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EXCUSES DON'T COUNT
(A Message to Graduates)
(Hebrews 2:1-8)

The Scriptures say many things, but the verse that says,"Be
sure your sin will find you out" (Num. 32:23b, nas), is one of
the truest statements in the Bible. It tells us that we are
responsible for our actions. We don't "get by" with anything.
We always pay for our mistakes.

Once three high school kids played hooky from their morning
classes. They told their teacher they were late getting to
school because their car had a flat tire. She said they'd have
to take a makeup test on the quiz they'd missed that morning.
After seating them apart from each other, she gave them just one
question: "Which tire was flat?"

Sometimes we think we've escaped, but we haven't! Let's look
at three absolute principles of morality.

I. FIRST, WRONG IS WRONG, EVEN IF WE DON'T' GET CAUGHT.

Sometimes we say to kids, "Don't let me catch you doing that!"
Young people often use the excuse, "Well, no one saw me." But
Solomon said, "The eyes of the Lord are in every place, Watching
the evil and the good" (Prov. 15:3).

Besides, even if you never get caught you will suffer because
sin carries it's own punishment. If you use drugs, they hurt
you-being arrested and going to prison only adds to the
punishment. Once a large quantity of radioactive material was
stolen from a hospital. When the hospital administrator
notified the police, he said, "Please warn the thief that he is
carrying death with him, and that the radioactive material
cannot be successfully hidden. As long as he has it in his
possession, it is affecting him disastrously!"
That's what sin does!

Once, two dump truck drivers came to an underpass that said,
"No vehicle over 9 feet." They measured their load and it was
almost 10 feet. But one of the guys looked around and said,
"There's no patrolman around to see us; so, let's go for it!"
Of course, they wrecked their rig. That sign was a warning for
their own good. Whether they got caught or not was immaterial.
One day a city kid's Uncle John gave his nephew a sack of beans
to plant. He explained, "Just dig a little hole, put in a
couple of beans and stomp the dirt down on top of them. Do it
all the way along the fence until you get to the end."
Soon a friend came by and asked the young gardener to go
fishing. "Oh," the kid said, "I want to, but I've got to finish
these beans." From the looks of the sack, it appeared that he'd
just started. Directly in front of him was a stump. Suddenly
he had an idea! Uncle John will never know," he thought as he
dug a hole, dumped in all the beans and covered them with dirt."
He turned to his friend and said, "Now! Let's go fishing!"
They had a grand time and caught a lot of fish. Coming home
with their catch they ran into Uncle John. He said, "I see
you've been fishing." Did you get all the beans planted?"
His nephew said, "Sure did, Uncle John."

"M-m-m! Well, I'm surprised you were able to plant them so
quickly."

"Oh! I work fast," the kid replied.

Uncle John seemed to accept his word for it. Soon it was time
for the boy to return home. Months passed and the city kid
returned for a last visit before school started.

Uncle John said, "Hey, would you like to see those beans you
planted?" They walked out behind the farm house. There was a
neat row of beans for about fifty feet. Then, nearby there was
a stump of a tree covered with uncontrolled vines!.

You can't fool mother nature. You can't tamper with universal
laws and you can't deceive God. In Jeremiah God says, "My eyes
are on all their ways; they are not hidden from me, nor is their
sin concealed from my eyes" (Jer. 16:17).

Wrong is wrong even if you don't get caught.

II. NEXT, WRONG IS WRONG, EVEN IF OTHERS ARE DOING IT.

Over and over we hear the excuse, "Well, everybody else did
that"; or "All the other kids do that." But the Psalmist said,
"Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the
wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of
mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord. . ." (Psa.
1:1-2a).

We're not to let others influence us to do evil. Solomon said,
"My son, if sinners entice you, do not give in to them" (Prov.
1:10).

Instead , we're to influence others to do good. Paul said, "In
everything set them an example by doing what is good . . ."
(Titus 2:7).

A TV news crew was filming the destruction following Hurricane
Andrew. Amid the devastation and debris, one house stood on its
foundation. The owner was cleaning up the yard when the
reporter asked him, "Sir, why is your house the only one
standing?"

The man replied, "Well, I followed the building code. When it
called for 2X6 building trusses, that's what I used. I was told
that a house built according to code could withstand a Category
6 hurricane. I did, and it did! No one else around here
followed the code."

