Looking Back: The ‘Yes-But’ man cometh…

From July 1973

The "Yes-But" man cometh....

By William D. Brown

In my church we have a big share of people ‘whose warm-heartedness to the Lord Jesus makes them indefatigable in what they do. There is a great tide of prayerful support, of enjoyment in the singing, of rallying round when someone is in need of help, and of faithfulness in Christian service.

We have also a ‘Yes-But’ man. Every congregation has one. He is the cheery little friend who can be counted on to keep all committees he is on in a constant spiral of despair.

“The Sunday School has a record number of recruits this year,” somebody says brightly. You think that is a good sign, do you? Wait till you hear ‘Yes-But’ on the air. “Yes, Mr Chairman, but….what I want to know is, will they last? Two stopped coming last week.”

“The attendances in Church have been growing steadily.” You can hear your ‘Yes-But’ man choking. When he has recovered he will say, “Yes – but….there are fewer young people/old people/ married couples with children/ married couples without children…!” Anything will do.

FORMULA OF GLOOM

One thing you can be sure about is that more people coming to the Morning Service will end up being the biggest disaster to hit the Kirk since the Manse cat got its tail caught in the vacuum cleaner. Something will always be found to set beside good news.

Finances are another happy hunting ground. The “Yes-But” man rubs his hands as soon as they are mentioned. Any “Yes-But” man worth his salt can find something he can ‘Yes-But’ about in finance.

You might say innocently, “I see the Offerings are up this year.” Worse still you might actually venture an opinion. “People are beginning to be glad to see the work of Jesus expanding.”

Y.B is already on his feet, his right hand scrabbling to roll back his sleeve where he keeps permanently written, a carefully worked out, surefire, unanswerable formula of gloom.

“Yes, but the amount has been given by fewer people, which means that some individuals have had to give more; or else it is by more people giving, in which case individuals have been giving less.”

Your head reels. How does he manage it? You cannot put your finger on any flaw. The reasoning is unanswerable. It is indeed, a tragedy. Our missionaries will have some equipment. Our Church Extension work will actually go forward. Most unfortunate!

There is something wrong with a “Yes-But” man. Everyone who meets him sees him as one-double-bed-sized-dripping-wet-blanket. He himself is often unaware of the habit he has got into, and the symptoms he shows. He regards himself as a realist.

Give him some key job to do, he will supply a never ending list of plausible reasons why it cannot be done. It is almost as if he wills all enterprises to fail.

Is it a sort of jealousy? Has his pride been hurt somewhere?

Or might “Yes-But” be, in fact, a frustrated idealist, who is trying to say, “There, you see, you really cannot make a success of things without me?” In his funny way he is dead right, we cannot.

How do you deal with a “Yes-But” man if you have to work alongside one for Jesus?

There is one sure way. Ask him for a constructive proposal to overcome his objection. Beat him at his own game.

When he starts to interject his usual aura of failure, say to him, “Yes, but what do you propose to do about this?” The “Yes-But” man is always shattered if you ask him for a constructive proposal.

What if you yourself have slipped in to this habit, if you are a “Yes-But” man? Well, realise this. It takes the constructive hard work of at least twenty of your fellow Christians to undo and outpray the gloom and despair that you generate all round you.

You are dead right – we cannot make a success of things without you. That is why it is all the more important for you to see if you have some buried grudge or some frustrated lust for power, and bring it to the love and cross of Jesus.

POSITIVE THOUGHTS

Start thinking positive thoughts. Spend some time each day thinking about what everyone else is trying to do and then pray for the Holy Spirit to bless their work. Use your ingenious mind to encourage others. Give God praise for them.

Few people are more beloved than a former “Yes-But” man who has taken a tumble to himself. Instead of undoing the work of twenty of his fellow Christians, he can, by means of his encouragement and prayers, be worth another twenty in the work his church is trying to do for the Lord Jesus.

They helped every one his neighbour; and every one said to his brother, ‘Be of good courage’. So the craftsman encourages the goldsmith, and he who smoothes it with the hammer encourages him that that strikes the anvil, saying about the soldering, “It is good”.

-       Isaiah 41.6