excuses: time to take off the jewelry
How quick I can be at times to make excuses.
I can make excuses for trivial things like why I am late, or why I forgot something. I can also make more far reaching excuses for why I have a bad attitude, or why I am responding in a certain way.
I would not characterize myself as an excuse maker, but reflecting on these tendencies, I might have to recategorize myself!
Amy Carmichael
The kids and I have recently finished reading our first missionary biography. It was on the life of Amy Carmichael who served as a missionary in India for 55 years, until her death in 1951.
We devoured pages detailing the journey of her life, struggles, health concerns, and setbacks. We found ourselves “traveling alongside” her, drawn in to share her victories, answers of prayer, steps taken in faith alone and being rewarded with God’s faithful provisions, both physical and monetarily.
How encouraging and faith-building these stories can be to our own lives!
We witness over and over again testimonies of God’s faithfulness!
One of the challenges Amy faced during her ministry to the Indian people was the caste system.
The caste system, a part of the Hindu religion, divided people into different “groups” socially based on their occupation and religion.
A person remained in the same caste rank their entire life. The rules went so far as to dictate that one could not care, cook, or marry outside of their caste.
One of Amy’s stories told of a husband who killed his wife because he found out she was nursing one of the rescued infants from the Hindu temple brought to Amy. The wife was defying the caste system, by helping someone of a “lower caste”, her infraction justified her death.
Upon the conversion to Christianity, these Indian women really struggled to let go of their “rank” in the system.
These new converts loved Jesus; they willingly came and gave their lives to work with Amy and share the Gospel throughout India.
The strongholds of what they had been taught from birth seemed almost impossible to break.
One of these was the wearing of jewelry. How much jewelry a woman wore, denoted to which particular caste she belonged. Those not wearing any jewelry, people would assume, were the “lowest of the low”, what Indian society deemed an “untouchable”.
Again, Indian culture was almost exclusively defined by the caste to which you belonged. Letting everyone else know where you ranked was culturally emphasized by how you dressed, where you lived, jewelry worn, etc…
Excuses Come Easy
My mind began to draw correlations to my own life. How often do I make excuses as to how I act, why I do what I do, or who I am in lieu of “this being how I was raised or who I am”.
In my natural default of not being quick to forgive, how often am I tied to the lie that this is “who I am”, that I cannot change.
But is this destined doom true?
What does Scripture have to say?
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV)
We are told we are new, in fact that the old has “passed away”.
Do our strongholds, weaknesses, and defaults immediately dissipate? Does that happen instantaneously? Should I fully expect to have all my “old” behind me upon accepting Christ as my Savior?
Well, that answer is pretty clear. We even see the apostle Paul wrestle with this.
“For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.” (Romans 7:15-20 ESV)
Pressing On and Pressing Into Him
If Paul struggled in this conflict, I can rest assured I am in good company. This is not a justifiable excuse though to be complacent.
In Philippians 2:12-16, Paul continues to exhort us “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained.”
We are called to press on towards the goal we have been given.
For us as believers, this is Christ-likeness. Living out in the flesh a picture of Jesus to the watching world around us. Living as salt and light to a world of darkness.
“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:13-16 ESV)
It all goes back to our purpose of existence…God’s glory. It is ALL about His glory!
Watch the Strongholds Fall!
Back to the illustration of the converted Indian women. Time passed and one day, the husband of one of those women told his wife, “It’s time to take off your jewelry. Wearing jewelry is not suitable for the life of following Jesus we are living.”
Right there his wife stripped off all her jewelry and handed it to her husband, and she showed no remorse in so doing.
Later, at their home, two other Indian women came to Amy and spoke of what had happened. They too said, “We are going to take off our jewelry, too. If I had loved Jesus more, I would have loved my jewels less”.
No Riding the Fence
Don’t miss the point here, it wasn’t the jewelry.
It was the battle in their hearts of “serving both God and money”.
The conflict of living life in Jesus, but still allowing some of the “old ways” to linger.
Jesus is so clear to us on this.
We must choose.
We cannot do both, we cannot ride the fence of pleasing and serving both. It is impossible.
“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” (Matthew 6:24 ESV)
The time came, and through the slow, daily working of the Holy Spirit in their lives, they were able to see what still remained a stronghold, an “excuse” in their life. That same Holy Spirit enabled them to lay down what everyone else in their country held dear.
So, I know some definite areas in my life that I need to stop the excuses from flowing. I cannot accept the excuse of “this is the way I am.” I have not been bought with the price of Jesus’ blood to remain as I am. True, that I have no power of myself to bring about any lasting change. I do have the same Spirit that sealed me upon redemption, living inside of me, that also raised Jesus from the dead.
So this is what we will go forth in dear friends…the promise of Romans 8:11 “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”
Let’s go out, and walk in this freedom we have in Christ. Freedom to lay down our excuses and strongholds. The opportunity to break free from the enslavement of our “old” life and ways.
It is “time to take off our jewelry!”
Blessings to you as we bring this before the Lord.