Playing it safe can be risky....
I was reading the other day and I came across this quote by Mark Twain that I thought was pretty good....
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
Opportunities are around us everyday but so often we (we being the human population) miss that opportunity because it might change something in our lives. Chasing that opportunity, making it a reality usually takes us out of our comfort zone and more often than not will involve some risk. Humans for the most part don't like risk, we like to know what is around the bend on the tracks we ride on. We like to be in control of our lives, we don't like being in a position where things spring at us unexpectedly that may mess up our carefully calculated plans.
Obviously unexpected things are going to happen even when you plan, aka an alternator turning to slag or running out of gas, or me missing my exit and spending 20 minutes driving around NJ trying to get back to where I can get to my hotel or even having issues with appliances, that is just part of life. Sure you try to avoid issues like those but there is not much more you can do, besides they make life exciting. :p
Going after an opportunity on the other hand, one that possibly might involve taking a risk with a potential negative impact in some aspect of our lives is an opportunity we might not jump at right away. We don't like that potential negative, we would rather stick with the status quo rather than doing something that could hurt us, even though the opportunity could benefit us in the long run. There is a balance of course, some people take risks because they like the rush they get from unknown. They take needless risks at the sake of themselves and the detriment of their families. For most people though, jumping at opportunities that might mean risk or a change in our lives is something even Christians try to avoid. Why is this?
This is something I know I do, when an opportunity presents itself, I like to sit back and run through scenarios in my head. I am somewhat analytical and when something important is involved I can sit there and analyze for so long that the opportunity is long gone by the time I make a decision, besides the fact that I can give myself a major headache! This slowness to act comes from our fear of uncertainty which is a result of us relying on our own judgment, rather than trusting God's...... I have more to say but brother has told me in the past that I knock people over the head with my "walls of text" So I will cut this post into two parts so as to save at least one person's head. :p
Obviously unexpected things are going to happen even when you plan, aka an alternator turning to slag or running out of gas, or me missing my exit and spending 20 minutes driving around NJ trying to get back to where I can get to my hotel or even having issues with appliances, that is just part of life. Sure you try to avoid issues like those but there is not much more you can do, besides they make life exciting. :p
Going after an opportunity on the other hand, one that possibly might involve taking a risk with a potential negative impact in some aspect of our lives is an opportunity we might not jump at right away. We don't like that potential negative, we would rather stick with the status quo rather than doing something that could hurt us, even though the opportunity could benefit us in the long run. There is a balance of course, some people take risks because they like the rush they get from unknown. They take needless risks at the sake of themselves and the detriment of their families. For most people though, jumping at opportunities that might mean risk or a change in our lives is something even Christians try to avoid. Why is this?
This is something I know I do, when an opportunity presents itself, I like to sit back and run through scenarios in my head. I am somewhat analytical and when something important is involved I can sit there and analyze for so long that the opportunity is long gone by the time I make a decision, besides the fact that I can give myself a major headache! This slowness to act comes from our fear of uncertainty which is a result of us relying on our own judgment, rather than trusting God's...... I have more to say but brother has told me in the past that I knock people over the head with my "walls of text" So I will cut this post into two parts so as to save at least one person's head. :p
1 comments :
I like that quote...it's got a good point, as does your post.
I think that is something that a lot of people suffer from. As humans we really want to know what's going to happen, we don't really like surprises all that much, and so we figure "better safe than sorry" and avoid doing certain things.
If we think about it logically though, just as many unexpected things can happen from not doing something! :)
But yeah, the problem is definitely not trusting God in everything. I know I've thought often, "I'm going to trust God on this, but, but...!"
I was reading something about this recently, but I can't remember right now where it was. :(
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