How to Quit Stuff

There are many verses in Scripture that encourage us to stand firm and not give up (Acts 20:24; 1 Corin. 15:58; 1 Corin. 16:13; Gal. 6:9; Eph. 4:1; Heb. 12:1; 2 Peter 1:10), so the idea of quitting seems contrary to how we are to be as followers of Jesus.  But the Scriptures make clear that we are to stay firm in our faith, our calling, and doing good.  I do all kinds of things that do not squarely fall into these categories.  Does that mean I need to quit them?  Bob Goff says he quits something every Thursday; it’s part of his rhythm of life.  I love this idea because I am often overwhelmed by busyness and stretched thin by various demands on my time, sometimes to the point that I cannot manage to take care of basic things in my life.  But I needed to think through how to quit stuff, so I came up with a series of questions to ask and bring to God in prayer to figure out whether a certain activity is something I need to quit.

Does the activity:

• bring me life or drain me?
• create space or demand space?
• refresh or tire me?
• enable or inhibit my ability to live out my calling?
• build my faith or undermine it?
• calm my mind and heart?
• trigger discontent with my life?
• lift me up or bring me down?
• cause me to be more loving or more judgmental?
• lead me into a particular temptation?
• make me less or more likely to hear God’s whispers?
• take time away from a family member or friend who needs me?

Sometimes a “no” to just one of these questions leads me to quit that particular activity.  Sometimes the answer is not that clear, but learning to ask the questions is a game-changer.

Is there something you need to quit?

What other questions would you ask to determine if you need to quit something?