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- Apr 25, 2006
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JUST SAY NO (OR POSSIBLY YES.)
'Just say a simple ... no' James 5:12
Question one: Your pastor asks you to consider joining the frisbee community outreach team. Do you...
a) Get straight to the Frisbee shop. Hey, if the pastor has asked you, the Lord has spoken, right? Or,
b) Tell your pastor you'll get back to him after you've weighed up the commitment and prayed about it.
Question two: Your best mate has been out partying all weekend, and now finds herself Monday morning with no coursework to hand in. She asks to copy yours. Do you...
a) Hand over your essay on 'Crop Rotation in the Fourteenth Century'. The Good Samaritan could learn a thing or two off you. Or,
b) Explain that you won't be pressured into doing something compromising due to their sloppy planning.
For some reason, always saying 'yes' can seem like the Christian thing to do. We want to be good witnesses and let our light shine. But Jesus didn't preach, 'blessed are those who blindly say yes without thinking it through'. He said, 'Let your no be [a simple] no, so that you may not sin' (v. 12 AMP). You're no kind of shining light if you're burnt out from saying yes to everything. You're no salt of the earth if you begrudgingly walk the extra mile through gritted teeth, grumbling under your breath. It's okay to think things through, and offer a simple no if you want, or a yes, if you're convinced it's the right thing.
What now? Write an inventory of everything you are doing this week. Now tick the things that you're particularly good at (your gifting) or things you feel called to. Consider what remains - could you drop anything?
written by Bob Gass
'Just say a simple ... no' James 5:12
Question one: Your pastor asks you to consider joining the frisbee community outreach team. Do you...
a) Get straight to the Frisbee shop. Hey, if the pastor has asked you, the Lord has spoken, right? Or,
b) Tell your pastor you'll get back to him after you've weighed up the commitment and prayed about it.
Question two: Your best mate has been out partying all weekend, and now finds herself Monday morning with no coursework to hand in. She asks to copy yours. Do you...
a) Hand over your essay on 'Crop Rotation in the Fourteenth Century'. The Good Samaritan could learn a thing or two off you. Or,
b) Explain that you won't be pressured into doing something compromising due to their sloppy planning.
For some reason, always saying 'yes' can seem like the Christian thing to do. We want to be good witnesses and let our light shine. But Jesus didn't preach, 'blessed are those who blindly say yes without thinking it through'. He said, 'Let your no be [a simple] no, so that you may not sin' (v. 12 AMP). You're no kind of shining light if you're burnt out from saying yes to everything. You're no salt of the earth if you begrudgingly walk the extra mile through gritted teeth, grumbling under your breath. It's okay to think things through, and offer a simple no if you want, or a yes, if you're convinced it's the right thing.
What now? Write an inventory of everything you are doing this week. Now tick the things that you're particularly good at (your gifting) or things you feel called to. Consider what remains - could you drop anything?
written by Bob Gass
