Get used to Saying 'NO'

I recently rediscovered the word NO.......

Like all other Christians, I struggle with living the faith as I ought to. I generally try to do good, as best I can, but I miss a lot of things. When I fall (and the scripture says the righteous man falls seven times a day and I am by no means righteous so one can imagine how often that will be), my conscience goes into overdrive.

Of recent I have been trying to get rid of a particular vice but I've been struggling, classical case of the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. Its quite embarrassing to go for confession (because I can't be in communion with our Lord while in a state of sin) and keep confessing the same sin over and over again. In no time, I became depressed and dejected. And then, I accepted the vice as something I couldn't shake. After all, God has seen my heart and knows how much I hate the sin but my body is failing me. In other words, I said YES to the sin.

Yesterday I went for a session with my Spiritual Director and he reminded me of some practical things about Life and about Christianity. Living the faith should not be some noose around the neck, there is a reason for the DOs and DONTs of Christianity and indeed Catholicism. All I need is to think about it critically, and then make a decision. Above all I need to always have before me all my options and NO is definitely one of them.

So I've decided to think of my body as my child. Children always want one thing or the other, oftentimes what is not always best for them. No matter how much we love them, we are careful to give them only what's best for them. There is a popular pidgin saying that 'Pikin wey say him mama no go sleep, him too go do vigilante'. Since I love my sleep, I have decided to take control of the situation. So NO to that new gadget that I don't really need, NO to that pleasure that robs me of my sanity, NO to that extravagant unplanned toy, NO to trying to get things in an unsavory just to fetch me that promotion at work or that 7-digit paying job, just NO NO NO.

I want my peace and so my body needs to fall in line. End of Story!!!