‘Quit’ Has No Place In Our Vocabulary
October 16, 2023/in Monday Manna /by Dan Britton
Several years ago, a high school football team in Michigan, U.S.A. cancelled the last five games of its season after going 0–4 and having not scored a point at the start of the season. Going winless and scoreless has a sting to it, but my heart hurts thinking that someone gave up on that group of athletes.
Think about the possible victories those athletes will never experience. I do not mean to on-the-field victories. From what was reported, the team probably would have finished 0–9. However, lasting victories are not about points on a scoreboard, or wins and losses. What matters are the life victories the athletes were not able to experience this season. I suppose the coaches and athletic officials had never heard the famous Winston Churchill quote, “Never give in – never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in….” For him, “quit” was a four-letter profanity.
Twenty years from now, those athletes might be wishing their coaches had not given up on them. Even if they had gone winless and scoreless, it could have been a defining moment that developed character.
Unfortunately, quitting is something that has permeated many segments of society, including the business and professional world. People quit without giving any thought to possible repercussions. I believe the word needs to be removed from our vocabulary. Not only do I see it as a curse word, but it also becomes a curse to all who live by it.
I will never forget the conversation I had with a 16-year-old boy during a young athletes’ retreat. During free time, he was sitting by himself, his head in his hands. Something was troubling him, so I sat by him hoping to help. I simply asked, “What’s wrong?” I was prepared for a typical young person’s response: girlfriend problems; alcohol or drugs; friendship struggles, or issues at school. So, I was shocked when he said, “I hate that my parents let me quit everything I start.”
The young man proceeded to explain that everything he started, he quit. He then blurted out, “I just wish they would make me finish what I started.” Wow! Usually I hear the exact opposite, “I hate that my parents make me finish everything I start.” But this aspiring athlete wanted encouragement not to quit.
The Bible clearly addresses the importance of not quitting, of determining to confront adversity in whatever form it takes. “Consider it a great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. But endurance must do its complete work, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing” (James 1:2–4).
Our families, teams, businesses, organizations, churches, and schools should be places for cultivating a spirit of finishing – and finishing well. The four-letter word, “Quit,” should be eliminated from our conversations. The apostle Paul reminds us in Galatians 6:9 the reward of not quitting: “So let us not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.”
We each will become known by others as either a finisher or a quitter. The choice is ours, but the difference between the two is life-changing. Because it is in the struggle and strain that God shapes us and molds us. We will miss out on what He is trying to do in our lives if we quit when things get hard.
