Simple Yes or No

I sometimes have a hard time saying “No”. I read a book on parenting several years ago and the author said that parents should always try to say “yes” and when they simply can’t, then they can say “no”.  I like making other people happy and I say yes to make them happy. I’ve learned the value of saying no because when I’m saying yes to one thing, I’m saying no to something that might mean more to me or even to others.

Jesus was speaking to the people on the mountain side sermon. He was teaching on lots of different topics. The topic of vows resonated with me a bit this morning. I grew up being told that saying “I swear” was not good. We changed it to “pinky promise” or simply “I promise”. Jesus said a simply or yes or no will do. Check this out….

³³ “You have also heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not break your vows; you must carry out the vows you make to the Lord.’ ³⁴ But I say, do not make any vows! Do not say, ‘By heaven!’ because heaven is God’s throne.³⁵ And do not say, ‘By the earth!’ because the earth is his footstool. And do not say, ‘By Jerusalem!’ for Jerusalem is the city of the great King. ³⁶ Do not even say, ‘By my head!’ for you can’t turn one hair white or black. ³⁷ Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one. (Matthew 5:33-37 NLT)

I’ve added a third word that sometimes confuses the situation – maybe. Maybe implies that I might, and I might not do something. This means I’m indecisive as to what I’m doing or not doing.  I’m learning to let the Lord lead me in every decision, whether small or large. I want His help in discerning whether I should say “yes” or “no”.  I am working to avoid “maybe”, because it’s usually a “no” that might become a “yes” under certain circumstances.

I want to become clear in my thinking and in my decision making. I don’t want to be indecisive or push my decisions on to others. I heard a quote once that said, “To be unclear is to be unkind”.  I want to be clear and kind. I want my “no” or my “yes” to be dripping with grace and love.  I want to ALWAYS say YES to love and No to hate. I don’t need to put my hand on a stack of Bibles to let my word mean more. I want my word to be dependable and reliable.

Pressing On!

Dwayne