But he said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ Luke 14:16-20 (ESV) We all have our “reasons” for what we do. Some reasons are really excuses wrapped as a reason. Many times we weigh out what is most important to us, and do whatever we can to make sure our response sheds the best possible light on our decision. Often, the urgent diminishes the importance of the important. It is the experienced and skilled laborer who can see through the urgent, and arrange his/her priorities to meet the challenges of the important. The characters in this passage who missed out on the banquet were not characterized as evil. The tasks they were doing were not bad. However, it was obvious that their priorities in life were going to keep them from experiencing what was best. Satan always attacks us in ways we find acceptable, and the more he can paint a beautiful picture of evil, one that we will accept as beautiful, the easier time he has unraveling our lives. | 
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