The Quitters Club has an exclusive membership. Not just anyone can join. The Club is made up of people who have a track record of quitting. Be it a tough job, a longterm commitment, an unpleasant task, a painful discipline, a difficult relationship — they quit. You’ve heard the old saying, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” When the tough gets going, the quitters get going too — they go away!
Think of all the things we start and quit. Reading the Bible. Praying regularly. Attending a certain church, or attending at all. Reading a book. Watching a movie. A new exercise program. A new diet. A new job. A class at school. The list is endless. So are the excuses.
It has become very easy to quit and never finish anything. From all appearances, commitment and endurance levels are dangerously low. How can a person achieve anything in life if they are constantly quitting? The answer is, they can’t!
A few days ago I was engaged in that self-inflicted torture called running. Long before reaching my predetermined goal, I was overwhelmed with the insatiable desire to quit. I cannot tell you how much I wanted to quit! I had a list of reasons to justify quitting. I even could have twisted a few scriptures out of context to present a biblical case for quitting.
But about the time I was ready to throw in the towel I remembered a catchy little saying I read somewhere, “TRIUMPH is just ‘TRY’ with a little ‘UMPH’ behind it.” I finished my run!
It’s been said that a dead fish can swim downstream. It takes effort to stay with something. Quitting takes no effort at all. Just walk away from the commitment. A lot of people do that, even Christians. But the Spirit of God calls us to better things. Faithfulness, dependability, responsibility, perseverance, and loyalty are Christian virtues. These are things seriously lacking in our society, but should never be lacking in the Church of Jesus Christ.
If quitting has become a bad habit for you, I want to give you two words that can change your life - quit it! Ask the Holy Spirit to help you break past patterns of quitting, and establish new habits of finishing strong.
If you are going to quit anything, quit quitting!
Pastor Todd Weston