Throw in the Towel
These cancer survivor friends refuse to throw in the towel. Life knocked them down, but they got up again. They did not quit.
Throw in the towel comes from boxing. I don’t like boxing. Yet, many expressions we use come from that sport.
When someone throws a towel into the boxing ring, that team admits defeat. To avoid further pain, they give up. They don’t want the boxer hurt any more. Because the boxer is caught between a rock and a hard place, hard choices must be made.
We may decide to throw in the towel when we:
- Can go no further
- Have no hope
- Need to focus on something else
However, sometimes we throw in the towel too soon. We:
- Give up before we try everything
- Rely on our own strength rather than God’s
- Need to take a break and then try again.
If we do our best, we should feel no shame when we must throw in the towel. We just don’t want to throw it in too soon.
“Be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded” (2 Chronicles 15:7 NIV).
Thanks to Debbie and Karen for the photo and life example. Thanks to Emily Akin for the suggestion.
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