So Brendon raises the issue: Well, what if I made a commitment? And so here are the two questions I think he should ask:ĭid you, in fact, Brendon, make a promise or make a commitment to play the entire season?

Sometimes losers lack the courage to quit. It is never enough to say, “Don’t be a quitter.” It is never enough to say, “Quitters are losers.” No, no, no. To walk away from that kind of money would be a biblical virtue as we put people above money. So you have a job that is just paying like crazy, but you find it involves you in some compromised behaviors, shady dealings, harsh personnel strategies. Or the activity may be proving lots of money is coming in. That would be a beautiful thing to quit something under those circumstances. And so quitting this activity would involve valuing spiritual power and fruitful exercise of our gifts above short-term physical pleasures. Or the activity may involve huge amounts of pleasure with very little improvement to our spiritual power or development of our gifts.

Quitting this activity would require a great deal of self-denial and humility and trust that God has a better way for us because we are going to lose all this popularity if we just drop out and start studying or pursue something hidden and unimpressive. However - and this really needs to be said - there are situations where quitting may be the very best thing you can do and may require enormous courage and a high degree of character and faith in God.įor example, the activity may provide us with lots of notoriety or fame or popularity, but with no fruitfulness in benefiting the lives of anybody else. So it is really plain that Brendan is right and his folks are right: quitting is often a sign of weakness and flaws, and we should do everything we can to not quit under such circumstances. And frankly, I very much like to get applause, and so I am going to quit this activity no matter how useful it is for me or others, because I want to go somewhere where I can get more praise and more applause. Sort of performing in an average, acceptable way, but not much applause is coming to me. Or I may not be very good at a given activity, and so I am not getting a lot of praise. And that is a sin and a weakness that Brendan’s parents would surely want to warn him against. But we may be so addicted to lots of stimulation that we are simply unwilling to be bored in any period of our lives, and so we quit. Or the activity may be boring, though it is fruitful. And that lack of discipline and self-denial is not a virtue. And we may be unwilling to deny ourselves the pleasures we could be having in the afternoon, and so we quit. Or the activity may be painful - like, highly demanding exercises that make us very uncomfortable for two hours in the afternoon. Laziness is never a good reason to quit anything. Well that is a dishonorable way to behave. An activity may be difficult and demanding, and we may be lazy and so unwilling to remain in the activity, so we quit.

Sometimes quitting signifies a weakness of character and a weakness of faith. It dishonors the God of truth.īut let’s think for a minute about these two kinds of quitting, because this may help Brendon sort it out. At other times, quitting may signify strength of character and strength of faith in God.Īnd of course, Brendan’s parents and Brendan himself are rightly concerned that he never quit anything because of weakness of character or lack of faith in God’s positions, especially if there has been some kind of promise or commitment, since breaking a promise is clearly a sin. I think it’s very important to realize, especially in this situation, that sometimes quitting signifies a weakness of character or a weakness of faith in God’s provision. Let’s think for a minute about the morality of quitting something you’ve begun. But I also have priorities and plan on being a pastor when I grow up, so the Lord and academics are immensely important. But football has consumed so much of my time that I haven’t had time to spend with God or work on school, and my grades and relationship with God are in danger of slipping. I’ve always been disciplined by my parents about not quitting anything when you make a commitment, whether it be sports, a job, etc. I’ve been in a dilemma lately that I could use some guidance on. I’m currently an eleventh-grade junior in high school and on the varsity football team. Brendan writes in to ask: “Hello, Pastor John.

Don t be a quitter