Not all who quit are losers but are survivors
I resigned from my first job because I felt like I have more worth and should pursue a better career. I pursued another after that and thankfully landed a job with good pay and career opportunity. But then my life changed when I became a wife and a mom. Most of my tasks were taking a toll on my motherhood. Fast forward, after being in the agency for almost five years, all the dedication and a fulfilling promotion, I had thoughts of quitting my job.
My decision to finally quit was a long battle, and I was weary and hated my job each day. However, I felt like it was irresponsible of me to just quit. I was pushed to the wall when my son and I became sickly. I was so burned out that it caused detriment to some of my work output. I cried and prayed each night until I received a message from the Lord.
The journey after that night was both liberating, scary, and overall empowering. It was a story of how God rebuked me through Luke 16 and how he saved me from suicidal ideation. It was empowering because I learned valuable lessons.
Actions done in anger cannot be undone
As I contemplated the process of my resignation, I recounted every detail of my pain and decided to let the agency know about it. I felt liberated and I wanted justice to be served. My decision changed after being rebuked by Luke 16. It was a story of a manager who was accused of wasting his master’s possessions. He was called to account for his management, and he feared that his master would take his job. He then acted shrewdly and secured his future by paying all his master’s debt in a much lesser amount. His goal was to be accepted by others into their dwellings.
Quitting your job with animosity will only be satisfying in passing but has repercussions that will affect you for much longer. The reputation that you leave in the company will be the impression that you will carry to another company. Instead, invest in building healthy networks that will help your career, express your gratitude to the company for training you and enhancing your skills, and leave messages to your team and colleagues to wish them well.
Accountability breeds responsibility – Steven Covey
My family was the main reason that I have to leave my job, but they were also the reason why I could not leave soon enough. I feel heavily accountable with my husband regarding our finances at the time. We made decisions in the past based on our capacity of earning together and quitting will leave all the accountability to him. I was praying for a safety boat before finally deciding to leave my job. However, the message of the Lord came to me and with full faith, I decided to take the leap and submit my notice of resignation. The Lord later on provided what I needed at that time – a home-based job which helped with income generation, recuperation from my burnout, and taking care of my child who was very sickly at that time.
My resignation notice was 30 days as an office protocol, and during that time I dedicated myself to self-evaluation and making sure that I would leave my job without giving a burden to my team or the person who will take my position. My self-evaluation helped to ease my resentments that built up during my employment. It also resulted in discovering the root cause of my stressors and my responses. I created a proposal to respond to the root cause and help the next person who would take my position. I also noted and accepted that my circumstances were not solely because of my aggressors but because I lack self-worth, assertiveness, and discipline.
We all have reasons for quitting a job or a responsibility, and I wish it’s all because we have something better, but the reality is that there are reasons that are just too painful. Full accountability to our circumstances changes our perspective and would result in responsible responses. At the end of the day, we are the ones quitting and another person will be too happy to take the job. Try to self evaluate when your thoughts of quitting start to cross your mind and note your contributions to your current situation. If quitting needs to be done, be accountable to your future self and take care of your reputation.
Quit while you still have something of yourself
Quitting for me was self-preservation – a rescue from God. I was already burned out and my motivation for working is already mechanical. My usual self who is innovative and passionate has dwindled into an employee who only works for a salary. My testimony was degraded to hurts and resentment.
If you are still battling the decision to quit, then consider if you can take full accountability of your ill-feelings on the job, able to change your perception, work responsibly, and work with motivation. If you answered no, then quit! I know it’s best to quit when you know where to go after, but my faith made me realize that you don’t have to. Own quitting boldly and let them envy you. Quit when you still have something of yourself and enough motivation to leave gracefully with intact integrity. Remember to be fully accountable for your decision and carry your good reputation to embark on a new journey. It will be too late to quit when you have made too many mistakes or have burned your bridges. Your company will be too happy to let you go, or they may not even wait for your resignation and fire you instead.
Hold on but don’t hold still – Kristina Kuzmic
My career was my dedication to the Lord and one of my testimonies. I tried to hold on to a job with my desire to honor God but I was wrong. The heart speaks the real worship to God and the delight that comes from doing. I may have held the same position for much longer, but my heart is no longer filled with gratitude and joy. Our ministry is bounded in truth and love and not by position nor of place.
Those who do not fear change are those who continue to develop themselves because they know that change is inevitable. We need to be sure and clear with our vision, whether to provide for our family, to be successful, or to contribute to the kingdom of God. John Maxwell said “be stubborn with your vision but be flexible with your plan”. We can change a multitude of our plans as long as we know that our actions will bring us to our vision. Hold still on that vision and keep moving on, invest in yourself to become a more desirable employee, or be the perfect fit on which God intends you to be.
In Luke 16, the master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. Jesus added, “for the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings”.