Perspective: Burning Up Our Excuses

I share these thoughts hoping they are of help to someone else.

Comments are always welcomed.

Burning Up Our Excuses

The plea of Israel's children has come before Me, and I have observed the cruel treatment they have suffered by Egyptian hands.  So go.  I'm sending you back to Egypt as My messenger to the Pharaoh.  I want you to gather My people - the children of Israel - and bring them out of Egypt.

Exodus 3:9-10 (The Voice)

So, if You say move

It's time for me to follow through

And do what I was made to do

And show them who You are

From "I Refuse" by Josh Wilson

A man named Jacob once traveled with his family to the land of Egypt to buy food during a famine.  Generations later, the descendants of Jacob, the Israelites, found themselves enslaved in the same land where their ancestors found refuge.  Through a strange series of events, an Israelite child named Moses grew up in the household of the Pharaoh.  One day, Moses witnessed an Egyptian slave driver abusing an Israelite, and, enraged, he killed the slave driver.  Moses fled to the land of Midian where he started a family and worked as a shepherd for his father-in-law.¹

Meanwhile, God took notice of the suffering of the Israelites and decided to take action.

One day, Moses was out tending his flock when he noticed a bush that was burning but, oddly, wasn't burning up.  When he stopped to look at the burning bush, God called out to him and told him that he had been chosen for a special mission.  Moses would return to Egypt, confront the Pharaoh, demand that the Israelites be released from their bondage, and lead the Israelites through the wilderness into the Promised Land.²

At this point in the story, Moses starts making objections and excuses.  Interestingly, these excuses parallel some of the same excuses you and I might use from time to time.

Excuse #1
"I am nobody."

Reluctant and insecure, Moses asked God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?"  God replied, "I will be with you."

Sometimes, like Moses, we find ourselves stopped in our tracks by feelings of insecurity and inadequacy.  Sometimes, we might even feel like a nobody.  One writer has called low self esteem "Satan's deadliest weapon."³  Low self esteem keeps us from pursuing our dreams and keeps us from doing the great things God calls us to do.  The truth is that we are not nobodies, for we are all beloved children of God.  A person cannot be any more important than that.  God wouldn't put dreams in our hearts or call us to do great things if God didn't believe in us.  As a loving parent, God promises to be with us every step of the way.

Excuse #2
"What if...?"

Moses then began to consider all the different contingencies he might face upon returning to Egypt, and he began to ask himself, "What if...?"  He asked God, "If I come to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?"  God gave Moses two answers to his question.  The first name, Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh, is usually translated into English as "I AM WHO I AM."  The second name is transliterated into English as YHWH.  This name is usually represented with the word "LORD" in English Bibles.  The Jewish people hold this name with the highest respect, refusing even to attempt to say it.

Typically, Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh is translated "I AM WHO I AM" or "I AM THAT I AM."  Some will say that it actually means "I WILL BE WHATSOEVER I WILL BE."  Theologian Tony Jones argues that the closest translation is actually "I WILL BE WHAT I HAVE YET TO BECOME."⁴  There is also a lot of debate about what the name YHWH means and how to pronounce it.  Sometimes people add vowel sounds and pronounce it "Yahweh."  This name is believed by some to be derivative of the Hebrew word ehyeh, which means "to be."⁵

So what does all of this theology have to do with "What if...?"

Ultimately, God's answers to Moses' question would only serve to raise more questions.  Thousands of years after the story was put into writing, these names still leave people mystified.  My point is that there is always another contingency to consider.  Moses' next question very well could have been, "What if the Israelites ask me what Your names mean?"  I wonder if maybe God's answers were, in part, meant to get Moses' mind off of the question entirely.  Notice that both of these names of God are related to the verb to be.  Maybe we don't really need to know God's name or what God's name means.  Maybe we only need to know that God is.

Sometimes we hesitate in fear that something might come up for which we are not ready, but when we start asking "What if...?" we could potentially go on forever.  If we try, we can always find another "What if...?" to consider.  It's always good to be prepared, but the truth is that we cannot possibly prepare for everything that will come our way.  When the unexpected arises, all we can do is to trust God and to do the best we can.  Maybe we don't need an answer for every "What if...?"  Maybe all we really need is faith.

Excuse #3
"I might fail."

