"When we blame our circumstances or the life we happen to be experiencing, we are blaming God. When we look to excuse ourselves by shifting our responsibility onto others, we are denying the truth of our freedom." (Father Spyridon Baily)
“How easy it is to excuse our sins by blaming someone else or circumstances. But God knows the truth, and he holds each of us responsible for what we do." (Life Application Study Bible, Genesis 3:11-13)
“No one can plead the weakness of the flesh as an excuse when he sins; for the union of our humanity with the divine Logos through the incarnation has renewed the whole of nature by lifting the curse, and so we have no excuse if our will remains attached to the passions. For the divinity of the Logos, which always dwells by grace in those who believe in Him, withers the rule of sin in the flesh.” (St. Maximos the Confessor)
“Do not make excuses. Jesus was disapproving of those who made excuses. St. Luke recounts Jesus’ parable of the Banquet Feast. The response of those invited to the banquet: “But they all alike began to make excuses… I pray you, have me excused.” (Lk 14: 18) The consequences for making excuses is spiritually unfavorable. Jesus continues: “For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.” (Lk 14: 24).” (Fr. George Morelli)
“The world furnishes us with excuses for not going to Church, not being forgiven, not hearing His peace, not being filled with the life-giving Spirit, and not receiving His true Body. Instead, it suggests pleasures in abundance: extra sleep, travel, sports, hobbies, entertainment, and ease. The world corrupts; the Lord heals and fulfills. We either choose to join in…the work of the people of God, or we avoid this decision to our loss.” (Dynamis 4/27/2014)
“People offer many excuses for not accepting Christ. Some cite the presence of hypocrites in the church. Others claim inability to believe some of the truths about Christ or the gospel. These are merely attempts to conceal a heart in rebellion against God. The ultimate reason people do not come to Christ is that they do not want to.” (Foundation Study Bible, John 3:20)
“If wickedness were in people by nature, then one would have the right to make excuses…It is by free choice that we become either wicked or good.” (St. John Chrysostom)
“The world is awash with people in all walks of life making excuses. No one in any level of society, government, military, the corporate world, educational, health and religious institutions is exempt from making excuses. Clinical psychologists consider ‘making excuses’ a form of psychological defensiveness. Albert Ellis puts it this way: “psychologically, therefore, rationalizing or excusing one’s behavior is the opposite of being rational or reasonable about it.” He then points out the untoward consequences of such defensiveness: “to rationalize or intellectualize about one’s self-defeating behavior is to help perpetuate it endlessly.” (Fr. George Morelli)
We all know that we are living in a rapidly changing culture… Gone are the days when living a Christian life could be seen as simply the normal way for a citizen to function. Once again, Christians are faced with the reality of two citizenships: one the state and society they were born into, the other the very different citizenship of the Church…It can be an easy way of excusing ourselves to say it was easier to be a Christian “back then,” whenever “then” may have been. I would like to submit, however, that if our God is the eternal Being we know Him to be in Trinity and through His self-revelation, both through his Spirit and His Word in Jesus Christ, we have no excuses. On Judgment Day we will be expected to have lived as Christians, even though we have come of age in the 20th century. (A Sister of the Holy Myrrhbearers Monastery)
“Whoever makes excuses finds no peace." (Elder Paisios of Mt. Athos)