Quitting Isn't Always Bad

If one is wrong

“I’m no quitter,” a person may say and that is the right thing to say about that which is true; but sometimes such isn’t the case.

When wrong, the steps of a person aren’t where they ought to be and that will continue until they quit going in the wrong direction. For example, a person will never get to Omaha if he insist on driving north on the 405 in southern California. A person will have to quit driving on the 405 and chart a course toward Nebraska. If a guy cannot hold his liquor and gets put in jail everytime he goes to a bar, that man must quit going to bars. If a man is getting too fat from drinking soda, that guy must quit drinking soda. If a woman is coughing because of smoking, she must quit smoking.

Quitting is what needs to be done when wrong. And when wrong, one isn’t right and no person should take comfort in being wrong, but instead one must get out of wrong as soon as possible. Which means quitting must be done (James 4:8; Revelation 2:5,16,21-22). Quitting means stop and stopping is important in life because if it weren’t for quitting, Christians couldn’t be saved by the blood of Christ; being no longer strangers to the way of God but children of the light (Romans 6:12-18; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; Jonah 3:4-10; Luke 3:10-15; Acts 26:19-20; Isaiah 1:16; 1 Cor. 5:11-13; Galatians 1:23; Matthew 3:2).

So, yes, the Bible demands that we become quitters when the truth has been revealed to us. For the Bible calls that kind of quitting repentance because if we don’t quit (repent) we will be lost (Luke 12:47; Luke 13:3; Acts 17:30).

If one is right

When standing for the truth, one must never submit to those who coax him to leave what is right (Proverbs 1:10). Even if the way is hard and lonely one must not surrender what is right because of hardship (2 Timothy 2:1-3; Galatians 6:9). To do so, is to be a quitter, one who gave up what was right in order to have the easy way out (Hebrews 10:38-39; John 6:59-66; Luke 19:18-25). The Apostle Paul set a good example for us—he knew only hardship awaited him as he would journery into different cities to preach Christ. He could have quit, but he refused, saying he would be willing to die for the Lord Jesus (Acts 21:11-13; Phil. 1:21). And that is exactly what happen to Paul because he refused to be a quitter (2 Timothy 4:6-8).

A bad example is Peter. He and the other disciples told Jesus they would not leave Him if the Jews came to arrest Him. I’m amazed they even made such a statement since they couldn’t even sit one hour and watch the Lord praying; instead they quit watching and went to sleep. And when Jesus was arrested, we see them failing again. They didn’t live up to what they promised; instead they quit and ran for their lives (Mark 14:26-50).
So the disciples of Christ were quitters; they quit doing what they were supposed to do at the time when the Master needed them the most. Yes, they did what all quitters do, they quit (Prov. 25:19).

With all the bad things going on today, the people who are in the right don’t need to quit. For if they do, all light disappears and only darkness remains. There needs to be people willing to stand for right and never bend a knee nor subject themselves to those who are carried away by error (Gal. 2:5; 2 Peter 3:17-18). So, when right, don’t call it a night!!

There must be a standard which defines what is right and what is wrong

​As I close out this article, it would be amiss if I don’t deal with what consitutes right and wrong. There is a standard higher then the thinking of man and it is to that standard we must consult as to what makes right and what makes wrong (Psalm 119:105; Romans 3:20).

The word of God which is the Bible is to be the guide for man to walk by. The Bible contains all the answer to a life of peace and righteousness and when man has a issue, he must turn to God’s word for the answer (2 Peter 1:3; 2 Timothy 3:16-17). We know that sin is violation of God’s word and when the Bible points such out, we will quit living in violation and start doing that which is in harmony with the word of God (Rom. 4:15; 1 John 3:4; Rom. 6:15-18).

So, I will not discuss a topic of the scriptures with anyone who refuses to acknowledge that the scriptures are the standard by which the answer can be achieved. Because one can stand around all day, talking about what he thinks or how he feels, and that will not be the answer! The answer is; what did the word of God say about the matter?

~James Baker