path to life in all its fullness, it shows me where I got off the path, how to get back on,  and how to stay on,  the path (John 10:10b; 2 Timothy 3:16). Thank You for the promise that if I continue in Your Word I will know the truth and it will be progressively set me free. In Jesus Name Amen