an unrealistic demand…

now this week possibly a fellow co-worker or a boss or somebody will ask you to do something that is immoral or illegal or unreasonable. it just is an unrealistic demand on you, on your life and time.

so how do you deal with that? look at what JESUS said, matthew 5.36 in the jerusalem bible, all you need to say is “yes” if you mean yes, or “no” if you mean no; anything more than this comes from the evil one.

look at the word “no” in that verse. for a CHRISTian, no is not a dirty word. it's ok to say, “no”.

i meet CHRISTians all of the time who don't know how to say, “no” and they are about to burn out because they have said “yes” to 50 things that they shouldn't be doing.

you see, we can teach this wimp religion kind of concept that JESUS went around on the hills around jerusalem picking flowers and talking about peace and love and not teach that the bible teaches about conviction.

so as a result, there are kids in the church on drugs or pregnant before marriage because they don't know how to say “no”. they don't know how to stand up against pressure. they don't know how to be assertive in the right way.

the bible says, when you are dealing with people who are trying to be controlling, when they are trying to get after you, you don't argue, you don't retaliate, but you don't also automatically cave in either.

you say “yes” when you mean yes, and “no” when you mean no. and it doesn't say anything about feeling guilty or about having to make excuses, it just says, say “yes” when you mean yes, and “no” when you mean no.

so you deal with that in that way without feeling guilty or without making excuses.

just a thought from the front porch…