YES MEANS YES & NO MEANS NO

James 5:12

Just say a simple yes or no, so that you will not sin and be condemned for it.

How often do you find yourself making excuses for things that don't need excusing? We all need to be leery of making excuses for things because excuses typically lean toward lying, and lying leads to eventual separation from God. I’d once read a story about a teenager in counseling for alcoholism who said to a counselor, “I’m sixteen and I made up my mind not to drink… but people make it very hard for me to refuse. They keep insisting and pressing, and some even get angry if I say, ‘I’m sorry, I’d rather have a soda.’ So what’s the best way to refuse?” His counselor replied, “No need to say, ‘I’m sorry’ because you’re inviting them to persuade you if you sound like you’re apologizing. All you need to say is ‘Thanks, but I only drink soda.’ We all need to be more comfortable, proud and grateful for being able to hold up good standards without feeling awkward or intolerant. Do this and you’ll be a nice example of a human being.” Let your yes be yes and your no be no. There's no need to make excuses and there's no need to apologize for holding up good standards.