Saying “No”

“And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith. I ant not, Art thou that Prophet? And he answered, No." John 1:21.
What a world of trouble this plain answer saved. It might not raise John's position in the eyes of the people, but it clearly showed his moral dignity.
It often requires great courage to say. "No." But by being able promptly, on occasion, to utter this little monosyllable, you may save yourself a great deal of trouble.
If Eve had known how to say no, she might have saved herself and her posterity from ruin. And many of her children, who have lost their character and their all, might have been saved if they had only had courage promptly to say no. Your safety and happiness depend upon it.
You may be urged by some of your companions to engage in some amusement, or to go to some place which you know to be wrong. If you resolutely and promptly say no at the outset, that is the end of it. But if you hesitate, you will be urged and pressed until probably you will yield, and having given up your own judgment and violated your conscience, you will lose your power of resistance, and yield to every enticement.
Take, for instance, a young man. He never hesitates a moment when anything wrong is proposed: he rejects it instantly. The consequence is, his companions never think of coming to him with any proposals of a questionable nature. They do not want to hear his prompt and decisive no. He can be trusted anywhere.
Take the case, say of a young girl who wants to please everybody, and therefore has not the courage to say no to any. She seems to have no power to resist temptation. So she is always getting into difficulties, always doing something that she ought not, or going to some improper place, or engaging in some improper diversions through the enticement of her compassions. Her parents scarcely dare trust her out of their sight, they are so fearful that she will be led astray. She is a source of great anxiety to them, and all because she cannot say "NO.”
Let me beg of you to learn to say no. If you find any difficulty in uttering it, if your tongue will not pronounce it, or if you find something in your throat that obstructs your speech, go by yourself and practice saying, no, no, no! until you can say it clearly and without hesitation. Have it always ready at the end of your tongue to utter with emphasis to every man, woman, or evil spirit that presumes to propose to you to do anything that is wrong. Only be careful to say it respectfully and courteously, with the usual prefixes and affixes which properly belong to the persons to whom you are speaking. The short sentence, "I belong to Christ," will end many difficulties. "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in His law doth he meditate day and night." Psa. 1:1, 2. Young Christian
Editorial
Peter "became very hungry." Acts 10:10. Each one of us knows what that kind of feeling is: that knowing deep inside that craves for something to eat. But have you ever experienced being very hungry and not being able to find anything to eat?
In much of the world food is plentiful, and yet in some places it is not and even death by starvation takes away many lives. It is perhaps true that the greatest fear in the world is the fear of hunger. This is true particularly in parts of Africa and Asia.
Hunger is no respecter of persons. The king himself is served by the land. Rich and poor, old and young are all alike sustained and satisfied by food.
At that time when Peter was very hungry, God displayed before him four-footed beasts, wild beasts, creeping things and fowls of the air and then said to Peter, "Rise, Peter; kill, and eat." When Peter objected, God said. "What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.”
More instruction is given to us in 1 Tim. 4, verses 4 and 5. "For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.”
Pain relieved is pleasure and each of us is careful to quickly, if possible, satisfy those inward hunger pangs with something to eat.
Now what about another kind of hunger? We refer to a desire for righteousness. "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness." Matt. 5:6. Along with the blessing attached to this kind of hunger, there is also the promise of fulfillment—complete satisfaction.
“The righteous Lord loveth righteousness." Psa. 11:7. This tells us the character of our Lord who promises the blessing and the reward to those who hunger and thirst after righteousness. Do you, do 1 know this kind of hunger? Where is righteousness to be found today? Righteousness in the person of the Lord Jesus has gone up to the Father. (John 16:10.) But also even now the moral qualities of the kingdom of God can be seen although the kingdom of God cannot yet be seen. Rom. 14:17 tells us: "For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink: but righteousness, and peace, and jay in the Holy Ghost." In Christ's coming kingdom righteousness will reign. We should earnestly desire, hunger and thirst for this time when our Lord and Savior shall be exalted and "the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever"! Isa. 32:17. Ed.
The Spirit and the Word
God has a way in the world where Satan cannot touch us. This is the path where Jesus walked. Satan is the prince of this world, but there is a divine path through it, and there God's power is. The Word is the revelation of it. So the Lord bound the strong man. He acted by the power of the Spirit, and used the Word. The Spirit and the Word cannot be separated without falling into fanaticism on the one hand, or into rationalism on the other—without putting oneself outside the place of dependence upon God, and of His guidance. Mere reason would become the master of some, imagination, of others.