Moses then asked God what he should do if the Israelites wouldn't believe him.  God told Moses to throw his staff onto the ground, and, when Moses threw his staff, to his shock, it transformed into a snake.  God then told Moses to grab the snake by the tail, and, when Moses grabbed the snake, it immediately became a staff once again.  God then told Moses to put his hand into his cloak and then to pull it back out.  When Moses pulled his hand out of his cloak, he saw that it had become white as if he had a skin disease.  When Moses repeated the process, his hand was restored to normal.

God instructed Moses to perform these two miracles for the Israelites as proof that God had indeed sent him.  God then gave Moses a third miracle to perform if the first two weren't convincing enough.  God instructed Moses to take a cup of water from the Nile and then pour it out on the ground.  If he did this, the water would become blood.

Sometimes, like Moses, we fear failure or rejection.  I don't like to make promises for God, so I will not tell you that God will give you miracles to perform in the same way that God gave Moses miracles.  Still, I believe that sometimes miracles actually do happen, so I also will not tell you that God won't give you miracles to perform.  What I will tell you is that you have no idea what incredible things might happen unless you step out in faith.  Sometimes we simply have to do what we are called to do, give it all we've got, and then place the outcome into God's hands.⁶

Excuse #4
"I can't..."

Moses then said, "O my Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor even now that you have spoken to your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue."  Basically, he eloquently told God what a bad speaker he was.⁷  God then reminded him that every person's abilities ultimately come from God and then promised to give Moses the words to speak when he confronted the Pharaoh.

Sometimes we feel as though we are not cut out to do what we feel called to do.  Sometimes these feelings aren't even based in reality.  As much as I dislike Christian clichés, there is one I think is helpful for people who are experiencing feelings of inadequacy: "God does not call the equipped; God equips the called."  If you are truly called to do something, then the only credential you need is the fact that you have been called.  A God of love would not call us to do something without giving us the ability to do it.  Sometimes we have no idea what we are capable of doing until we try.

Excuse #5
"I don't wanna!"

Moses then said, "O my Lord, please send someone else."  God then became somewhat perturbed with Moses and his excuses.  God said to Moses, "What of your brother Aaron...?  I know that he can speak fluently; even now he is coming out to meet you...  You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth...  He indeed shall speak for you to the people..."  God then told him to take his staff and go.

Sometimes we have to do things we really don't want to do.  Perhaps we have to confront somebody.  Perhaps we have to get out of our comfort zones.  Perhaps we have to face an experience that will be either physically or emotionally painful.  For these cases I pass along to you a piece of advice from the Beatles: "I get by with a little help from my friends."  I know from personal experience that difficult situations can be made easier if we seek out guidance and encouragement from other people, especially other people who have faced similar circumstances.

---

Moses stopped that day to look at the burning bush because he noticed that the bush was not being consumed by the fire.  All that was consumed by fire that day was Moses' excuses.

Moses said, "I am nobody."
God said, "I will be with you."

Moses said, "What if...?"
God said, "I AM."

Moses said, "I might fail."
God said, "I will do wondrous things through you."

Moses said, "I can't..."
God said, "I will give you the ability."

Moses said, "I don't wanna!"
God said, "I will send you help."

I am beginning to think that the ultimate killer of all excuses is faith: faith in God, faith in each other, and faith in ourselves.  Whatever you are called to do at this time, may you find the faith to go out and give it your best.


Notes:

1. Exodus 1-2
2. I will refrain from footnoting every part of the story.  The entire story of Moses' encounter with God at the Burning Bush can be found in Exodus 3:1-4:17.  Quotations are taken from the NRSV unless otherwise noted.
3. David A. Seamands.  Healing for Damaged Emotions.  1981, David C. Cook.  ch. 4
4. John Caputo and Tony Jones.  "Caputo and Jones Subvert the Norm."  Homebrewed Christianity's Theology Nerd Throwdown, 07/08/13.
5. Wikipedia: Names of God in Judaism
6. See my sermon "The Measure of Success."  See also Rob Bell's sermon "Broken Bottles," which inspired my sermon.
7. At least that's how it appears in English.  I once heard Shane Hipps read Moses' excuse as a Shakespearean actor might read it.  It was hilarious.

The painting featured in this perspective was painted by Eugène Pluchart and can be found in Saint Isaac's Cathedral in Saint Petersburg, Russia.