“Never ruin an apology with an excuse.” Ben Franklin
One thing a school principal can count on throughout the year is that students will, inevitably, find their way to the office for misbehaving. You can probably recall a time or two (hopefully no more than that) when you had to take that long, agonizing walk to see your favorite principal. I imagine each of you immediately admitted you were wrong, confessed your sin, took full responsibility, and asked for forgiveness? Or maybe not? During my time serving as a Lutheran school principal, I cannot remember this ever happening. If it did, the shock on my face would say it all. I would have no choice but to smile, tell them they are forgiven, declare they are the student of the month, buy their favorite lunch, and give their whole class extra recess!
Of course, students aren’t the only ones who make excuses for their poor choices. Adults are remarkably adept at coming up with quite a few reasons to justify their actions and make excuses for their bad decisions. Just open up your Bible to Genesis 3—Adam and Eve were quick to pass the blame for eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Excuses roll off our tongues so easily.
Growing up, my dad drilled into my head the three most powerful words in the English language… “Please forgive me.” Those three words (not excuses) heal wounds, calm difficult situations, and restore relationships. Yet, my selfish pride and sinful self get in the way of seeking forgiveness even when I know I need to. Romans 7:18, Paul tells us, “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.” I want ‘Please forgive me’ to be my immediate response when I am wrong, but if you are like me, that doesn’t always happen.
So where do we, as poor miserable sinners, turn when we wrestle with all of this? Romans 7 continues and provides the answer. Paul states in verse 24, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord!” We have a Savior who took our sins, excuses, and failures to the cross; He rose again three days later, conquering death. Because of what He has done, we get to start each day, sins forgiven, asking for His will to be done in all that we say and do.
My prayer for all of us this week (after we all read through Romans 7 a few times) is that our relationships are marked by genuine forgiveness and fewer excuses. And if any Lutheran school principal reading this has a student walk into your office this year with zero excuses and asking for forgiveness, send me their name. Lunch is on me, and they can soak up all the extra recess they want!
Photo © KatarzynaBialasiewicz/iStock
Resource Info
