“Giving Up”

        You may have heard the (possibly legendary) story of Winston Churchill, invited to speak at a boys’ school. When his turn came, he walked up to the podium, said, “Never give up! Never, never, never give up!” And with those few words, he sat down. 

        We wish it were that simple, but there are other factors. For instance, several quotations have been posted to the internet recently, such as, “Walk away from people who put you down; walk away from fights that will never be resolved.” Another one is “Sometimes you have to give up on people, not because you don’t care, but because they don’t.” Pretty harsh statements!

        Does any of this tie in with Scripture? Do we really have to face that difficult choice—try harder or walk away? On one hand we have Isaiah 62:7— “You who call on the LORD, give yourselves no rest, and give him no rest…” We also have the story of Jacob, wrestling with a “Man”. Genesis 32:26— “I will not let You go unless You bless me.”

        On the other hand, we have Acts 21:14, where Luke, and Paul’s other friends ‘gave up and said, “The Lord’s will be done.”’ Paul was going up to Jerusalem, even to his death. Paul himself had to give up, in 2 Corinthians 12:8, when he pleaded with the Lord three times to take away his “thorn in the flesh”. Paradoxically, Paul triumphed by submitting.

        Perhaps one of the greatest conflicts from a human point of view was in the Garden of Gethsemane. Peter was prepared to fight, and hacked a man’s ear off to prove it. Jesus said, “Enough!”, and let the posse arrest Him. 

        It really is difficult—try harder? Walk away? Again, it’s a question of seeking “the Lord’s will.” Jesus knew the right thing to do in the garden. In the final analysis, pray, read your Bible and consult the Lord and faithful fellow Christians. Giving up is not failure; it led to our Lord’s great triumph.