Don't Quit
John Perkins doesn’t quit.
Born in Mississippi in 1930, John grew up in the racist south and had plenty of reasons to hate.
At age 12, he worked all day hauling hay and expected to be paid $1.50 or $2.00 (typical pay for a day), but a white man paid him 15 cents.
At age 16, his 25-year-old brother, Clyde, recently returned from fighting in World War 2, was shot and killed in line at a movie theater by a white deputy sheriff.
At age 39, Mississippi deputy sheriffs and highway patrolmen stuck a fork up his nose and down his throat. They beat him to the floor, then kept on kicking him in the head, ribs, stomach, and groin. Eventually, two-thirds of his stomach had to be removed.
Historian Charles Marsh calls Perkins “the most influential African American Christian leader since Dr. King.” In spite of all the hate, opposition, and racism, John Perkins didn’t quit. He was saved at age 27, became a Christian minister, civil rights leader, Bible teacher, best-selling author (15 books), community and ministry developer, and has received 16 honorary doctorates (despite being a third-grade dropout).
In speaking about all the hate he endured, Perkins said: “I had learned to hate all the white people in Mississippi. I hated their control over our lives. …If I had not met Jesus I would have died carrying that heavy burden of hate to my grave. But He began to strip it away, layer by layer. …When I saw what hate had done to them, I couldn’t hate back. I could only pity them. I didn’t ever want hate to do to me what it had already done to those men.” Perkins learned that “nonviolence takes more strength than violence—and it takes more than just human strength. It takes God’s strength working in human beings to produce self-control, gentleness, and other fruit of the Holy Spirit.”
In 2020, World Magazine chose John Perkins to be the Daniel of the Year because police killings, riotous responses, and a bruising presidential campaign have made his refusal to hate more important to civil peace than at any time since the Civil War.
John Perkins' life can teach us so many faith lessons: love, self-control, forgiveness, gentleness, redemption, grace, and good deeds, but one that struck me was his perseverance. He just didn’t quit. He endured one obstacle after another and now is 90 and President Emeritus of the Perkins Foundation.
And neither did our Lord and Savior: “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:2).
And neither should we: “…let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Heb. 12:1b).
It reminds me of a monologue my dad wrote in 1982.
"The Fellowship of the Unashamed”
“I am a part of the fellowship of the Unashamed. I have the Holy Spirit Power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions, mundane talking, chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals. I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by presence, learn by faith, love by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power. My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my Guide is reliable, my mission is clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, diluted, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity. I won't give up, back up, let up, or shut up until I've preached up, prayed up, paid up, stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until He returns, give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He comes. And when He comes to get His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My colors will be clear.”
Let God’s gracious work in John Perkins' life inspire our perseverance.
Pastor Jeff