On Risk-Taking

"Everything I could lose here, You've already won." - Downhere

I've never been the greatest at making decisions. Whenever my family ate at resaurants, I would always be the last to order, because until then, I usually couldn't decide on what I wanted to eat. Now, what one eats at a restaurant has very little bearing on much else in one's life (barring food-poisoning incidents or other such unfortunate occurances). But, from time to time, one must make a decision that affects more than his taste buds and culinary satisfaction.

Being a person predisposed to mathematical/logical reasoning, I usually like to have a series of steps I can use to solve every problem. I've clearly pointed out that I'm not terribly good at making these decisions, so I obviously haven't figured out what all those steps are (or maybe there aren't even steps... but I'd still like to think there are). Even if there aren't steps for making decision, there's definitely one thing a person must consider in every case.

Even when trying to decide what to eat, one of the considerations is how much each potential dish is going to cost. I know if I'm wavering between two entrees, I'll automatically choose the one with the lowest price (maybe I'm just too Mennonite, but still...).

"Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.' ... In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:28-30, 33)

Jesus asks us to give our whole lives to him in order to be his disciple. It's a huge risk. If we give up everything and get no return, there's obviously nothing left. Thankfully, we can rely on the promises of faithfulness we've got from God that everything will work together for the good of those who love him. We don't need to hold on to anything because God's got our best interests at heart.

Compared to that, then, what risk is too difficult? The risk of embarrassment? Poverty? Hunger? Death? If everything we have is already in the hands of God, there is nothing we can lose... it's tucked away in the most secure safety deposit box ever... heaven.

With that in mind, the step of counting the cost of any decision comes down to this: Does the risk I'm about to take (and there is risk in any decision) leave me trusting God to pull me through, or does it require me to get through of my own strength?