Think about it…When no means no
“…we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter.” Daniel 3:16b
These were BOLD words for three men about to be thrown into a furnace because of their unwillingness to bow and worship King Nebuchadnezzar. They could have just bowed and God would know that they didn’t really mean it. Why couldn’t they just try to get along? Perhaps they needed a professional mediator to resolve the conflict. But NO these three stubborn Jews were unwilling to compromise even under the threat of death.
Some values in our lives should be non-negotiable. We will not even discuss it. Our minds need to be closed to any possibility of compromise. Thank God that these three narrow-minded Jews would not even discuss alternatives.
When I was in high school, I came home very late on Saturday night after a wrestling match in a city quite far from home. Sunday morning I was tired and also realized I had actually been injured the day before. I assumed I would be allowed to stay in bed to rest and recuperate from the previous day’s activities. No Way! Non-Negotiable! Get up Get Dressed! We are going to Church! No doubt how important my parents thought it was to worship.
Later in life when my faith was weak and I really cared very little about the church and the preacher seemed dull and boring. I simply could not just lie in bed. Going to worship was non-negotiable. I thank God for it was in the songs and prayers and lessons that I found my way back to my Savior.
I once asked a man what he attributed the long success of his marriage to. His answer was simple. “We will not consider divorce so we must work out our problem or both of us will be miserable for the rest of our lives.
We all need to have a non-negotiable list.
Satan is so smart and can twist our thinking. We need to realize that once we begin to rationalize almost any behavior can become negotiable. Most affairs start in the mind. Addiction was never planned. Embezzlement seemed reasonable. We need to be closed minded in an open minded world.
“…we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter.”
NO means NO!
Brother Dave
