risk – La Vista Church of Christ

Blessed Risk-Takers

Jeffrey Hamilton — Tue, 29 Jul 2025 15:48:36 +0000

by David Gibson

High Praise!

The leaders of the Jerusalem church referred to Barnabas and Paul as “men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 15:26; see II Corinthians 11:23-28). Paul appreciated risk-takers like himself, such as Priscilla and Aquila, “who risked their necks for my life” (Romans 16:4). He commended Epaphroditus, who “nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me” (Philippians 2:30).

Worth the Risk?

But what if we are faced with the choice of confessing Christ and suffering for it, or denying Him to save our own skin? At one point, Peter’s fear led him to deny he even knew Jesus (Matthew 26:69-75). Later emboldened, he was willing to suffer imprisonment, beating, and death for the Master (Acts 4:18-31; 5:17-42; 12:1-4).

The Promise

What would we do if faced with the choice? “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:11-12).

The Folly of Playing It Safe – Ecclesiastes 11:16

Jeffrey Hamilton — Mon, 03 Feb 2025 17:26:17 +0000

by Paul Earnhart
via Biblical Insights, Vol 15, No. 1, January 2015

In Ecclesiastes 11, Solomon continues his admonitions to wise living when facing life’s uncertainties. He has frequently reminded us that we cannot know what will come after us (Ecclesiastes 3:22; 6:12; 8:7; 10:14). God’s providence is shrouded and beyond human wisdom to fathom or predict. The race is not always to the swift or the battle to the strong (Ecclesiastes 9:11). In the previous chapter, he spoke of the risks that life’s ordinary activities hold (Ecclesiastes 10:8-9). The uncertainty of the outcome of one’s labor has caused some to avoid all risks by doing nothing. Life at its best is not risk-free. All worthy efforts and investments do not always yield their intended results. But doing nothing is a guarantee of failure by default. To drive home the foolishness of such mindless caution, the Preacher gives an imperative call to bold action despite many things being outside our control.

“Cast (send out) your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days. Give a portion to seven, and also to eight, for you do not know what evil will be upon the earth” (Ecclesiastes 11:1-2). These verses have been traditionally understood to refer to the ultimate reward one will receive for being generous to the unfortunate. This may be true, but this exhortation is far more likely to be urging commercial ventures spread widely in several directions with a long-term view of success. The evil mentioned does not speak of immorality but of unforeseen misfortunes, which cannot be anticipated or controlled. “If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth; and if a tree falls to the south or the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it shall lie” (Ecclesiastes 11:3). The English proverb that speaks to the same issue says that one should not put all his eggs in one basket.

In Ecclesiastes 11:4, Solomon makes the same point, illustrating it with farming rather than commerce. “He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap.” Farming is often viewed by the uninitiated as a work of stressless peace. But a farmer deals with so many variables - the weather, violent storms, drought, flood, insects, and disease, and then there are the vagaries of the market. It is a wonder he dares to invest so much money and labor into his crops. So the Preacher warns, "He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who observes the clouds will not reap” (Ecclesiastes 11:4). There are so many things the farmer does not know. He does not “know the way of the wind, or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child.” Like all of us, he does “not know the works of God who makes everything” (Ecclesiastes 11:5). But one thing he knows for sure is that if he does not sow, he certainly will not reap. Therefore, Solomon urges: “In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening do not withhold your hand; for you do not know which will prosper, either this or that, or whether both alike will be good” (Ecclesiastes 11:6).

Is this all there is to these sayings, just prudent counsel for business and farming? It is true that the Preacher has earlier urged that “Whatever your hand finds to, do it with your might...” (Ecclesiastes 9:10), but surely there is a greater application to be made here. In Jesus’ parable of the talents, He warns against doing nothing in fear of risk. The man given one talent to invest for his master hid it in the ground for fear of losing it. His lord called him “a wicked and lazy servant” (Matthew 25:24-26). As followers of Jesus, we are called upon to speak the gospel message to all, knowing from the start that not all will receive it and that some who do will not continue (Matthew 13:18-23). And we are not the first to have such a commission (Isaiah 6:8-13; Ezekiel 33:30-33). Should we, therefore, do nothing because many will not listen?

There are risks in serving Christ, and we must be willing to take them. Some risks are obviously foolish, but those we take for the Lord’s sake are not (I Corinthians 15:58). The apostle Paul was at constant risk during his life of preaching. The roads were not safe; the rivers were not safe; his own people were not safe; the Gentiles were not safe; the cities were not safe; the sea was not safe; his own brethren were not safe. He did not always have enough sleep, enough to eat, or enough clothing to keep himself warm (II Corinthians 11:23-27). But none of these things ever deterred him (Acts 20:22-24). They must not deter us. As the Lord Himself has said, we must risk losing everything to be His disciples (Luke 14:33).

