“Did I not just get done telling you…” If I have said that or something similar to it once, I have said it a thousand times. It is always amazing to me that despite our best warnings against certain behaviors and the consequences that will follow, some folks ignore the clear statement of facts, especially children who simply test the boundaries. They throw caution to the wind and do exactly what you told them not to do.
To make matters worse, when you confront folks about such behaviors, often one of the first things out of their mouths is, “Well, how was I supposed to know that would happen?” The answer, of course, is, “Because I told you it would happen. I told you, showed you, gave illustrations and did everything for you but act it out, but you did it anyway.” I just love it when the response is, “Oh! That is what you were talking about.” It is about that time one mumbles under his breath, shakes his head and sighs.
Of course, I too am human, and perhaps it is the case that my communication was not clear. Perhaps, I am not perceived as a credible historian when it comes to a particular area of advice. Thus, my warning may simply not be heeded, as is the case so often with children who, despite their age, know infinitely more than their parents.
Certainly, this does not fly when it comes to sin and our relationship with God. For thousands of years, God instilled in His people not only a clear set of guidelines that define righteousness and unrighteousness (sin-free and sinful behavior), but He built for Himself credibility in the Scriptures that is unshakable. Man may try to “cloak” his sin by claiming ignorance, but God’s unmistakable system of evidence leaves all of our “excuses” wanting. “If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke [“excuses” NKJV] for their sin” (John 15:22 KJV).
We can look at the world and know, “There is a God” (Psalm 8:3; 33:6-9; Romans 1:20). That must lead us to want to know that God, which leads us to the Book that we call the Bible. Then, that leads a person to the facts of the Gospel, which should lead to obedience. Now, this is certainly an oversimplification of God’s system, but between the natural world and the Bible, we are left without excuse, as Christ told His disciples so long ago.
So, let me ask, “What cloak or pretext do you use to excuse your sinful behavior?” Of course, we all sin and fall short of God’s glory, but there is a big difference between failure and failure to admit it. We cannot lay our sins off on God, saying, “Oh! That is what You meant!” Remove that cloak, admit your faults and give God your broken life so He can mend you and make you whole.
