james 1:13-19

excuses, excuses.

“Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. 14But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. 15Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. 17Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. 18In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.”

Excuses… I’m practically an expert at giving excuses. I found all sorts of reasons when I was younger why I waited until the day before my 12 page paper was due to ask my parents for help at 10pm or why I didn’t see the stop sign in front of me and got in a wreck with an off duty policeman and a car full of lawyers (I wish I was making that up). But now that I’m older and far more mature (well…maybe just older), my excuses are much deeper and well, more dangerous. There are many reasons why I didn’t have my quiet time or why I “need” those new shoes at target… or maybe even why I didn’t do what I knew God was calling me to do.

I love how immediately following verse 12, “blessed is the man who preservers under trial…,” james goes straight into temptation. It’s almost like he encourages us to endure the trials (and even adds that we will be blessed if we do) and then immediately addresses what excuses we may use when we are undergoing those trials.

Here, james is using his “when” language…again. Remember verse 2 (“consider it pure joy my brothers WHEN you encounter various trials”)? Now, in verse 13, james says, “let no one say WHEN he is being tempted…” there is no question as to whether or not we will be tempted… it’s just a matter of when. And when we are tempted, and give in… there are no excuses… because God does not tempt us. God tests us, but he never tempts us. Rather, when we are tempted and fall, it’s because of our own lust…or desire. And then to make it even more convicting he lays out the consequences of our lusts… death. Our lust brings about sin and sin brings about death. (Side note: james is talking about a life of lust leading to sin and not the life long struggle Christians have with sin.)

Then, immediately following this james adds “do not be deceived.” Lots of things deceive me. I feel like I am surround by lies that make me think I don’t need to do what I know is the right thing to do. I guess I need to be more aware of what lies I’m believing, the lusts i am chasing after... Because it’s those very lies and desires that start whispering excuses to me.

and how encouraging is it that james closes this section with, “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” God doesn’t change. I change, excuses change, and my desires change…. But God never changes. When tempted, when lies fill my head, I must remember the everlasting power of God’s truth and consistency. See it’s truths like “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you (Hebrew 13:5)” and “And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it (1 Corithinans 10:13)” help me when I desperately long to makes excuses and believe the lies.