Ignorance Is No Excuse

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veryone in town was talking about it. It was the topic of every conversation from the local diner, to the barbershop, to the hair salon, even to the funeral home.  Everyone had an opinion and the phone lines at City Hall proved it.  The employees couldn’t do their jobs for answering questions, listening to citizens’ complaints, writing down their suggestions, and passing them on to the appropriate department. 

The source of this entire hullabaloo was the new stoplight installed at Main and Depot Streets.  For years, there had only been two stoplights on Main Street.  Once you passed through downtown, there was nothing to hinder your progress.  In fact, if you were driving east, you didn’t stop until you reached the next town, about 15 miles away.  But this new stoplight would change all that.  No sooner would you get under way when you would have to stop at another intersection.  Change comes hard in a small town.

The interesting thing was that no one seemed to complain while the stoplight was being installed.  The workers took several days to install the metal pole that would hold the stoplight.  After erecting the pole, they installed the light and covered it with black plastic.  It stayed this way for several weeks so people could grow accustomed to the new presence of the traffic light.  After a few weeks, they turned the light on.

That‘s when all the problems at City Hall started and all the conversations began.  People were driving through that intersection without stopping and the police department was busy warning motorists and handing out citations.  Although the citizens of our town didn’t care for the new stoplight, they couldn’t deny its existence nor make and an excuse for ignoring it.  The signs of that new stoplight had been evident for months and ignorance was no excuse.

The Apostle Paul made this point abundantly clear in his letter to the believers in Rome.  He wanted them to understand that God has made Himself evident to man in many ways.  Paul clearly states that signs pointing to God are everywhere and that we have no excuse—ignorance  included—of not knowing about the creator and the sustainer of life.

Romans 1:20 stands as Paul’s testimony to this fact, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”

Look carefully at what Paul is saying. Just like the covered stoplight hanging over the intersection, God has placed evidence all around us demonstrating His power, His mercy, His grace, and His sovereignty.  We have no excuse for not knowing about God and for not accepting His gift of salvation.  Ignoring the stoplight doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist; the same is true with God.

After several weeks, the people of my town adjusted to the new stoplight.  They recognized, understood, and complied with the law. The conversations and the complaints, as well as suggestions for improvements, finally subsided.  Occasionally, someone still runs through that stoplight and when they tell the officer they didn’t know it was there, they simply hear, “Ignorance is no excuse.”  What excuse are you using today?