Make It Emphatic

Scripture References: Genesis 2:16-17; Matthew 7:21-23

In an article written for the New York Times, Pulitzer prize winning composer Gian Carlo Menotti said it took him nearly eighty years to learn the golden word “no.” He had earlier been an optimist, thinking that “no” was too negative. “Only in my old age have I finally discovered that a sunny ‘yes’ is deceptive; that it can be a cowardly word full of compromises and illusions, a tacit acceptance of the mediocre. How much stronger and more honest is the word ‘no’! It is a liberating word that cleanses the soul, even if it may make you a less pleasant or acceptable companion and cause you to lose a few friends!”

A worthwhile point, meriting acceptance by parents, church leaders, government officials, university presidents, and business leaders. We’ll never learn a shorter, or more important, word. God authored both no and yes. When God says “no,” he means it as surely, as certainly, and as eternally as he affirms his positives.

Courtesy of Speaker’s Sourcebook of New Illustrations by Virgil Hurley © 1995 by Word, Incorporated.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.