According to a career-building Web site, certain words should be avoided on the job. When someone in authority asks you to do a project, you shouldn’t say, “Sure, no problem,” if you don’t mean it and aren’t going to follow through. Otherwise, you’ll become known as someone who doesn’t keep his word. And don’t say, “That’s not my job,” because you may need that person’s help in the future.

And if your boss comes to you with a problem, careerbuilder.com suggests it’s best not to blame someone else and say, “It’s not my fault!”

That’s the excuse Adam and Eve gave to God. They were told not to eat from the fruit on the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:16-17). When they disobeyed and were confronted by God, Adam blamed God and Eve, and Eve blamed the serpent (3:9-19). They basically said, “It’s not my fault!”

Perhaps there are things we should avoid saying to God about what He’s told us to do or not to do. For example, He gives us specific instructions for Christlike behavior in

1 Corinthians 13, yet we may be tempted to say, “I just don’t feel convicted about that,” or “That’s not really my gift.”

What is the Lord asking of you today? How will you respond? How about, “Yes, Lord!”  — Anne Cetas