Saying, "No"

             For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, (Titus 2:11-12)

The part of this passage that caught my attention was “It [grace] teaches us to say ‘No’…” When I was little, I learned a long list of things that were bad. At the moment, it doesn’t matter exactly what was or is on the list, but I’ll use “drinking alcohol” as an example. Somewhere along the line, I stopped “not drinking alcohol because it’s bad,” to not drinking alcohol because I don’t like the burn and have no interest. I can’t honestly tell people that I don’t drink because I’m a Christian. I don’t drink alcohol because I have no desire to do so. I don’t like the stuff.

There are other things on the old list that aren’t on the current list because I have no desire to do them. That’s the reason behind another story that I’ve told before. One day, I found myself wondering which was worse: eating a nice big spoonful of peanut butter or murder. I had to conclude that eating the peanut butter was the worse thing because I was tempted to do that, while I had no interest in killing anyone.

Children are often taught to say “No” to things because those in authority over tell them to. The hope is that they’ll continue to resist temptation as they grow up, but if they are to do so, chances are good that the authority said “No,” won’t remain the reason. They will internalize the rule so that they don’t do it because they choose not to do it.

There is a place for the authority as reason, but it’s the start, not the end. God will accept “Because God said so” as the reason, but we have only truly learned to live self-controlled, upright lives in this present age when “Because I have no desire to” can replace “Because God said so.” It’s like the celebrities learning to dance in Dancing With The Stars. They start out moving according to their count or the beat, and it looks it. One, two…put foot there. Spin, smile, one, step, step, four. The good ones eventually stop thinking their way through the routine. They stop moving to the music and start dancing. If you don’t have a resolution yet, this is a good one – to learn to dance with God.