Don’t quit quietly

by Robert Mitchell

“Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.” —Revelation 2:4

“Quiet Quitting” is all the rage in the corporate world, and the phenomenon has drawn considerable media attention in recent months.

Investopedia describes quiet quitting as “doing the minimum requirements of one’s job and putting in no more time, effort or enthusiasm than absolutely necessary.” The term may be new, but doing just enough to slide by is something probably as old as work itself. A friend once told me how he quiet quit a job by going to work and simply pushing his computer mouse around aimlessly until he was finally let go. Some believe the trend became more prevalent during the COVID–19 pandemic when many people in the work force began telecommuting with little to no supervision.

Others say it’s a response by overworked employees in corporate settings to claw back some sort of work–life balance.

What the Word says

Quiet quitting is clearly antithetical to God’s Word. Christians are instructed to be an example to a watching world when it comes to our personal character, our daily interac- tions, and our work ethic. “So, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God,” says 1 Corinthians 1:31.

We are further told in Colossians 3:23–24, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

But what happens when quiet quitting seeps into other parts of your life? What if it bleeds over into your spiritual life, including your daily devotions, church attendance, and service? The results can be devastating for you, your church, and the people in your circles.

Every Christian should maintain a vigorous devotional life—some call it a “quiet time” with God (Matthew 6:6) or daily devotions—featuring Bible reading, prayer, and meditating on Scripture. A daily dose of the Bible is your best defense against false doctrine. It’s your roadmap to a full, sound, and productive Christian life.

The slippery slope

With all the distractions around us,maintaining a devotional life is already difficult enough, so it would be easy to quiet quit and do the bare minimum—just enough to keep the dust off your Bible or Bible app. The daily study might gradually whittle down to a three–day–a–week devotional or even shrink to a once–a–week effort. Do you spend more time watching TikTok videos than you do reading your Bible?

Most Christians start the new year with a plan to follow a daily devotional book or even to read through the Bible in a year. But, again, there are those pesky distractions that clamor for our attention. So, what if you miss a few days? No harm there, right?

The problem is, those few days might spiral into a week or more. Suddenly, you’re way behind and the thought of catching up and cramming it all in seems overwhelming. You might quiet quit by reading the minimum—again, just to keep the dust bunnies away from the spiritual bookshelf. Others may give up completely.

Then, there’s your prayer life to consider. What if we abandoned daily prayer and fell to our knees only when there was an emergency?

The bottom line is we would be quiet quitting our spiritual lives and leaving our church, its impact, outreaches, and leaders uncovered in prayer. Not only that, but we would be neglecting our families, homes, and unsaved loved ones in need of prayer.

Since COVID, many people have also grown lazy about church attendance. Most churches, if they didn’t have livestream before, added it during the pandemic when meeting together was challenging.

God’s mandate

Let’s face it. It’s a whole lot easier to cozy up on your sofa and watch the livestream than it is to get ready, head out into the cold, and drive to church. However, relying on what some call “Zoom church” is unbiblical. Going to church is a biblical command and Hebrews 10:24 tells us, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

My guess is you wouldn’t treat your attendance at your job as you do your church attendance. In Acts 2:42, we read of the early believers, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” They were together and committed to one another. They didn’t quiet quit on one another.

In Luke 4, we read about the commitment Jesus displayed: “ He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom.”

If you just watch the livestream, you’re missing out on so much because church is where believers love one another (John 13:34–35), encourage (1 Thessalonians 5:11), spur one another to love and good works (Hebrew 10:24), serve one another (Galatians 5:13), instruct each other (Romans 15:14), and show kindness and compassion (Ephesians 4:32). You can’t do any of that if you’re watching church on your computer, nor can you serve the church if you don’t show up regularly. The people in your congregation need you to be a constant, not someone who shows up for your ministry duties once or twice a month. It’s the same principle with your family.

The Bible is clear; we are to train up children in the way they should go. But what happens if you let the cares of the world keep you from the hard work of parenting from a biblical standpoint? You’ll be surprised when your kids return home from college as committed atheists.

Return to your first love

So how do we avoid quiet quitting our spiritual lives? If we think back, all of us who are Christians can probably remember the enthusiasm we had for our faith when we were first saved. We were voracious readers of God’s word and couldn’t wait to dig into the Bible’s rich truths every day. We counted the days until the next church service. Serving in various ministries was a joy and we longed for everyone to be saved.

In Revelation 2:4, Jesus reminds the church at Ephesus about its early enthusiasm when He says, “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.” May we return to our first love. Don’t quit on your daily devotions, reading of Scripture, prayer, meditation, church attendance, and service to your congregation and others. By doing the bare minimum, you’re not only stunting your own growth, but you’re neglecting the very ministries and people who need you to get back in the game.

So, quit your quiet quitting—quite quickly if you please.