“THE LORD
LOVES A CHEERFUL QUITTER”
LUKE
10:1-11
10:1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent
them on
ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about
to go.
2 And he said to them, “The harvest
is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray
earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.
3 Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of
wolves.
4 Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on
the road.
5 Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’
6 And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But
if not, it will return to you.
7 And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they
provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house.
8 Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set
before you.
9 Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come
near to you.’
10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into
its streets and say,
11 ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off
against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’
If at first you don’t succeed...quit.
Quit! QUIT! Right? Of course not. You and I both know that what the
proverb really says is this: “If at first you don’t succeed try, try
again.” Of course there are some children
out in Champlain, Illinois who might beg to differ. A number of years ago their teacher gave them a list of
unfinished proverbs and asked them to finish the proverbs by filling in the
blanks. Some of their finished proverbs were interesting to say the least. For
example, did you know that…
You should
never bite the hand…..that looks dirty?
Here are a few
more…
It’s better to
be safe….than punch a 5th grader.
If you lie down
with dogs, you'll...........stink in the morning.
A penny saved…………………….isn’t
much.
Never
underestimate the power of............termites.
And…
If at first you don’t succeed.
Quit. Quit! QUIT!
Jesus is the one who actually
came up with that last one. It’s
true. You can see it in the instructions
that he gave his disciples before he sent them out to prepare the way for him.
Jesus gave them all kinds of pithy advice. He told them to travel light and to eat their
vegetables. He told them not to go
from house to house looking for a better invitation and if someone refused to
welcome them his advice was simple.
Just shake the dust off your feet and move on to the next village.
Now that’s a message that
doesn’t play very well in our success oriented society. After all, no one
likes a quitter. If at first you don’t succeed you’re
supposed to try, try again!
That’s why you have to admire
the attitude of the boy who was playing baseball one day with a bunch of his friends.
The boy was standing in the
outfield when an elderly man walked by and asked, “What’s the score?”
“We’re loosing” the boy said, 27
to nothing.” “Wow,” the elderly man said.
“That must be very discouraging.”
The boy shook his head. “Nope,” he said. “I’m not discouraged at all.” The elderly man couldn’t believe
it. “You’re not?” “Nope,” the boy
said. “We haven’t had our turn to bat yet. It’s still the top of the first
inning.”
If at first you don’t succeed
try, try again. That’s the way
it’s supposed to work in our society.
Just ask Elizabeth Brinton.
She did something that no one else had ever done before her. What
she did was really amazing
especially when you realize that she was only 13 years old when she did
it. So, what exactly did she
do? Believe it or not when Elizabeth
Brinton was 13 years old she went out and sold 11,200 boxes of Girl Scout
cookies. When she was asked how
she was able to sell all those Girl Scout cookies she said it was simple. “You
have to be able to look people in the eye and make them feel guilty.”
If at first you don’t succeed
try, try again. That’s the way
it’s supposed to work in our society, but there times when Jesus wants you to
be a cheerful quitter. Sometimes the best thing you can do is shake the dust
off your feet and move on.
It’s what you have to do sometimes
with a relationship that’s going nowhere.
It’s what you have to do sometimes
when someone just won’t listen to you.
It’s what you have to do
sometimes when a dream just isn’t going to happen.
Instead of banging your head
against the wall and getting angry the Lord wants you to be a cheerful quitter
and move on. That’s what Jesus
told his followers to do when someone refused to listen to them and maybe, just
maybe, he’s telling you to do the same thing. Shake the dust off your feet and move on. Now I will admit
that it’s hard sometimes
to do. After all the last thing
you want is to feel like you’re a failure.
The reality though is that
you’re not going to find the kingdom of heaven in that unhealthy relationship. You’re
not going to find the kingdom of heaven in that person who thinks you don’t
know what you’re talking about. You’re not going to find the kingdom of heaven
in that unrealistic dream.
The kingdom of heaven is
waiting for you somewhere down the road.
It was waiting for the disciples in the next village and it’s waiting
for you in a new relationship with someone who truly deserves the love that you
have to give. It’s waiting for you
in a new job or a new challenge or an entirely new dream.
When you’re a cheerful quitter
you understand that not everyone is going to love you and that’s okay. When
you’re a cheerful quitter you
understand that sometimes people aren’t going to listen to you and when that
happens it doesn’t mean you’ve failed as parent or a friend. When
you’re a cheerful quitter you
understand that sometimes the smartest thing you can do is let go of a dream that
wasn’t what God really wanted for you anyway.
If at first you don’t
succeed. Quit. Quit! QUIT! Wipe
the dust off your
shoes and move on. That by the way
is also true when it comes to the realities of getting older. If you want to
age gracefully you have
to know when to try, try again and when it’s time to quit. Quit! QUIT! I
found that out a few years ago
while I was on a ski retreat with our senior high Youth Ministry. At first
I determined to keep up
with them as they went zipping down the mountain but I quickly discovered that
I didn’t have the stamina that I used to have when I was younger. I discovered
that my reflexes weren’t
what they used to be and then there was that little voice in my head that
whispered, “You know at your age broken bones take a lot longer to heal.”
So, I quit trying to compete with all
those young daredevils and you know what?
It was wonderful. Suddenly
instead of pushing myself to do something that I really couldn’t do anymore I
found myself cruising down the trails at a graceful speed that allowed me to
enjoy the beauty of God’s creation that was all around me. I saw the deep
blue in the morning sky
and the snow that was glistening in the trees along the side of the trail. I
felt the crisp cold air on my face and life was good; very good. All of that
because instead of pushing
myself to try, try again I decided to quit. Quit! QUIT!
There’s a story about an
elderly woman who decided that the time had come to quit trying to live in her
home all by herself. After she made
that decision she met a
woman who described her with these words:
“She is 92 years old, petite,
well poised and proud. She is fully dressed each morning by eight o' clock,
with her hair fashionably coifed and her make-up perfectly applied, in spite of
the fact that she is legally blind. Today she has moved to a nursing home. Her
husband of 70 years recently passed away, making this move necessary. After
many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, where I am employed, she smiled
sweetly when told her room
was ready. As she maneuvered her walker to the elevator, I provided a visual
description of her tiny room, including the eyelet
curtains that had been hung on her window. "I love it," she stated with the enthusiasm of an
eight year old having just been presented with a new puppy. "Mrs. Jones,
you haven't seen the room.....just wait," I said. Then she spoke these words
that I will never forget:
"That does not have anything to do with it," she gently replied. "Happiness
is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not does
not depend on how the furniture is arranged. It is how I arrange my mind. I have
already decided to love it. "It is a decision I make every morning when I
wake up. I have a choice. I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty
I have with the parts of my body that no longer work,
or I can get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do work. Each day is
a gift,
and as long as my eyes open, I will focus on the new day and all of the happy
memories I have stored away....just for this time in my life. "Old age is
like a bank account. You withdraw from what you have already put in."
Sometimes the best thing you
can do is be a cheerful quitter.
Instead of trying to make something happen you shake the dust off your
feet and move on. You do that
knowing that the Lord is going to lead you to the kingdom of heaven that is
waiting for you somewhere down the road.
Amen.
Rev. Dr. Richard A. Hughes
July 7, 2013
