One of the first things a Dad tries
to instill in their child is a “Don’t Quit Attitude.” It’s not that our hearts aren’t broken when
we see our child hurting from a fall, a hit from a ball, or the agony of a
knock on the head when our child collides unintentionally with another Dad’s
child. We hurt, we want to hold them and
take away the pain, but the one luxury we don’t get as Dad’s is letting our
child give up.
We teach our children, “Don’t
Quit,” because we want our children to become a people of conviction. Conviction doesn’t happen overnight, it
happens over a lifetime of bumps and bruises, over broken hearts and sometimes
even broken dreams. The
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines Conviction as “a strong persuasion or
belief” or “the state of being convinced.”
It is no accident that the synonyms (the same as) of the word are
“assuredness, certainty, confidence, doubtlessness, satisfaction and sureness,”
and that the antonyms (the opposite of) of the word are “doubt, uncertain, no
confidence, and uncertainty.” Conviction
doesn’t happen by accident, it is learned on the battlefield of living life in
a world that is imperfect.
We begin by teaching our children
you don’t quit when things don’t go your way, because we know living in a
sin-sick world, rarely do things turn out exactly as planned. When we teach our children not to quit when
things get tough we teach them to commit.
Commitment is serious business and it only comes when a person learns,
“it’s not just about me.” There is more
than one party involved in a commitment; it may be a sports team, a work crew, a
mission team or a marriage. As they say “there is no ‘I’ in ‘Team’.” Learning
to make a commitment means growing up and putting childish self-serving ambitions
aside, no longer is it, “me, myself and I,” it is about “you, we and us and
even them.” No longer am I the center of
the universe, but I am a part of a much bigger plan God has for me.
When a
child learns not to quit because there is much more at stake than just “me”, he
sees beyond himself and sees that commitment benefits “we” and we includes “me”,
and once commitment is set resolute in the heart conviction soon will
follow. Conviction in the sense of the
spiritual is what holds us together when the world tries to tear us apart. The conviction of truth in our life, regardless
of what others say or do, this “truth” will hold us firm and grounded in a
world where anything goes and commitments and convictions are like the sands on
the shore constantly shifting giving us no firm foundation. This world lacks conviction.
Eventually
a child’s heart will grow and “don’t quit” will lead to “I won’t quit,”
“commit” will one day lead to “I can’t quit,” and “conviction” will lead to
“you can’t make me quit.” Imagine generations
of children growing up learning that quitting is never an option, learning to
commit to a relationship with Christ Jesus, and learning to stand firm in their
convictions of the truths of God. What
would the schools look like, the work places, the churches, the mission fields
and the world? Imagine the frustration
of the devil when the people of God look him in the eyes and say “you can’t
make me quit.”
7 "But you, be strong and do not
lose courage, for there is reward for your work
2 Chron 15:7
Blessings,
Pastor Eric 
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