The Upside of Giving Up

Can quitting be the right choice sometimes?

Vince Lombardi, the great pro football coach of the 1960s, had a saying about giving up: "Winners never quit and quitters never win."

Stirring words, for sure.

But wrong.

All through history, winners have quit one thing and moved on to another. Matthew tells us that Jesus "left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea," where he began his ministry (4:13). Simon Peter and Andrew quit fishing and followed Jesus (4:20). Saul quit "breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord" and became an apostle (Acts 9:1-22).

And the quitting has continued, right up to the present day. Abraham Lincoln quit being an owner of a general store and entered politics. Julia Childs quit being a CIA intelligence officer and became a world-famous cook. Harrison Ford quit being a professional carpenter when he was offered a part in a little movie called Star Wars. "Grandma" Moses quit selling potato chips and began to paint ... at age 80.

Clearly, quitters sometimes win, when they...