Yes or No

Choice is an often used word today. Let’s face it; we have a lot of choices at our disposal.

Experts say, on any given day, we think 60,000 thoughts daily, 48,000 of which are negative. We choose to do that.

Yikes.

Scripture tells us, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof” (Proverbs 18:21).

And, while it’s dangerous and foolish to believe we’re all powerful, it’s just as dangerous to believe we’re all power-less. Yet how many of us do that?

Each day, we think 60,000 thousand thoughts. Things like, “I’ll wear this,” “I’ll drink that,” “I’ll believe or doubt this bit of information,” “I’ll have this attitude.” The choices span the mundane, to the extraordinary, to the life- altering variety.

Yet each thought has this in common: it has a yes or a no possibility attached to it. That’s no small thing. If we say yes in one particular thought, we also answer no, and vice versa.

Recently, I had a situation in which a collective family opinion did not accept my unpleasing “no’ of an answer. That’s not surprising. After all, how many of us enjoy being told “no,” especially if it’s in regard to something we REALLY want?

Exactly.

Yet, for those of us in recovery, blurred boundaries, conflict avoidance and healthy self-mage are all challenging for us. We want to be pleasing, be a rescuer and be considered a “nice person.”

But that’s not always the healthiest choice for us; it’s not the best choice.

Scripture gives us the permission to say “yes” or “no.”

“Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.”

Matthew 5:37

There are results from either path. And we need to accept that. Our thoughts will produce something. Is it something we really want in our lives? We need to think about that carefully.

And, make no mistake about it, there are no free passes when it comes to the results of our yes or no decisions. Something will happen. We, therefore, cannot choose both options simultaneously. To do so is to be “double minded.” And let’s see the results of THAT choice:

 “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.”

James 1:8

We are to be good stewards, not perfect stewards, of our lives. God has given each of us free will. Will we choose well?

Copyright © 2018 by Sheryle Cruse