No is not a Negative
No is not a negative Most of the Ten Commandments are stated in the negative (7 out of 10). That has always bothered me. So much so that I once attempted to state them positively. I have come to realize, however, that one of the keys of life is learning to say, “No.”
Nutritionally I have learned (the hard way) that if I am to loose weight, I must say “No” to the wrong kinds of food and even to the amount of the right kind of food. Forget weight lost. Just to eat healthy, the same principle applies, I must say “No” to the wrong stuff and “No’ to too much of the right stuff.
Administratively I have always had a hard time saying “No” to some activities, like being invited to speak. Years ago, I figured out that I simply could not do all I was asked to do. The only way to “administer” my life was to say “No.” At one point, I resigned from several boards on which I served. Each of them was great opportunity to serve, but I simply could not do all I was suppose to do and do a good job at anything.
Spiritually I have discovered that saying “No” is a major key to the spiritual life. The Bible is filled with negatives. Psalm one teaches that the blessed person rejects that way of the wicked (Ps. 1:1) and receives the way of the word (Ps. 1:2). The negative is before the positive. The New Testament repeatedly states that the way to grow spiritually is to “put off” vices and “put on” virtues (Rom. 13:13-14; Eph. 4:22-24; Col. 3:8-14; Jas. 1:21-22; Heb. 12:1-2; 1 Pet. 2:1-3). This includes weights as well as sin (Heb. 12:1).
I am not suggesting that it is always as easy as “Just Say No.” Sometimes, it is not just difficult, but impossible to “Just Say No” and not do something. Paul confessed, “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice” (Rom. 7:18-19). How many time have we all say to ourselves, “I am going to say “No,” but “Yes” is what we did?
I realized that all of us need the strength to say “No” and that we might not have it, at the moment. At the same time, it is possible for a believer to find the power, either suddenly or slowly) to say “No” and “Yes.” Paul declared, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God; through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Rom. 7:24-25). Paul learned, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil. 3:13). The simple reality is that however it happens, at some point, there must be a “No,” if we are to grow.
At any rate, no is not a negative. It is very much a positive. When we learn to say “No” to things that hinder us from reaching a positive goal, saying “No” maybe one of the most positive things we do.
© G. Michael Cocoris, 6/31/2001
Nutritionally I have learned (the hard way) that if I am to loose weight, I must say “No” to the wrong kinds of food and even to the amount of the right kind of food. Forget weight lost. Just to eat healthy, the same principle applies, I must say “No” to the wrong stuff and “No’ to too much of the right stuff.
Administratively I have always had a hard time saying “No” to some activities, like being invited to speak. Years ago, I figured out that I simply could not do all I was asked to do. The only way to “administer” my life was to say “No.” At one point, I resigned from several boards on which I served. Each of them was great opportunity to serve, but I simply could not do all I was suppose to do and do a good job at anything.
Spiritually I have discovered that saying “No” is a major key to the spiritual life. The Bible is filled with negatives. Psalm one teaches that the blessed person rejects that way of the wicked (Ps. 1:1) and receives the way of the word (Ps. 1:2). The negative is before the positive. The New Testament repeatedly states that the way to grow spiritually is to “put off” vices and “put on” virtues (Rom. 13:13-14; Eph. 4:22-24; Col. 3:8-14; Jas. 1:21-22; Heb. 12:1-2; 1 Pet. 2:1-3). This includes weights as well as sin (Heb. 12:1).
I am not suggesting that it is always as easy as “Just Say No.” Sometimes, it is not just difficult, but impossible to “Just Say No” and not do something. Paul confessed, “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice” (Rom. 7:18-19). How many time have we all say to ourselves, “I am going to say “No,” but “Yes” is what we did?
I realized that all of us need the strength to say “No” and that we might not have it, at the moment. At the same time, it is possible for a believer to find the power, either suddenly or slowly) to say “No” and “Yes.” Paul declared, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God; through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Rom. 7:24-25). Paul learned, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil. 3:13). The simple reality is that however it happens, at some point, there must be a “No,” if we are to grow.
At any rate, no is not a negative. It is very much a positive. When we learn to say “No” to things that hinder us from reaching a positive goal, saying “No” maybe one of the most positive things we do.
© G. Michael Cocoris, 6/31/2001