How
easily we tend to run away from our responsibilities and seek to justify our
actions by offering flimsy excuses, which sad to say, do not put us in very
good light. What is worst, we want to feel good about it. All through life, we
come across competent and capable people hiding behind excuses in a bid to get
away with serious lapses by refusing to own up. They blame their incompetence
to outside forces other than their sheer carelessness, nonchalant attitudes and
gross neglect.
It
is recorded in the Bible several instances where individuals holding
responsible positions have failed to own up to their actions in the execution
of their duties. Of course, they always had a scapegoat to point a finger at.
Our maiden case refers to Adam in the Garden of Eden. He and his spouse Eve had
disobeyed God by eating a fruit from the tree in the middle of the Garden that
God had cautioned never to eat of. When quizzed about his actions, ‘Have you
eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?’ Adam responded: ‘The
woman you put here with me – she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate
it.’ (Genesis 3:12)
Eve
had not yet been created at the time Adam received the instruction from God. It
was Adam who relayed the detail to Eve. We expect therefore that at the time
the serpent aroused Eve’s curiosity to taste of the fruit – as he stood close
by – he could have intervened to stop her from contravening God’s instruction.
No, he did not. In fact he ate of the fruit as well.
As
you will observe, Adam was playing the blame game. As head of the family he
should have been firm enough and assert his position but he chose to let it go.
For failing to do what was expected of him, Mankind has lost its privileged
position with God, and was eventually kicked out of the Garden.
God
cannot justify wrongdoing. Adam failed in the role and responsibility entrusted
to him. His excuse was merely a means of covering up his inaction or
insubordination. As heads of families, God has called us to play our roles
efficiently without compromise, for the consequences can be far-reaching. A
slight slip in exercising our authority -- like in the case of Adam -- has
resulted in unfavourable repercussions passed on from generations to
generations. Turning a blind eye from our responsibility can be expensive.
Our
Second Case
King
Saul, the first king of Israel, overstepped his limits when as king he usurped
the functions of the priest. (1 Samuel 13:12) The prophet Samuel had given him
an appointment at Gilgal but could not get to the site on time. King Saul grew
impatient and offered the sacrifice himself; thus assuming the role of the
priest. “‘Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offering’ and Saul
offered up the burnt offering. Just as he finished, Samuel arrived...” (1
Samuel 13:9-10) All King Saul could give
as excuse was that he thought the prophet would not make it after all, so he was
compelled to step in his shoes.
The
verdict fell. “You acted foolishly, Samuel said. You have not kept the command
the Lord your God gave you; if you had, He would have established your kingdom
over Israel for all time. But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has
sought out a man after His own heart and appointed him leader over His people
because you have not kept the Lord’s command.”
(1 Samuel 13:13-14)
King
Saul committed another misdemeanour that became the stroke that broke the
camel’s back. He received clear instructions to go and kill all the Amalekites
for obstructing the passageway of the Children of Israel on their journey to
the Promised Land. “Do not spare them: put to death men and women, children and
infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.” (1 Samuel 15:3b) King Saul
decided to carry out selective or partial obedience.
He
failed to observe the instructions to the letter by saving the life of the king
and bringing back with him “the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves
and lambs – everything that was good.” (1 Samuel 15:9) When asked why he disobeyed, he put the blame
on his soldiers. For this reason, he was
rebuked by the prophet; “To obey is better than sacrifice and to heed is better
than the fat of rams.” (1 Samuel 15:22) Unfortunately for not carrying out the
instructions from the Lord through His prophet to the letter, it cost him his
throne. “Because you have rejected the
word of the Lord, He has rejected you as king.” (1 Samuel 15:23b)
In God’s kingdom, we do not set the rules. We
do not have such a prerogative. We are called to be submissive, in total
obedience. We are limited in our knowledge of things and that is the reason
why. The Father is unlimited in His scope and the more we listen to Him and
take Him at His word, the better it would be for us.
We
must remember that if we do not comply with God’s instructions He has other
alternatives. As Jesus made His triumphant entry into Jerusalem, the people
shouted ‘Hosanna!’ ‘Hosanna!’ in jubilation. This did not go down well with the
Pharisees (the religious authorities) who asked Him to put a stop to it. The
Lord replied: “If they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” (Luke 19:40) No
one is constrained to obey God; we do so out of conviction.
Leaders
are chosen by God to do His work, primarily to love and care for His creation
not to misuse, maltreat or butcher them. For twenty-two years in the political
scene God’s people were silenced. We lost the ability to rise up and speak in
the face of stark misuse and abuse of power that led to treachery, immoral and
inhuman actions. It seemed no one had the courage to bell the cat. Like Adam
and Saul, we made countless excuses out of fear or because we did not want our
cosy nests ruffled. We tolerated the status quo rather than denounce the
tyrant’s malicious acts.
Where
the men cowered, taking shelter in their safe havens not even daring to cry
foul, God raised a valiant warrior, our messenger to tell him to the face
‘enough was enough.’ We had no excuse! Our inaction only succeeded in creating
a monster we could have done away with from the onset. Thank God for coming to
our rescue.
“The sluggard says, ‘There is a lion outside’
or ‘I will be murdered in the streets.’” (Proverbs 22:13)
