Playing it safe is more dangerous than you think.

It’s a tough call as a dad, as a leader, as a Christian… how much do I loosen the reins or stick my neck out?

All summer long, my sons (now ages 12 and 13) have been running alone along our rural roads in preparation for the fall Cross Country season. Joshua has clocked over 200 miles now, most since his chance encounter with a Michigan Black Bear on the road just a mile from our house.

It spooked us all when he came home and told us how the bear had ambled out into the road just 50 feet in front of him. He was never in serious danger. In fact, one of our neighbors was less than 50 feet the other side of the bear in her truck—she actually gave him a ride home, just to be safe.

And now, since it hit the news that a young girl nearly his age was attacked by a bear while running in the next town over, I’ve stopped to ask the question again, Is it safe for them to be out there running?

The truth is, it is dangerous out there.

But I don’t think out there is the most dangerous thing we face.

1. The High Risk of Doing Nothing.

The truth is, you’re far more likely to suffer from heart disease than be attacked by a wild animal. So, staying home on the couch instead is probably not the safer option. In the church, and in business, we suffer the same fate: afraid to take strong risks, we languish in the confines of our cubicles, safe from the dangers that lurk out there.

It’s commonly said among successful business and Christian leaders that an organization is either growing or declining. There is nothing in between. If we’re not out there in the face of danger, running after the next amazing opportunity, we’re dying a slow death.

2. The Hazard of Good Intentions.

Almost as bad as doing nothing is thinking about doing something great. We’ve all had great ideas. I remember sitting at a pizza hut discussing technology in 1998. “I’ve got a brilliant idea,” I said. “What if we made a computer without a keyboard, and just put one on the screen instead? You would touch the screen.” It was a lousy idea they said, no one would ever do that.

We’ve all got them. The best of intentions to eat healthier, lose weight, blog daily, share our faith, take a class… But good intentions, by themselves, don’t set us up for success; they set us up for regret.

3. The Danger of the Open Door.

As Christians, we often will spiritualize our procrastination, suggesting we are really waiting for God to open a door. In reality, we are more likely standing in a hall full of doors, many of them unlocked but closed, simply waiting for us step forward in faith, reach out, and discover that opportunities for us to do good—to do God’s will—are all around us.

While we stand there waiting for a door to swing open, missed opportunities are passing by on the other side.

 

Sure, every time we try something there are risks: risks of failure, attack, or mediocrity. But it’s time for us to consider these other risks too, the ones that threaten us from our safest places.

What opportunities have you let pass by because of fear? Where do you need to take a risk today?