You Can't Quit Your Way to the Top
On his podcast, leadership guru John Maxwell recently shared lessons he learned from his dad. One lesson was to "never give up and never give in." Maxwell often heard his dad say, "I've never met a successful man who quit his way to the top."
My dad never let me quit. He would not allow me to blame coaches, teachers, or leaders for my lack of opportunity. If the coach didn't play me, dad told me to get better so that the coach can't keep me on the bench. No excuses.
To this day, there has never been something I wanted to quit as bad as baseball. The year I moved from coach pitch to fastpitch was miserable. I was the youngest kid on the team, developmentally behind, and I could not hit the ball. I was obligatory batter #11. Not everyone gets to play, but everyone gets to bat - even Brian. Because I could not get a hit, the coach knew that me getting hit was my only shot at getting on base.
Since then, I've learned that I have astigmatism. My eyes are misshapen, which may explain why I could not see the ball well.
I wanted to quit, but my dad wouldn't let me. Instead of giving up, my dad told me that I should show the coach how bad I wanted to play.
Instead of staying in the dugout between innings, dad told me that I should walk onto the field with my team and make the coach call me back if he didn't want me out there. So around the fourth or fifth inning, my coach would look out and see four outfielders instead of three. It looked like church league softball. I thought of my mystery position not so much outfield, but more as deep second base.
But dad's plan worked. I think the coach assumed that I was not only blurry-blind but brain-damaged. When we had a big lead, he felt sorry for me and just left me out there.
I can't tell you how many times since then I've felt like I was walking back out there to deep second, refusing to come out of the game. Never give up! Thanks dad!
The Bible says:
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. Gal. 6:9
Life isn't easy. Doing the right thing can make it even harder.
Don't give up on hard things. There's a reason they call it an "accomplishment." Great things are hard to do.
And don't give up on the right thing.
The Lord has sown into His creation the law of sowing and reaping. Your day will come. Plant it. Work it and wait.
No one ever quit his way to the top. You won't be the first to do it, and you won't be the last to try. If you're discouraged today, get back out there at "deep 2nd base." This just might be your day to play!
Bible Study and Challenge
Read Galatians 6:6-10.
- List each command and how you intend to obey it today.
- List the promises in this passage. Believe them!
- How does this passage call for you to pray today?
What is something important that you are ready to quit? How might the law of sowing and reaping have played into your discouragement? Identify fleshly things that have been sown into the situation, whether by you or by someone else. What can you begin sowing into the situation that will make an impact that pleases God?
Image by quiniffamily from Pixabay.
Comments