I went to Hawaii several months ago. On the island of Maui, our group had a Polynesian luau one night. It was amazing. They had great food and music. They had torches and drums. Everyone was very much into it. Well, almost everyone.
At one point during the luau, the Hawaiian woman on the stage said, “Okay, I want all the men to stand up right now.” So, I stood up, along with the other guys in our group. Then she said, “Okay, now put your hands on your hips.” So, I put my hands on my hips. Then she said, “Okay, guys, now swirl your hips.”
I said, “Nope, I am not swirling my hips.” I had to draw the line somewhere. All the other guys had several Mai tai’s, but I had a clear head and understood that this would not be a pretty sight. And so, I said, “Nope, I am not swirling tonight.” So, I pretended to have a call on my cell phone, and I made a quick exit.
Of course, there is nothing morally wrong with swirling at a luau. I just didn’t want to look foolish. But so often in dealing with real life issues, we need to be able to say “no.”
The famous Baptist preacher from England in the late 1800's, Charles Spurgeon, said a very true thing. He said, "Learn to say no. It will be of more use to you than to be able to read Latin."
History tells us that President James Garfield was tempted one day to try something that would make a lot of money, but it was crooked. He was told by a friend, "Nobody will ever know." Garfield responded, "President Garfield will know and I've got to live with him."
My prayer is that God will help us to distinguish right from wrong and then give us the courage to do the right thing.