You’re Fired! Perhaps you have been on the receiving end of that announcement, or maybe you were the one who said it to someone else. Before he became president, Donald Trump had a TV show called “The Apprentice”. The contestants all competed for a single position in the Trump organization at the end of the season. Each week, he would review the accomplishments of them for that week and would eliminate one by saying, “You’re fired!”. I worked for a company once that was bought out by a smaller company and, of course, the new owners told us that they were not planning any layoffs, that we would all keep our jobs. Then they started downsizing. When the VP I worked for was let go, I knew my time was coming and, sure enough, the next day they packed up the things that were in my cube and escorted me out the door. In a sense, those of us who were let go had the last laugh because a year later they went out of business, fired by their customers who took their business elsewhere.
How about our position with God, and his son, Jesus Christ? As believers and followers of his teachings and commandments, can we be fired and lose the opportunity to get our promised reward of an eternity with God? None of us are perfect and we all violate his rules again and again, we all sin. What if God got fed up with you and decided to fire you, strip you of your heavenly reward? Fortunately, we know from the bible that there is no limit to God’s forgiveness. When we sin, it is a matter of asking for that forgiveness. If you confess your sins, repent for them, and ask for that forgiveness, then God will pardon you for it. But you have to ask.
How about those people who reject God, reject Jesus Christ? Those who sin against God and do not repent? Do not seek his mercy? What happens to them? Some people believe that God sends those people to hell. Many years ago, I attended a weekend retreat and renewal of faith. One of the speakers said God does not send people to hell, they choose to go there of their own free will! God will do everything he can, in any way he can, to convince them to change and spend eternity with him. Sadly, some people still continue down the wrong path to a different eternity.
Which gets to the second part of the title, the part that says you can always quit. I am sure you have seen that dramatic moment in a movie where the star says, “You can’t fire me, I quit!”. Well, I have already shown that God will not fire you, no matter what you have done, as long as you ask for or are willing to receive, his forgiveness. So, how do you quit? Simple. Just turn your back on him, reject his ways and plans for you, and refuse to accept him into your life. Even after seeing and knowing what he has for you, some people still quit, stop being believers, and go the other way for timeless time.
So, how about you? Maybe you are the stellar employee, or maybe you just feel you are barely hanging on to your faith and belief. God has a plan for you, regardless of which end of the scale you find yourself. You can still get that final paycheck, that final reward for your good and faithful service.
Or you can quit.
It’s your choice.
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