Derek Sivers, who I have run across recently, says we should never say Yes unless it”s on the level of “HELL YEAH!!” and otherwise we should say No.

As a philanthropist I can see this clearly. We must say No to 99% of the requests made of us so that we may fulfill the 1% that we are called to fulfill. But most of us nowadays are deluged with invitations, requests for assistance and volunteering, and requests for meetings. Sometimes as Christians we feel guilty about saying No to things when we have not felt God”s specific permission to do so. But if we need God”s specific permission for anything [and I don”t believe He normally works in that way] it”s probably permission to say Yes!

Generosity in the abstract is a virtue. But so is prudence, because we are finite and the needs are infinite.

In response to: “No more yes. It”s either HELL YEAH! or no.” by Derek Sivers at sivers.org