insights from morgan freeman

One show that always intrigues me when I catch it is Bravo's Inside The Actor's Studio. You kind of have to give it a few minutes if it's your first taste of it, but once you get sucked in you're in for good. Hosted by James Lipton, the show takes place in New York before an audience of students at The Actors Studio Drama School. It doesn't matter whether the guest that is being interviewed is Tom Hanks or Jennifer Lopez... there's always some hook that catches you.

I watched the show I taped a couple of weekends ago that Morgan Freeman was on. First of all, I have to say that if my life ever gets made into a movie I want Morgan Freeman to narrate it. This guy has more "realistic class" in his voice than anyone I've heard on the silver screen. That said, I was obviously intrigued by the journey through his career.

At the end of the show, the microphone is turned over to students in the audience who get a chance to ask questions of the guest. The first question came from a first year acting student who wanted to know, "Can you talk a little bit about the business? You had said that in Los Angeles that there was a time when you had a 'lean' time... I just want to know how you struck through the lean time."

Morgan responded:

"That's a very good question. Times when - and I had a lot of them - times when I just said, 'It's not gonna work. I gotta eat. I gotta pay rent. I gotta do something else. This is not happening.' And someone would always come along and either give me something to eat or just say, 'You can't quit.' And 'you can't quit' would do it... I was ready to start driving a cab or go work in somebody's office. Anything - 'this obviously is not going to happen.' Yes, I've got talent. So do half a million other people right here on this block. I would have quit many times. There was always somebody else who just said, 'You can do it. Come on... you can do it.'"

I started thinking... how many of us need someone to come along side of us and just whisper those three words - "You can't quit" - and unleash a new breath of endurance? What would our families, relationships, and churches look like if this was common language? After all, if Morgan could make use of such advice for something as trivial as acting (comparatively), imagine what could happen if someone who knew us looked us in the eye and told us with all sobriety, "You can't quit."

For what it's worth... whatever fight you're fighting for Jesus - be it for your relationship with Him or someone else's...

you...

can't...

quit.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. - Hebrews 12:2