Reasonable Risks

Jeffrey Hamilton — Sun, 05 Feb 2023 19:54:11 +0000

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Reasonable-Risks.mp3

by Jeffrey W. Hamilton

Text: Esther 4:7-16

I. Increasingly I run into people who are obsessive-compulsive.

A. It is sometimes referred to as the doubter’s disease because the sufferer is constantly plagued with uncertainty.

1. A person might repeatedly wash his hands because he might not have done a thorough enough cleaning earlier

2. Another might constantly wonder if some point about his baptism was done incorrectly.

3. Still another is constantly asking for reassurance

a. This includes people who are constantly looking for signs from God regarding what they should do

B. But OCD can also be viewed as having an intolerance for risk [Fletcher Wortmann, “The Danger of Doubt: The Ruthless and Frequently Misunderstood Logic of OCD]

1. The sufferer is striving for greater perfection than God (or anyone else) expects because he wants absolute certainty that he will be saved

2. Thus, the person adds stringent rules because he believe rules might make him more acceptable to God.

3. But man-made rules don’t produce righteousness - Colossians 2:20-23

C. In other words, the OCD sufferer strives for perfection because in his mind anything less carries too much risk

1. What he doesn’t realize is that he sets himself up for failure because no one is perfect

2. It leads to ruin as Solomon warned - Ecclesiastes 7:16

II. Life requires that we take reasonable risks

A. Abram took a risk to follow God, not knowing where he was going - Hebrews 11:8

B. Jacob took a risk sending his youngest son to Egypt - Genesis 43:8-14

1. He delayed, but it was that or the family starving to death

C. Esther took a risk appearing before the king in order to save her countrymen - Esther 4:7-16

D. Paul, heading to Jerusalem, was told things would not go well - Acts 20:22-24

1. He did not know if he would die there or not - Acts 21:13-14

2. Jesus had told his disciples that they would have lose their life to gain it - Luke 9:24

3. Staying in this world is always a risk. Paul found it hard to choose - Philippians 1:22-24

E. Other Christians took risks

1. Priscilla and Aquila - Romans 16:3-4

2. Epaphroditus - Philippians 2:29-30

III. But let’s look at one that doesn’t involve life or death decisions

A. Abraham’s servant was sent to find a wife for Isaac - Genesis 24:2-4

B. The servant minimized his risks by asking about the possibility of failure - Genesis 24:5-8

C. When the servant arrived, he asked God for help - Genesis 24:12-14

1. The actions he looked for are indications of an admirable character.

2. A woman carrying a water jug shows someone who is strong and healthy.

3. It also shows she is industrious.

4. Giving a drink to a stranger who asks shows kindness and hospitality.

5. Offering drinks to the rest of the travelers and watering the camels until they are satisfied shows a person who is not afraid of hard work and who is willing to go the extra mile. Ten camels after a long journey will drink a large quantity of water.

6. All the events were not likely to happen without the Lord's intervention on behalf of the servant.

D. The result was that Isaac quickly fell in love with Rebekah - Genesis 24:67

E. Could this have failed? Of course!

1. But it succeeded because of the willingness to take reasonable risks.

2. It would not have succeed if all risks were avoided

IV. Years ago, it became a fad to have rules of courtship

A. A boy and girl were not allowed to be alone together. They took someone with them on dates.

B. The boy had to ask the father for permission to date and later to marry his daughter.

C. On the surface, all this sounds good. But it also was driven by a desire to eliminate all risks in finding a spouse

D. However, it ended up limiting options. People married without really knowing what they were looking for in a spouse.

E. Traditional dating carries more risks, but it actually results in better selection of a spouse

1. It is not to be confused with the modern idea of dating

2. One rule is that you don’t go out with the same person twice in a row.

a. You need to know what kinds of people are available

b. But the lack of exclusivity also keeps things from getting too serious too quickly.

c. In other words, going out on a date was no big deal.

3. Dating the same person multiple times in a row happens only after you are more certain that you might want to marry that person. It older terms, it is called “going steady.”

4. There is actually less heartache because there is no early commitment

F. Modern dating is seen as an immediate commitment

1. It often leads people to thinking they can get sexually involved.

2. It also ends up limiting your options because the thought is once you are dating one person, you cannot go on a date with anyone else.

3. But in a sense, it is also avoiding risk. “I might not find another person, so I’ll lock on this person.”

V. God lets people make their own plans

A. Those plans involve risks because you and I don’t control the future

B. Those plans may not succeed because God remains in control - Proverbs 16:1,9

1. Thus, all our plans should consider what is God’s will - Proverbs 16:3

C. This is the same warning James gives - James 4:13-16

1. This is also why we must not throw away opportunities to do good - James 4:17

D. Eliminating all risks is impossible, but I can strive for reasonable risks and accept that sometimes I will fail.