Should I quit?

There are some things in life we need to focus on intently, never quitting. There are also other things in life we'd do well to just turn our backs on and walk away, making a clean break from those things. While Norman Vincent Peale says, "It's always too early to quit," I wonder if he ever walked away from something that brought more liberty in his life to just be finally free of in the end. I have also heard it said that when we are at that moment of feeling like there is nothing more to do than quit what we are doing, we might want to first consider why we started. Sometimes in understanding why we started something, we also come to an understanding if it is really time to quit it!

May we never tire of doing what is good and right before our Lord because in His season we shall bring in a great harvest if we can just persist. (Galatians 6:9)

Those things that need our attention, with that 'never quit' kind of focus, are what God wants us to put our whole heart and soul into at all times. Those things that are 'tripping points' in our lives are the type of things God may be asking us to consider as potential 'quitting points' instead! We might just want to take some time to consider why we started in that direction in the first place - what motivated us to take up that course of action? Why are we reticent to let go of what seems to only add pain and disappointment to our lives? What keeps us going back for more? What enticed us to consider that course and on what level of our 'basic needs' were we enticed?

When we stop to consider the 'why' behind our actions, we can sometimes find the very point at which we can break the cycle of repeated failure. Failing is not a bad thing, but when the failure is clearly because God has asked us to give up some course of action, we aren't going to benefit from continuing in that course! When people ask me how to overcome some particular temptation they have in life - that thing that leads them continually down a wrong path - I ask them why they think they are pursuing that path in the first place. What often comes to light is that they don't even know why they are following that path!

They haven't stopped to consider why they started! They haven't even asked themselves the question of what basic need that path supposedly met when they took the first step. We all have basic needs that are basically emotionally-based, like feeling accepted, loved, and respected. We also have basic needs that are truthfully more physically-based, such as nourishment and rest. There are also those needs that are kind of a mixture of the emotional and physical, like the desire to feel safe and secure. Understanding the 'need' behind our action is preliminary to understanding if the action is even correct for us to be taking. Just sayin!