Strive For The Best
“Learn to say ‘no’ to the good so you can say ‘yes’ to the best.” ~ John C. Maxwell
We are confronted with choices every moment of our lives. Some of them are easy. Some are more difficult. Some we make almost reflexively. Some take a great deal of discernment. When all is said and done, we generally choose what we perceive to be the best for us.
What do we do, however, when confronted with choices that both might be good? Those are times that we might become impulsive and choose one quickly and miss out on an opportunity. We need to take time to think about our choices and the ramifications that come with them.
Sometimes, a choice might appear to be good but a different choice might be more optimal. We are encouraged to say no to the good so that we can say yes to the best. Consider Mary. She had a choice to make. One choice would have been “good” for her. That would have been to say no to the angel. After all, becoming the mother of Jesus was incredibly risky. She could have been stoned to death for becoming pregnant while engaged to Joseph. The “good” would have been to protect herself. Yet she said no to that good in order to say yes to the best: to tell the angel that she would embrace God’s will for her life.
We may have had all sorts of dreams for ourselves. Some of them may have led us to great reward. They may have been very good in and of themselves. Yet, God may have called us to say no to those goods so that we could say yes to His best. For myself, I had chosen to pursue a career in music. I was accepted to go to college. I had my plans, my future, all figured out. And it would have been good.
Yet, God had a different plan. He ask me to do something other than the good that I had planned to do. He led me to the seminary and on to ordination to the priesthood. I said no to my plans for myself and yes to God’s plans. After all, God’s plans — no matter what may come our way for accepting them — are always much better than our own. God’s plan for us is the best.
If we can learn to view God as best no matter what, we will have an easier go of it saying no to our own plans.
FAITH ACTION: No matter how good something might sound as it comes your way today, say no to it if it does not include God and His will.