Good options can derail better ones
"Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial.
- 1 Corinthians 6:12 (NIV)
Some years ago, I had volunteered my services to help a great organization. The work was something I enjoyed and believed it would sharpen my skills and fulfill my dreams. A few years later, another opportunity presented itself.
I really liked the people I was involved with the previous years and didn't want to let them down. So I tried to do both. But no matter how hard I tried, I knew it was time to say no to one and choose the other.
I believed it was time to leave the task I enjoyed for years, even though it was something good. A couple of months after I made the decision, I realized I made the best choice.
We don't always move on just because we don't like something anymore. Sometimes we have two good choices and have to choose which one is best. Choosing what we believe is the best can bring some freedom to our life. It might actually be a better opportunity. But it requires saying no to someone or something we would rather not give up.
Opportunities abound everywhere. We need to be able to decide what needs to go in our lives and what things need to grow. We may want to say yes to everything; but we must learn to say yes to some things and no to others. This isn't always easy.
Each decision means leaving another opportunity to grasp the more important one. It may mean leaving a gap in a job or ministry that needs to be filled.
The Apostle Paul instructed the people that not everything they chose was beneficial for them. We know living a sinful lifestyle is not going to benefit us in a positive way. But I believe choosing the best over what is good is also important and has beneficial results.
Learning when and how to cultivate saying no will keep us from losing out on God's best for us.
When striving to make the best choices, I like to keep in mind some wise advice I heard someone give: "What is good may be the enemy of what is best."
• Annettee Budzban is a Christian author, speaker, life coach and nurse. She can be contacted at annetteebudzban@aol.com or (847) 543-8413.