They, our four-legged children, become family members. They meet us at the door with their happy bark, wagging tails and a lick to welcome us home. They forgive us when we lose our temper. They can read our minds, and they even know our darkest secrets. Most of all they love us…even when we are not so loveable. So, when they die, as we all will, it is heartbreaking. We have a special place for our Maggie & Molly, (our 2 dachshunds) at the lake. Precious memories.

In 1980 I went to work for a Life Insurance Company. I will never forget the afternoon one of the Top-Producers came back from his presentation. He had met the prospect several weeks before and had met with their accountant & attorney to craft a rock-solid plan that would achieve everything the prospect wanted. After the agent methodically reviewed the plan, the prospect greed all his stipulations were met but told the agent he was not going to do the plan. When the agent asked why, he replied, “My dog died.” Needless to say, the agent was upset after spending 40+ hours on the plan. The agent asked the man, “What does your dog dying have to do with solving the problem you said you have?” The man said, “Well, when you are not going to do something, one excuse is as good as another.”

Jesus told a parable about excuses in Luke 14:16-24, “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it.” Please excuse me.’ “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’” Interestingly we still hear these same excuses today; with all of the conveniences of technology we find ourselves so busy. But when you think about it…it’s a heart matter. Busy is a choice of our heart.

Now let’s see the rest of the story. Jesus reveals the seriousness of our choices. “The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ “‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’ “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’”

Jesus gave us clarity in Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money” (self).