Getting Comfortable With "NO."

GETTING COMFORTABLE WITH “NO!”

As a child, it seemed that everything was a “no-no.” As a teenager growing up in a religious home, I felt intimidated by the thunderous negatives of the 10 commandments.
“Thou shall not” seemed to tie me up in knots. What is God trying to do; fence me in and take all the fun out of my life? It’s only as an adult that I began to realize that life outside of borders is ultimately enslaving and life lived within divine prohibitions is liberating. No one is more restricted than the person who does what he wants when he wants it. He quickly is entrapped by his own desires. To do what we ought not as an obligation but as an act of love is far more fulfilling.

How can we get comfortable with divine imperatives? For me the answer has been to turn those negative prohibitions into positive principles, which produce praise. Turned from tails to heads, “you shall not steal” becomes you shall respect the person and property of your neighbor and honor his right to ownership. When we go around to the back door, we find that each commandment has a friendly side where we can enter without knocking and get comfortable.

Did Jesus follow this same course? He turned all the negatives into one glorious positive: “You shall love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself.” One might say: “love and live as you please.” Motivated by love everything that pleases God will be pleasing to you and everything that pleases you will be pleasing to others. Assuming that you have a high respect for God and a healthy regard for yourself, this first and greatest commandment is all you need. Kick off your shoes, loosen your tie and get comfortable.