No Is Not A Naughty Word
 

No Is Not A Naughty Word

John 11:1-6: “‘Lord, the one you love is sick.’…Yet…he stayed where he was two more days” (vv.3 and 6).

Martha and Mary sent a message to Jesus that their brother, Lazarus, was deathly ill. They wanted and expected Jesus to come to his bedside. But Jesus in effect said no. He had a sound reason for his decision.

On occasion we may decide that it is advantageous to say no to a request, even a reasonable one. With Jesus as our example, we can be assured that is acceptable. We are not obligated to say yes, just to make someone else feel good. Saying no may merely mean “In my opinion, granting your request would not be beneficial at this time.” We can say no without rejecting the personhood of the one making the request.

Our statement, “No, I don’t care to go out to dinner tonight” is not the same as “I don’t like to be in your company.” It does not mean that we do not care about children’s spiritual education if we say, “No, I will not teach first grade Sunday School this year.” We can say no and remain loving and caring people.

Lord, help me to remember that no is not a naughty word.
Teach me the healthy benefits of saying yes and no.

Joan C. Webb

As the country song says, "What part of "No!" do you not understanding." Just because I say "No!" doesn't mean I don't care, it is because I do care, for you and for myself. I need to set boundaries and detach many times for my own health and well being.

I found that I was a yes girl, then when I found that I would say no because I could. There has to be a balance, yes can be just as detrimental and no. Either one when over used, puts me back in my dis-ease, and I am back in the selfish, self-centeredness that blocks me from the will of God.