5603 Powercat Pl, Manhattan, KS, United States
May 23. Never, When Is That Appropriate?
Using the word never is one perspective that is changable.
One aspect of being in business or being a leader is to deal with accepting rejection. Every business is in relationship with potential customers. Every leader has team members that follow them at some level. Some people say no. They are not ready to accept your value proposition.
I can think of new managers or supervisors that come to a team that are rejected by those that they are to be leading. But those rejections are a point of view that is only good for right then and there. Our ability to share the possible results of that opinion or perception just might be what could convince them to work with us differently.
When someone says that they will never participate one can use the focus of our imagination to find a potential example where someone would do the never. Where have you seen a person’s "I'll never be a customer," change to customer or even a raving fan?
Where have you seen someone on your team turn from a "never attitude" to please may I? Where have you turned from a never? If we help our customer or team members turn from never, I think it makes sense that there are places that we should be turning from the never as well.
Today as we focus on the upcoming week, where do you anticipate a never might exist? Where is your never answer getting in the way of enhancing someone’s life. What is the first thing to do about it in the next seven days?
As a brother or sister in Christ, what will you never do as a sin? We might want to be careful before we ever use that word never. It normally represents where we are right now as a point of view. Do you remember the feet washing in the bible? ""No,” Peter protested, “you will never ever wash my feet!”
Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you, you will not belong to me.”” John 13:8 NLT. Peter becomes a raving fan and says scrub a dub dub then, wash all of me. He flipped his attitude immediately because of the words that Jesus shared with him. Those words of Jesus had an immediate impact on Peter.
That brought Peter into incredible focus. Where might you be trapped in a never phrase? Do you say, "I will never forgive," so you will not love those you hold a grudge against? If Jesus were to ask us why we never forgave a person, is it possible to have an acceptable answer?
Have you ever said, "I will never support that?" Does that mean there is no circumstance that would cause us to stop withholding our support. Do we say, "I will never give." When we say that, we might have our focus on keeping something for ourselves. Jesus does not want us to hold him for ourselves.
We are to be sharing him. Perhaps a more loving word than never is maybe, might or possible. If we keep our focus on never, our issue, like Peter’s feet, is likely to stay as is. But doing so is likely to keep something from blossoming that could honor God. What is the first thing you can do about your never in the next seven days?
Let us pray, Jesus, I have had lots of nevers in my life. But living with never statements might be like living in the never land of the story of Peter Pan. I’ve felt like I would never turn from you, but I have conveniently forgotten to forgive my brother and sister at times.
Guide us to release any hate that might have hardened our hearts. We fall short of your call daily, but we come to you again and again. Guide us and thank you for accepting us. I pray that your light shines and never goes out. May that be the only never that exists. May it never be extinguished in our lives. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen,
