"It's Just Not My Thing"... And Other Bad Justifications

"It's just not my thing!"  I cannot tell you the number of times I have heard this.  I hear it when students do not turn in their homework, or when they don't want to read their book.  I hear it when we study art, or when they have done badly on a biology test.  We all think this way sometimes.  We are lazy and self-centered.

I have one student in particular, who seems to use this phrase as primary communication with authority.  It gets used as a trump card, a "get out of jail free" card.

It can be used for everything!  "It's just not my thing!" means we don't need to worry about school, how we treat another student, or why we don't go to church.  Somehow, because its just not our thing, it means others should have sympathy on them, or even drop the subject completely.  Students should know by now I don't drop these things.

Unfortunately, "It's just not my thing!" doesn't absolve students from studying, people from kindness, or Christians from church.  This excuse usually is nothing more than a lie, nothing more than a falsity.

Matthew 22:37 makes it clear, by nature of being a student, studying is our thing!  Matthew 22:39 is also clear, by nature of treating others as you would like to be treated, kindness is our thing!  And, Hebrews 10:24-26 shows, by nature of being a Christian, church is our thing!

In other words, "It's just not my thing!" is usually a lie we tell ourselves and others to make ourselves feel better for not doing what we should.  We are lazy and self-centered, but this does not mean we can do whatever we want.  We are to live as God has called us to live.  We are called to love God with our mind (studying), love others as ourselves (kindness), and meet with other believers (go to church)!

Instead of lying about what is and isn't our thing, we need to seek the things God wants of us, and realize He created us with a purpose, and this purpose really is our thing.