Tempted to Quit by the Voice of Milk and Cookies

Mike Hosey, Elder

When I arrived for the Army’s Basic Combat Training at Fort Jackson, SC, I was a young man in my 20s.  I had never been away from home before. I had some college under my belt, but that was it. My biggest life challenges had been moving as a pre-teen from my small town home in southern Mississippi, to the suburbs of metropolitan Houston, Texas, and then moving again as a mid-teen to the deserts of West Texas.

The first couple of weeks at Fort Jackson were physically and mentally strenuous.  Drill sergeants yelled at us daily, even hourly. We were given tasks that seemed impossible.  Sometimes they were.  One of my favorite memories from those first few weeks is of us running in formation past a place called the White House.  It was a nice house that sat back from the road on a pretty lawn. I don’t know what it was there for, or what was really in it, but every time we ran by, we’d be exhausted and the Drill Sergeant would slow us down a bit.  He’d holler at us, “that’s the white house ya’ll. If you want to quit and go home to ya mammas, you can go in there  There’s a hot shower and milk and cookies.  All you have to do is quit right now."

 dolcelavita foodphotography

Of course, I didn't quit.  I had my mind set on finishing. There were prizes to be won, and I wanted them. But I can imagine that the Drill Sergeant’s offer had an allure for others. If you’ve ever been close to your breaking point, you know how strong such an allure can be. Think about the last time you set out to do something hard, and how difficult it was not to quit when that endeavor was at its hardest. My personal opinion is that tempting you to quit is Satan’s most potent temptation. It’s one thing to hear a voice in your head telling you to give in to your lust.  It’s another thing entirely when you a hear voice in your head telling you that you can’t go on any longer, and everything in your world -- from the way you feel, to the things you see -- are reinforcing that voice. Thankfully, Paul reminds us in his writings that we walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).

It’s nearly impossible to resist quitting in those moments. Unless, of course, you realize there is a prize at the task’s completion (Philippians 3:14), and that your strength will be renewed if you wait for the right power (Isaiah 40:31), and that what you’re persevering for is a land of milk and honey that is greater than a plate of milk and cookies (Exodus 3:8).