Lynn Jones: Being a quitter isn’t always bad
By Lynn Jones
While waiting to see a patient at the hospital, I was browsing through the hospital gift shop. As I did so, I saw a plaque for sale that said: “I would give up chocolate, but I’m no quitter.”
The name “Quitter” usually is a name that is not held in high esteem. I heard of a young man who applied for a job. On his resume he listed the places he had previously worked. Later when he checked back with the company where he had applied for a job, he was told that when they checked out his references, they were very disappointed. In all three of his previous jobs, he had been fired. The man at the company asked, “How do you explain that?” The young man said, “Well, I’ll tell you this. It shows that I’m no quitter.”
In most areas, being called a “Quitter,” is a bad thing, but in the Christian life being a “Quitter” is not always bad. Obviously, we don’t want to quit following Christ, attending church, praying, or studying the Word. We need to endure, not quit, doing those things.
But the New Testament emphasizes the need for us to quit doing some things. Paul wrote to the Colossians, “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips (Col. 3:5, 8). The biblical translation The Message translates James’ instructions this way: “Say a quiet yes to God and he’ll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field” (James 4:8).
Quitting our sin is a challenge to us since our very nature bends in that direction. But if any lasting progress is to be made in our Christian lives, quitting our sinful ways is a requirement.
Sam Jones was a noted evangelist a century ago who led great crusades all over this country. A standard feature of those crusades was a service that he called “The Quitting Service.” In it, he would challenge people to quit the things that were hindering their Christian lives. At the end of one of those services, he gave an invitation, and a man came forward and said to the preacher, “I’ve been lying, and I’m going to quit it.” Another said, “I’ve been cursing, and I’m going to quit it.” A third man came forward and said, “Bro. Jones, I ain’t been doing nothing, and I’m going to quit it.” If that’s what you’ve been doing, I urge you to quit it as well. Quitting can be an honorable thing to do in the Christian life. It requires courage, commitment, and discipline. Got any things you need to quit?
Lynn Jones is a retired pastor who lives in Oxford. He does supply preaching for churches in his area and often serves as an interim pastor. Jones is also an author, has written two books and writes a weekly newspaper column. He may be contacted at: kljones45@yahoo.com.
