Several years back there was an interesting tract done in an amusing style. It listed reasons why one pastor announced he had stopped going to sporting events, of all things. Yet it was clear that he was really talking about something else: all the reasons he hears from people why they don't come to church.

1. Every time I went, they asked me for money.
2. The people sitting around me didn't seem very friendly. No one seemed glad I was there.
3. The seats were too hard and not at all comfortable.
4. I went to several games, but the coaches and players never even learned my name.
5. The referees made decisions I didn't agree with.
6. The stadium was full of hypocrites who only came to see their friends and gossip about others intead of listening to the game.
7. Sometimes the games went into overtime, and made me late getting home.
8. The band played some strange music I never heard before and didn't like.
9. The games always seem to take place when I want to do something else. And Sundays are the only days I have a chance to sleep late.
10. I read a book once about sports and I think I probably know as much as the coach does.
11. I was taken to too many games by my parents when I was growing up. And.....
12. I don't want to take my children to any games either because I want them to decide for themselves what sport they like.

Do any of these sound familiar to you? Maybe because you've heard them from someone else, or maybe because you've said them yourself! Yet when we put the same old phrases into a different context, we see that these aren't really reasons, but excuses.

This tract makes a really valid statement, albeit in an amusing manner. Let's each one of us examine our own hearts to see what excuses may be hiding there.