📎 Presentation: Quit Making Excuses
Source: View original Google Doc Converted: 2026-04-22
The Parable: The Great Banquet (Luke 14:16–24)
“A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ But they all alike began to make excuses.” — Luke 14:16–18
Three excuses are given:
- “I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it.” — Priorities of property and finances
- “I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them.” — Priorities of work and business
- “I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.” — Priorities of relationships
None of these are sinful things. A field, oxen, and a wife are good things. But they have become higher priorities than the banquet — than God’s invitation.
The master’s response: “Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame… and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.”
The Statistics Nobody Wants to Hear
Research on gym memberships: approximately 80% of people who purchase gym memberships in January stop going by February. The New Year’s resolution lasts an average of 19 days.
Why does this happen? Not lack of desire — they signed up. Not lack of awareness — they know they should go. The gap is between intention and consistent action.
The same pattern appears in the spiritual life:
- 80% of people who feel moved at a retreat, summer camp, or conference return to the same patterns within weeks
- New Year’s resolutions about prayer, fasting, and Scripture reading collapse under the same pressures
The banquet guests in the parable are not evil people. They are busy people with good excuses.
Know Your “Why”
Before setting any goal, you must know why you want to achieve it. A shallow “why” produces a shallow commitment.
Example — Exercise:
- Weak why: “I should exercise because it’s healthy”
- Stronger why: “I want to have energy to serve my family and my church for decades”
- Spiritual why: “My body is the temple of the Holy Spirit; I want to steward it for God’s glory”
Example — Prayer:
- Weak why: “I should pray more”
- Stronger why: “I am dry and empty when I don’t pray; I need this communion to function as a Christian”
- Spiritual why: “Prayer is not a duty — it is the oxygen of my soul”
“Start with why. The ‘what’ and ‘how’ will follow.”
Trust God for the Impossible
The master’s servants were sent to bring in those who were poor, crippled, blind, and lame. These are not people who can enter easily on their own. The servant had to help them — and had to go beyond the city walls to find more.
God’s invitation includes people we consider unreachable — including ourselves when we feel too broken, too busy, or too far gone.
“The things that are impossible with men are possible with God.” — Luke 18:27
When you set a goal that requires change — whether fasting more consistently, giving more generously, serving when it’s inconvenient — trust that God can do in you what you cannot do alone.
Delayed Obedience Is Disobedience
A simple but convicting principle: if you hear God’s call and say “yes, but later” — that is not obedience. It is a polite refusal.
“But they all alike began to make excuses.” — Luke 14:18
Notice: they did not say “no.” They said “not now.” The result was the same — they missed the banquet.
Common delayed obediences:
- “I’ll start going to Liturgy more regularly… after the busy season”
- “I’ll start giving more… once I pay off this debt”
- “I’ll confess this… eventually”
- “I’ll have that conversation with my child about faith… when they’re older”
The banquet does not wait indefinitely.
SMART Goals for the Spiritual Life
Using the SMART framework for spiritual goals:
| Letter | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| S | Specific | ”Pray the Agpeya (Hours)” not “pray more” |
| M | Measurable | ”Psalm 50 every morning” not “be closer to God” |
| A | Achievable | Start with 2 days/week, not 7 |
| R | Relevant | Connected to your “why” |
| T | Time-bound | ”For the next 40 days (through Lent)” |
A vague goal produces no action. A specific goal creates accountability.
Action Steps
- Identify your excuse. Which of the three excuses (field/oxen/wife — property/work/relationships) is your primary one?
- Name your “why.” Write it down. Put it where you can see it.
- Set one SMART spiritual goal this week — specific, with a start date and a measurable outcome.
- Tell someone. Accountability converts intentions into actions.
- Start today. Not Monday. Not after Pascha. Today.
“The servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’” — Luke 14:22
There is always room at God’s table. The question is whether we will accept the invitation.