Risk: To or From?
A few months back, my wife and I had the honor of hosting our younger brother and younger sister for a weekend while their parents moved my wife’s middle sister into college. We ate great food, watched some Harry Potter movies, and of course, played some really fun games with them. During one of these games my younger brother, Stewart, exclaimed at a pivotal point in decision making, “You gotta risk it to get the biscuit!” We all laughed because of his rhyme, and it didn’t pan out too well for him, but something stuck out me that was profound about that statement.
We live in a world in which risk is now a part of the major strategies for discovering new ways of business, life, and entertainment. Risking to step out with boldness and courage is the way many have been found as “successful” in today’s world that circles around fame and fortune.
One of these adventurous people—one of the youngest to ever become a billionaire—is Mark Zuckerberg, creator of Facebook. Mark is quoted saying, “The biggest risk is not taking any risk… In a world that is changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.” Jim Rohn, an entrepreneur and motivational speaker spoke in similar manner, “If you are not willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.”
These words echo today more true than ever in a time in which the very words I type can be misconstrued into a thousand different interpretations. But still I risk. I risk by stepping out with a proclamation of true hope, of true love, of true identity, and of true life. I risk through declaring freedom in the midst of a society filled with the prisons of assumption, systematic “isms”, and the vision of what life is supposed to be like portrayed in media, entertainment, and the voices of many others. I risk the comfort of my longing to please every person for the hope of the call I have in Christ Jesus to be a witness of His life-changing grace.
And here is the difference in risking comfort: the world says risk to belong but the Lord calls us to risk from belonging.
It boils down to this single point, but I believe it to be paramount for risking comfort in order that we may get to the next level in life, in ministry, in leadership, in business, etc. Are we risking to belong or risking from belonging?
Here are some ways to check. If we are risking to belong in life, vocation, or relationships we are risking to earn something. Simply put: we are striving and compromising parts of who we really are so that we can fit a mold created by those around us. Now this can look like something new or creative, but can end up being something that changes to meet the demand of the culture rather than the true need of the soul.
For example, to this date the greatest concert I have ever been to was Katy Perry. Homegirl was phenomenal and I’m still blown away by her performance and the message of her heart throughout the entire evening. Recently, I have been noticing how her look has changed, her music has become not-so-family-friendly, and how overall the themes and language of her music has evolved for her ever-growing fanbase. In short, she has changed her appearance and music to meet her fans who started as teenagers and are now young adults.
Is she risking comfort? Yes. Is she stepping out in boldness with her appearance and themes of her music? Without a doubt. Has it been from her own desire or the demand of the culture that she is in business with? I can’t be the judge of that, but I can say that her professional persona has changed quite drastically, and it seems more likely than not as a reaction to her changing and aging fan base.
Can you see it? How risking to belong is a slippery slope of consistently changing your core values and identity to meet the needs of society rather than the true need of one’s heart? How risking to belong is about earning and striving?
One the other hand, I believe the call of Christ is that we do risk, but that we risk from a reality and position of belonging. It is not that we risk to become successful, it is that we risk because we are already successful through the finished work of Jesus. It is not that we risk to earn more love or approval of the Father—that has already been accomplished and we cannot be loved any more or less.
As Christians, we risk our comfort not to earn, but rather to reveal. We are able to take the step out in courage because the One who lives inside is courage. We are able to speak the truth in love with boldness because we belong and our words have become invitations for others to belong as well. We can risk our convenience not to win the victory, but rather to live from the victory. We risk through obedience to the One who calls us outside of comfort and convenience into the realm of faith, and we can rest assured that in our risking in faith, the One who we are trusting has a perfect track record of coming through.
It almost seems that in risking in Christ we have nothing to lose except for the things that the world and society have deemed as most important. In this manner, I truly believe the way we best take a chance is through leaving our lifestyle of risking to belong and by risking from belonging. In other words, we risk leaving the earning and striving of belonging to this world, and we trust by living in the truth of our belonging in Christ and our lifestyle of revealing this to the world through bravery and obedience in the Lord.
Returning to my little brother’s statement, “You gotta risk it to get the biscuit!” I think there’s some great truth in this and I also think that in the Lord we don’t have to risk it to get the biscuit, we risk it from already having the biscuit. In this leaving of our comfort we are offering the goodness of the meal of the Lord to world that is risking to get a meal that leaves them forever hungry and thirsty. Beloved, we can risk from the victory, success, and belonging we have in the Lord by leaving the convenience of this world and revealing the beauty of the connection we have with the One who risked it all for us. The biggest risk is not taking any risks at all, and I truly believe it’s time to dream again, time to step out in boldness, and time to trust that our steps in obedience will be the best thing for us and those around.
Jesus sums this up most fully, as He always does: “Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done (Matthew 16:24-27).”
To this, to us risking from belonging to the Victorious One, to us living in the full vision of life now and forevermore, to us finding life itself, I say a risky and hopeful, “Yes and Amen!”
