The word “rationalize” is on my short list of words whose spelling and meaning don’t go together. Somehow, they just don’t fit. Maybe I confuse this word with acceptable “reasonableness.” Or it could be the experience of too many math classes (a rational number is an integer or the quotient of two integers). Maybe I’m overdue for mental exercises to help me understand “rationalize.”<\/p>\n
One rationalizes by attributing his actions to rational and credible motives without analysis of true or unconscious motives (providing plausible but untrue reasons for conduct). Using reason is a good thing, unless you rely on reasoning as the basis for the establishment of moral and religious truth. That is what makes this word, which seems to be all about good things, actually be about something bad.<\/p>\n
I read a newspaper article entitled, “Man Jailed For Stealing Paper From Box.” This man was given a seven-day jail sentence for stealing an extra newspaper from a news rack after refusing to pay the $125 fine for third-degree property theft. He said, “I can’t believe the law officers in this town can’t find anything better to do than watch a paper box.” [The “rationalizing” light should be blinking now.] He said it was “ridiculous,” and that the arrest “really ticked me off.”<\/p>\n
Have you ever noticed how upset people become when their wrongs are exposed and they are caught sinning? Do you remember how John exposed Herod’s adultery and how Herod wanted to put him to death? He finally did (Matthew 14:1-12). Do you remember how Jesus exposed the sins of the religious leaders and how they sought to kill him? They finally did (Matthew 12:14; 21:45-46; 26:59; Mark 3:6; 11:15-18; 12:12; 14:1; Luke 19:47-48; 20:19; John 7:1; 8:59; 11:47-53). Don’t you suppose that Jesus really “ticked off” some people? Don’t you suppose that some thought that what Jesus said and did was “ridiculous?” And don’t you think some might have thought that He should “find something better to do?”<\/p>\n
This rationalizing man “complained that other ‘paper thieves’ were ignored while he was arrested.” This man needs to know that all people’s deeds are known by the God of heaven (that includes all petty thieves), and that all will be called to give an account (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14; Acts 17:31; II Corinthians 5:10; Hebrews 4:13). If all <\/b>paper thieves had been arrested, would this have justified this one man’s theft? Is this man released from accountability because other wrongdoers were not arrested? How quickly we point a finger at others who are guilty when our sins are exposed (this is no new practice; see Romans 2:1-6).<\/p>\n
In some cases, the more a man talks, the better insight we have into his character: “I never really thought anything about taking that extra paper. I mean, it’s done all the time, right? I’m not saying it was right of me to do that, but they should have gotten the other guys too.”<\/p>\n
The problem with many people today is that they never really think about sinning. Some people have repeatedly trampled their consciences and have repeatedly justified wrong actions to the extent that now the habit has formed, and sin is justified without the least consideration. And yet, the horribleness of sin required Jesus’ death on the cross. When a person reads the Bible, he can understand why every sin is to be forsaken, hated, and guarded against. When one learns and understands the scriptures, he will “think something about doing wrong” – even if everybody in the world does wrong, all the time! Should we be comfortable in not thinking anything about our unrighteous deeds merely because a great many others do them all the time? Maybe this was the same rationalization that God’s people used when they breached the covenant faith to worship and serve idols. Did they never really think much about it because it was done all the time? God thought quite a bit about it (Deuteronomy 13:6-11)!<\/p>\n
Stealing is a sin (Romans 13:9; Ephesians 4:28), regardless of who does it, how many do it, or how often it is done. Thieves shall not inherit the kingdom of God (I Corinthians 6:10). Thieves need to repent (Acts 13:19; 17:30; II Peter 3:9), and obey Christ (Romans 2:6-11; II Thessalonians 1:8; Hebrews 5:9). Multitudes are guilty of all kinds of sins, and with each sin committed comes self-justification, excuses and rationalization to make one feel as if his sins are not all that bad. The Lord has provided the way to cover sins: through repenting, confessing, and forsaking them (I John 1:9; Acts 8:22). Rationalizing is not part of the gospel of Christ!<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Gary Smalley via\u00a0Biblical Insights, Vol. 15 No. 1, January 2015 The word “rationalize” is on my short list of words whose spelling and meaning don’t go together. Somehow, they just don’t fit. Maybe I confuse this word with acceptable “reasonableness.” Or it could be the experience of too many math classes (a rational number…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[608],"class_list":["post-86068","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-excuses"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":84663,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/rational-faith\/","url_meta":{"origin":86068,"position":0},"title":"Rational Faith?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 17, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton The faith we are to have in Jesus is based on testimonial evidence that has stood the test of time since it was first scrutinized in the first century. Each gospel writer (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) was quite aware of the scrutiny they were under\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":58837,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/problems-with-assigning-motive\/","url_meta":{"origin":86068,"position":1},"title":"Problems with Assigning Motive","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 7, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by Sam Stinson \"For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts\" (I Thessalonians,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":92849,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/avenge-our-blood\/","url_meta":{"origin":86068,"position":2},"title":"Avenge Our Blood","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 27, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by David Hurst via\u00a0Sentry Magazine, Vol. 19 No. 2, June 1993 Vengeance is a greatly misunderstood subject in the Bible. 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