The Money Mentor: A 7-Day Plan To Financial HealthSample

Manage Your Success

The more successful you become, the more important it is to monitor and manage your priorities. A zillion distractions will vie for your attention; it can be difficult to maintain God-honoring priorities. 

Once again, Jesus proves to be our best example.  Despite long days of healing and meeting people’s needs, he habitually took some time to steal away and commune with His heavenly Father. He said no even when the request was a “good thing” but not a “God thing.” 

Like Jesus, we’ve got to be a broken record in keeping the main thing the main thing by strengthening our “no” muscle. 

Women are particularly vulnerable to the tendency to constantly say yes. Most of us were raised to be sweet, soft-hearted, and kind. These are not bad traits; they are actually good, but they may have been emphasized to us without the instruction that it’s also okay to say no. 

We fear we will be alienated, abandoned, or rejected if we deny someone’s request for our time, talent, or treasure. And, indeed, there may be those who will be so self-focused that they will resent your decision. You must make the decision to pursue the best choices for your spiritual, emotional, and physical well-being—choices that align with God’s purpose for your life. 

Since these choices take practice, practice, practice, here are some tips for mastering the art of saying no:

Keep your response simple. Use a firm and direct approach. Stop being overly apologetic during those times you build up the nerve to say no. You can use the following phrases as practice: “Thanks for asking, but I’m afraid I can’t accommodate your request.”

Buy some time. This is particularly helpful if you’re prone to saying yes when put on the spot. Avoid giving an answer right away. Simply say, “Let me get back to you on that.”

Compromise. If it’s something you really wouldn’t mind doing, perhaps you can compromise and offer an alternative. For example, you are asked to attend a banquet for a worthy cause, but you are unable to attend. You can offer to give a donation instead. However, don’t offer a compromise if you really want to say no.

Set boundaries with your children. You love your children, and it can be particularly hard to say no to them. However, they must learn that they can’t always have their way. Teaching them this lesson now will help them as they transition into adulthood. And if your children are grown, the same applies; they must learn to respect your boundaries.

Be honest with yourself. If you find yourself always saying yes and later regretting it, you aren’t being true to yourself. It’s okay to take the time to evaluate requests to determine how you really feel.  Rather than focusing on what the other person will think or feel, ask yourself, “Do I want to do this or not?” Or, better yet, “Does God want me to do this?” Only by answering these questions truthfully for yourself can you respond truthfully to others.

“Father, I submit all my plans and priorities to you and ask you to re-order them according to your divine will. By the power of your Holy Spirit, I will say no when it is the appropriate response for the situation.  In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen”

- - - - - - - - 

If you’ve enjoyed these devotions adapted from The One-Minute Money Mentor for Women: 21 Strategies for Financial Empowerment by Deborah Smith Pegues and would like to learn more about how to achieve financial success and improve your quality of life, visit https://amzn.to/2EduA50.