Ironically,I meant to finish this blog and post it on the weekend, but two of my  friends had “emergencies” that took all the time that I would have spent writing it, and I just couldn't say “no” to either of them.

One of the biggest challenges for me is saying “no.” For one thing, I enjoy helping others. And, I must admit, I want people to like me. Adding to my dilemma, as a Christian, I always remember Luke 6:30,where Jesus said to “give to everyone who asks of you.” Also in that passage, Jesus said if anyone asks for your coat, give him yourshirt, too.

But what happens when I don't have any shirts left and I'm down to my skin? At some point, a person has got to say “no”! How awful to come across someone who truly has a need, but I no longer have anything to offer them because I've already given away my cloak and my shirt to greedy people who didn't need it, just because they got there first and I didn't know how to say “no” to them. 2 Corinthians 9:8 does promise that God is able to give us plenty so that we can help others, but He's not obligated to provide for us if we're out of His will.

Did Jesus ever say “No”?  Yeah, He did say“no”, kind of indirectly, at least a couple of times that I could find. Not because He was mean or stingy or selfish, but because He was always obedient toHis Father.

For example, in Mark 10, when James and John asked Jesus if they could be seated next to Him in heaven, He didn't exactly say "no", but neither did He grant it because it wasn't His to give - He said that decision belonged to His Father.

I wonder how many times I give away something that is not really mine to give just because I'm afraid to say “no”? If I've been“bought with a price,” my time is not my own to give, it belongs to my Father. When I say “yes” to one thing, I am by default saying “no” to something else, because, unlike God, I'm not omnipresent and I can't be two places at once, so I really need to learn to ask Him where He wants me to give “my” time and resources. Does He want me to give it to the person who's learned to manipulate me into catering to his/her every whim, or does He want me to give it to my family or my church?

Another time that Jesus indirectly said “no” is in Mark 1:32-38. Jesus heals a lot of people, but the next morning,He gets up and hides Himself away to pray, in essence saying “no” to the rest of the people who are lined up at His door waiting to be healed. His disciples track Him down and tell Him that “everyone is looking forYou.” Instead of going back with His disciples to accommodate the people who are looking for Him, Jesus tells them “Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also. For this purpose have I come.” In other words, He said “no” to their request in order to fulfill a higher purpose.

SoI also have to ask myself, is this thing I am afraid to say “no” to part of God's purpose for my life, or is it going to detract from His purpose? I have no problem doing humble tasks for others,including changing a kitty litter box or scrubbing a toilet, but in cases where it's not life-or-death, does God want me to sometimes devote that time to using the gifts He's given me to reach others instead?