When I was a little girl my mom would always “volunteer” me for things but by the time she finished explaining to me how God would get the glory and making me feel guilty, it was more like she “voluntold” me what to do.
It would grind my gears how much stuff this little lady would sign me up for without my consent and to this day I don’t think I would ever have the guts to say “no mother, I don’t want to do that and stand firm on my “no!” Although I use to say no, Willia would always get her way.
Now I’m a parent and I notice I do the same thing (though I don’t think I’m nearly as bad as my mom)! Especially with Micah; he gets it the worst. I don’t know if it is because he is my oldest or if because I know I don’t volunteer him for things, he will never do anything. Well let me take that back- if it has something to do with sports he is all in- but let me say sing, pray, clean up, cook, or something like that you would think I am torturing him.
Let me give you an example…..
The picture above was taken at a rehearsal for a nativity scene the youth at my church were in during the Holidays. There weren’t very many teenagers on the program and to make matters worse there weren’t many teenagers who actually wanted to take part and fill the roles in the script. Aston played his role well and he actually smiled and looked like he was doing it for the glory of God and to make his mom and grandma proud but dern Micah!!!! It was like pulling teeth. And to think he didn’t even have any speaking parts, all he had to do was walk and guide. How hard could it be?!
I learned a lot during a discussion some of the parents of these youth had during Sunday school. Out of this conversation bore great advice, wisdom, encouragement, and much more.
Kelly had told us about Brycen and how he took a stand. The way Kelly described the situation, you couldn’t help but respect Brycen’s “no!”
Anna had introduced a book entitled “The Best Yes” by Lysa TerKeurst that talks about making wise decisions in the midst of endless demands. Click here for the link where you can read more about this book.
After our conversation I realized that if I didn’t I didn’t want to force Micah to do certain things but instead I would pray and give advice if he asked for it. Reading the book of Philemon verse 14 (scripture listed above) I see that this is the best thing to do.
You see this scripture basically says though God has the power to make us do anything He wants us to do, He doesn’t force us (unless that is in His plan). Instead God wants us to be willing and joyful when we do things.
In a nutshell, when we say we are going to do something we should always strive to do it willingly not because “it’s the right thing to do”, “I don’t want to hear his or her mouth so let me go ahead and do this”, etc.
We can all learn a thing or two from Brycen. It is okay to say no, it’s okay to voice when we are not into something and not feel bad for telling the truth, and it is definitely okay not to overextend ourselves when we are already stretched thin. We do more collateral damage when we “take one for the team” verses just telling it like it is.