Learning to say no.

You must learn to say no politely and without regret, when it is necessary to do so. Eve was unable to say no to the serpent's offer. Adam did not say no to Eve's offer and this has brought mankind lots of pain.


When the devil tempted Jesus, He boldly said no to the devil's offers. Daniel said no to the directive of the King not to pray. He knew it was necessary to pray to God, so he ignored the King's  order and prayed. The peril of being thrown into a lion's den did not deter Daniel. The three Hebrew boys - Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego said no to everything that represented idol worship - they said no to eating at the King's table because the slaughtered animals were first sacrificed to gods. Then they said no to bowing to an image , even to their own detriment. They chose God and being thrown into a hot furnace, to serving an idol.


Samson could not resist Delilah's seduction, and revealed what eventually weakened him. Samson had not mastered the act of saying no. David could not say no to Bathsheba, this led to him committing one sin after the other - adultery, then murder. In the end, David's sin had repercussions on his entire family. Seeds of sexual sins and murder were sown and they blossomed in the lives of his children. Amnon, David's son raped his sister Tamar. Absalom killed Amnon for raping his sister Tamar. David's own son Absalom openly slept with the King's concubines to fulfil what Prophet Nathan had said to David when he sinned with Bathsheba -   2 Samuel 12:11-12 “This is what the LORD says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight. You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’”

Absalom, David's son slept with his concubines in 2 Samuel 16:22 - So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, and he slept with his father's concubines in the sight of all Israel. If David had said no to Bathsheba, all the pain he went through would probably have been prevented.


We must say no, no matter how appealing sin appears. We must say no to anything that does not honour God. Saying no politely and without regret when need be is an essential mature act to master.










WHAT IS NEXT?o