If you knew me growing up, you would have probably pegged me as a cautious, backward, quiet person who was anything but a risk taker. And to be honest, you’d be completely correct. And to a large part I feel that I am still some of these things.
While I’m not quiet anymore by any stretch of the imagination and pretty much the obvious of backward, I’ve been wrestling with the idea of risk. Do I take enough risks in my life? Am I really doing anything that would be measured as stepping out in faith and doing something that in any way could come back and bite me in the backside? Am I risking losing something to gain something far greater?
I’m reminded of a story in the Bible about a man who left sums of money to three of his workers. Each of them were given different amounts and each of them reacted differently to the money they were given. They knew their boss was a harsh man and that he was shrewd in his business dealings and this informed how they were going to react.
One man took some big risks and ended up doubling his money. It doesn’t say exactly what he did but he didn’t just throw it in the bank. And the second guy who started with about half what the first guy did had the same result. These two men understood the character of their boss and took some significant risks. They could have lost it all and that might not have had the same ending!
The third guy however had the smallest amount to start with and ended up just hiding the money and simple returning it when the boss returned. No less than he was given and no more either. He didn’t take a risk at all. He just buried it. The boss was livid because he saw that as a total waste of time and effort. The man could have at a minimum put the money in the bank and drawn some form of interest!
I think about my life and I wonder if I’ve really done anything that was risky? I don’t really know if I can answer that but I have an uneasy feeling lately that says more needs to be done. I just keep having this overwhelming feeling that God’s given me some form of a gift and that while I’m faithfully using it. I’m not sure I’m doing anything more than playing it safe and investing it. There’s nothing wrong with the work being done or the results of the work being done, but the times in which we’re living mean just enough isn’t really enough anymore. More has to be done. A greater risk has to be taken to live out the calling God has placed on my life. It’s time to stop burying the gifts I’ve been given. It’s time to stop merely investing them. It’s time to risk it all.
I don’t know what that looks like in your context by any means. Shoot I don’t really even know what that looks like in my own context! I just know that the time is now for me as a follower of Jesus and a pastor to do more. It’s time for the church to do more. It’s time to stop burying the talent, or even just investing it. It’s time to take some calculated risks for the sake of the Kingdom.
What’s your first move?