Pennies and Excuses

One of my few memories about my grandmother is attending a baby shower with her, and our totally dominating this one game. The game involved ladies sitting around in a circle, each with a certain number of pennies in her hand. The first lady would say something she’d never done before, and pass the cup. Each lady who had done what was mentioned would put a penny in the cup. Thus it went, until only one has any pennies remaining, and that lady was declared the winner.

Naturally, being only five or six at the time, I kept my pennies because I hadn’t done most of the things the ladies listed. When it came time for me to share something I’d never done, my grandmother told me to say, “I’ve never baked a cake.” An audible gasp went up from the audience, and women all the way around put in their pennies. I was the undisputed champ! (Should any men have gotten hold of this email, I will say that the prize I was given was actually for the mother-to-be. Since I won the game, what I really won was the opportunity to give the Expectant One a gift. This is what happens at some of these showers, should you ever wonder.)

Even to this day, there are certain things I’ve never done that might surprise some of you. I guess to some extent we’re all like this. I may have never changed a diaper (gasp!), but maybe you have never been on a seaplane, which I have. Each of us is unique, with our own set of fears and excitements. However, I believe there is one fear that is common to us all: the fear of rejection.

As Christians, we have tremendous amounts of opportunities to do the Lord’s work. Unfortunately, there are times when fear takes over, and we left undone things that should be done. We don’t sign up for preparing the Lord’s Supper. We have never taken food to the bereaved. We have never called to check on someone who’s sick. We don’t volunteer to teach, whether the class is for children or adults. We don’t share the Gospel. Instead, we let the same few do it by themselves time and again, which isn’t exactly fair. I know I’m guilty of some of these situations myself. At the same time, I’m convinced we should never force the elders, deacons, and ministers to beg for our help. We should always be ready to sign up or volunteer for the job at hand.

James said, “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin” (James 4:17, NKJV). Let us be ever mindful that the fear of rejection can turn into the sin of omission. We all know sins of omission are just as deadly as sins of commission. The only things that prevent this fear are constant study, having an open mind, and prayer. We really can do things we set our mind to do, and we can also learn new things just by asking.

Are we letting our excuses hinder the Lord’s work?