“I Never Intended to Quit”

A man who had not attended one service of the church in four years told me he had never thought of “quitting” the church. I reminded him that he had (1) withdrawn his presence from the services of worship; (2) refused to give his moral support to the activities of the church; and (3) withdrawn his financial support, for he had not given one dime to help carry on the Lord’s work. Then I asked, “What else would you have to do in order to ‘quit’ the church? In case you ever decide that you do not desire to be a member, what other steps will be necessary to ‘quit’ the church?”

As the true status dawned upon him his expression reflected his sober thoughts. He replied, “Why, Brother Nichols, I’ve already quit, haven’t I? Well. I surely did not mean to! And I don’t know when I did it.… I’m coming back.” He did, too! At the next service he was restored, and three years later he was still faithful.

Now, how about you? Have you quit the Lord and His church without resolving to do so? Perhaps no one deliberately decides to quit, but many carelessly drift into backsliding. If you quit attending services, quit boosting the program of activities planned by the elders, and quit giving as God has prospered you to enable the congregation to meet its budget, you need to be restored. Why will you wait?

[Editor’s Note: Although Brother Nichols (1892-1975) wrote this article more than five decades ago, many can still profit from it. Jess Whitlock included it in the Maysville, Oklahoma church bulleting for December 3, 2023.]