Yesterday I shared Heather Holleman’s 4 Ways to Move Forward with Wisdom for February Here’s the first one:

Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. Jesus said “no” to certain tasks often (Mark 1:35-38). Jesus also followed the exact instructions of the Father and did not go beyond this (John 14:31).

And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, and they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.” And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” (Mark 1.35 – 38, ESV)

I couldn’t agree more with that principle: Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. My Navigator hero Skip Gray used to say,

The need does not constitute the call.

Once a church asked me to serve on the Christian Education Committee. I declined. I explained to them, “While you all are talking about Christian education, I intend to be doing it. I can’t both teach and attend meetings talking about teaching.”

June and I have learned over the years that if we commit to four things that “meet only once/month,” we’ve just accepted a weekly commitment! And too many commitments means that it’s harder to live with the margin that Jesus lived with, as I’ve written about before.

So, thanks to Heather Holleman for that reminder:

Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.

And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1.9 – 11, ESV, emphasis mine)