Cyclist Tyler Hamilton had steadily advanced through the ranks of the US Postal Service team, and now he was on the verge of being included on the squad that would race in the Tour de France. All he had to do was take EPO, an illegal drug that boosted endurance for the grueling mountain climbs. Hamilton told the team doctor that he needed time to think about it.
Later, the cyclist shared what was going through his mind. “I was so close to the goal, I’ve gotta do it . . . I kinda felt like I owed it to myself to look the other way and keep going forward,” Hamilton admitted. Another team member, Frankie Andreu, claimed that doping was the only way to keep pace with the other dirty cyclists. “You kind of didn’t have a choice,” he said. “If you weren’t taking EPO, you weren’t going to win.”
Like King Saul who shrank under stress and disobeyed, these men talked themselves into doing what they knew was wrong. They had reached the highest echelon of their sport, but their excuses for cheating sounded childlike. They caved to peer pressure—“Everyone else is doing it,” “We can’t compete without it”; and to selfishness—“I deserve this,” “I owe it to myself to do whatever it takes to win.”
Peer pressure (“I saw my men scattering from me,” 1 Samuel 13:11) and selfishness (“I haven’t even asked for the Lord’s help!” 1 Samuel 13:12) contributed to Saul’s sin, and they often tempt us. Do we spend money on what everyone else buys, mainly because they’re buying it? Do we watch movies or visit websites that we know are bad for us, but we excuse them on the grounds that our friends do?
If you truly want to follow Jesus, you must be willing to be different.
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Psalm 145:1-21
More:
Read James 1:12-18 to learn where temptation comes from and how you can defeat it.
Next:
Maturity comes at varying paces in different places. In what area of your life do you need to act more like an adult and less like a child? How does your faith in Jesus encourage you to step it up?
Kathy @ In Quiet Places on May 18, 2012 at 7:57 am
That peer pressure to do what everyone else is doing doesn’t go away when we move from those awkward youth years, sometimes I think it is worse as adults, but following Jesus is so much better than caving to the world’s way!
mike wittmer on May 18, 2012 at 1:54 pm
That’s absolutely right, Kathy. What is most surprising is how Tyler’s excuses sound exactly like what a child would say. Maybe we never completely outgrow kindergarten?
daisymarygoldr on May 19, 2012 at 12:05 am
Thanks Mike Wittmer, for this timely teaching! You know what is the lamest excuse ever that Christians use to justify our sins? Romans 7:14-25. It makes people feel much better to know that the Apostle Paul had also struggled with sin as a Christian— which is so not true. Truth is: Paul described his struggle with sin before his conversion. He is saying that it is not possible to obey the spiritual law with a carnal nature.
This is why Paul is thankful for Jesus Christ who sets us free from slavery to sins. Those who are in Christ will not follow our sinful nature instead allow ourselves to be controlled by the Spirit. So, all those who use this example to explain away their sin are not born of God’s Spirit and therefore, can readily relate to Paul’s past life.
Another pet excuse many often use is King David. The thinking is, David was an adulterer, liar and murderer and still God called him a man after His heart. So? Does this give us the license to lie, cheat, and kill? Some bluntly state: “I was born this way”. Well, the Bible says we are all born this way in sin and also teaches us that those who have been born of God do not continue in a sinful lifestyle.
Others place the blame for sinful lifestyle on their abusive parents and grandparents. If we go by that reasoning, then all our sins can be traced to our very first parents- Adam and Eve. God knew people will use this as an excuse and so in all wisdom He provided us with the sinless second Adam. When we put on Christ, we put off the past and no longer think about ways to indulge our sinful desires.
Finally, the best educated excuse out there is: this is not a sin but a disease. Wonder how Christians can concoct such concepts. If this is the case, then in the list of sins (Galatians 5:19-21) why are diseases like leprosy or cancer not included? Point is: no matter how we see it, a sin is a sin is a sin. And the smug rationale “everybody else is doing it” is because of the false teaching that assures, a good God is not going to send everyone to hell. Whom are we trying to fool?
Let us not be deceived to say “we all sin, we are all growing”. As long as we make excuses, we will neither learn nor grow but will be ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Unless we admit that we are wrong, we cannot receive freedom from guilt, depression and condemnation. Whether we are kids or adults, instead of excuse-making we need to humbly admit, confess, and turn away from our sins to experience God’s forgiveness. This is the humility that identifies a genuine child of God.
winn collier on May 22, 2012 at 8:21 pm
I often get frustrated with the many excuses from my sins. Then I pay attention to my own life…