The code was written for a reason. It was to protect a house
during a hurricane. In the same way, God's commandments were
given for a reason. We may not fully understand them now, but
when the hurricanes of life hit, we will be glad we have obeyed.
A proverb says, "He who sins against me injures himself . . ."
(Prov. 8:36, ASV).

Ezekiel said, "The soul who sins is the one who will die. The
son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father
share the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous
man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked
will be charged against him" (Ezek. 18:20).

We are only responsible for ourselves. Even if everybody else
sins, that doesn't excuse us. The Bible says, "You shall not
follow a multitude in doing evil" (Exo. 23:2).

Wrong is wrong, even if others are doing it.

III. FINALLY, WRONG IS WRONG, EVEN IF IT DOESN'T HURT OUR
CONSCIENCE.

We hear the motto: "If it feels good, do it!" Or, "Let your
conscience be your guide!"

But that's not always a reliable criteria. Solomon said,
"There is a way {which seems} right to a man, But its end is the
way of death" (Prov. 14:12).

We can't always trust our feelings. Our conscience can be
perverted. If we've been taught that evil is good, we'll
believe it. If we've committed a sin several times, our
conscience will become conditioned to accept it. If we want to
do something badly enough, we can convince ourselves that it's
okay. Paul spoke to this when he said, some people, "Will tell
lies with straight faces and do it so often that their
consciences won't even bother them" (I Tim. 4:2, lb).

If we keep overriding our internal moral compass, eventually it
will quit working. A little girl said, "Your conscience is like
a little square box. Every time you disobey, it turns over and
the sharp corners hurt. But, if you keep disobeying, it will
turn over so many times, it wears off the corners. Then it's
smooth and it doesn't hurt any more." So, we can't keep going
along in a self-satisfying way just because we don't feel guilty.
We must not be as stupid as the man who claimed he could fly,
and jumped off a 50 story building. At each window as he went
down, he yelled triumphantly, "See, I'm doing all right so far."
Well, he may fool himself for awhile, but eventually he'll hit
bottom!" Jeremiah said, "Your eyes are open to all the ways of
men; you reward everyone according to his conduct and as his
deeds deserve" (Jer. 32:19).

Wrong is wrong, even if it doesn't hurt your conscience.

Excuses don't count. You and only you are responsible for your
choices and your actions.

Once a carpenter had constructed many houses and office
buildings for a wealthy man. As he grew older, the employer
asked him to build one more house. He said, "After that, you
can retire." Then he explained, "I'm leaving the choices of
material and design up to you. Just plan it and charge what you
need. I'll pay the bills."

The carpenter began to think about his options. "I can work
this to my advantage. I'll cut some corners and use cheap
material. I'll hide the shoddy work and he'll never know."
So, he constructed a flimsy, second class home, rather quickly
and told the owner he was finished. "That's good," the employer
replied. "Now, here is the deed. The house is yours. It's my
reward to you for years of service. You may live in it for your
remainig years."

Young people, you are building a life. Later on, it's success
or failure depends on the values you put into it now. If a
farmer plants cotton, cotton will grow. If he plants soybeans,
soybeans will grow. A farmer decides what the ground will
produce by the seed he plants. The soil is not designed to
think. It will raise cucumbers, apples, marijuana,
poppies-anything that is planted. The soil will never decide
whether or not it is right or wrong to produce a particular
plant. The seed determines the product.

Paul said, "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever
a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his
own flesh shall from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who
sows to the Spirit shall from the Spirit reap eternal life"
(Gal. 6:7-8).

"Be sure your sin will find you out" (Num. 32:23b, nas).

***

(Word Count 1670)

These messages are from an unpublished manuscript © copyrighted
by Miles and Maralene Wesner, Idabel, OK. Please use them in
any way you think appropriate. The only thing we ask is that
you give credit for original material in published works.

Sermons with the "I" prefix are from our "What's the Good Word"
Series;
II from our "Pitfalls on the Path of Life"
III are sermons for special days and occasions.

Material in our sermons usually present the Gospel from a
psychological point of view.

My ministry has been blessed immeasurably by reading other
people's sermons. When I started preaching 56 years ago, I
waited for "inspiration" (usually Saturday night, about
midnight) before I began my sermon preparation. Then, I
discovered it wasn't inspiration at all-it was sheer PANIC. I
would have welcomed this service.

Comments are always welcome. (Please indicate if you do not want
your comments to appear in New Perspectives).

Miles E Wesner