The Wisdom of Knowing When to Say No

In his letter to Titus, the apostle Paul explains to his fellow minister that the grace of God trains us to “say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions” (2:12 NIV). Jesus uses similar language when He teaches His disciples to answer requests directly: “Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’” (Matthew 5:37). For the Christian, in other words, there is a right time to say no—and a crucial element of leadership is knowing when that time is. To do God’s work in God’s way, we must be willing to rule out not only what is wrong but sometimes even what is good. Certain choices are forbidden to Christians outright; others may be permissible but unwise. In either case, our aim is the same: to honor God above all else. Nehemiah, who led the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls and called God’s people to renewed faithfulness, shows us what such discernment looks like. In Nehemiah 5–6, his example teaches us four things to say no to. No to Undue Privilege In Nehemiah 5:14–15, we see the book’s namesake first saying no to undue privilege. “I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah,” he says—and yet, from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes the king, twelve y...