In follow up to yesterday’s blog post I want to balance the pros of quitting with a biblically informed look at the cons. While there are many reasons not to quit something I can give you three that are non-negotiables for persevering.
1. It’s a bad idea to quit when you know it’s God’s will for you to continue. If Jesus is in your boat, jumping ship is never an option. Whether you are resisting sin, walking in obedience of faith to a command of Christ or doing something He has clearly called you to do, perseverence is the order of the day. We are inspired by many men and women in the Bible who refused to quit and pressed on even in the face of temptation, persecution and devastation. (Hebrews 11)
2. It’s a bad idea to quit when it’s the price you must pay for your preferred future. There is a price to pay and to pray for accomplishing any worthy goal. Jesus said we ought always to pray and not lose heart. (Luke 18:1) Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers claims that it can take an investment of 10,000 hours to master something. It may not take that long to master a musical instrument, a given profession or sport, but we all know that mastery does demand our time, money, sweat and tears. It takes the godly quality of perseverence to continue on the long road often marked by discouragement and frustration to reach a desired destination. Paying and praying through has its rewards.
3. It’s a bad idea to quit when you’ve given your word. The mandate to keep ones word is a replete throughout the Bible. Psalm 15:4 honors the man who “swears to his own hurt and does not change.” The character quality of loyalty as demonstrated by the likes of Ruth and Jonathan in performing their oaths are great illustrations of this. Jesus said that we need to let our yes be yes and our no be no, anything other than that will cause evil. (Matthew 5:37)
If this topic of special interest to you, let me recommend a thought provoking little book by secular author Seth Godin entitled The Dip. His advice: “Quit the wrong stuff. Stick with the right stuff. Have the guts to do one or the other.”
Any further thoughts from your experience on why NOT to quit?