My sweet three-year-old niece Lucy is very cautious. She does not love taking risks. To help her be brave and take more risks, her parents taught her this phrase they learned from a parenting book: “A little bit of scary, a whole lot of fun.” It is the cutest thing to watch her say this phrase. For example, she recently said the phrase before jumping into the pool into her parents’ arms. According to her mom, this phrase has helped Lucy tremendously to be brave and take on things that feel risky to her. She has learned that when she takes risks, there is a whole lot of fun to be had. Playing it safe is boring. Being brave is a blast. This is particularly true of our relationships with God. We have learned this week that God has entrusted us with gifts, from our time, talents, and resources, and we are responsible and will give an account for how we leverage the one life we have been given for Christ one day. Because we will give an account before God, there is too much at stake to play it safe, refusing to take risks and make an impact for Him with our lives.
This week, we have been learning from a story Jesus told in Matthew 25, where a man who was going on a long trip entrusted his money to his three servants to invest. Two of these servants got to work and invested their money well. The third servant chose to play it safe. He said to the man, “I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back” (verse 25). This servant let fear get in the way and chose to play it safe. As a result, he did nothing notable with the money entrusted to him. He had an opportunity to do something great with the resources he had been given; instead, he buried them and did nothing. This story from Jesus is a warning to us. You see, as we have discovered this week, God has given each one of us gifts, from our time and talents and entrusted them to us. The question is: are we willing to take risks so we can have an impact? We cannot steward them well if we are not willing to take risks for God and His kingdom. If we play it safe, we will end up like the third servant in this story, doing nothing notable for God and His kingdom.
When fear threatens to convince us to play it safe, we need to turn to Scripture to be reminded not to give in to fear. God’s message to us in Isaiah 41:10 is, “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” Instead of letting fear get in the way, look to God for boldness and help. He is always with you.
Is there a risk God has called you to take when it comes to stewarding your time, talent, or resources well that you have yet to take? What would it look like to begin taking a step in that direction today? Commit today to taking that step, ready to take that risk so that one day, God will say, “Well done” when you stand before Him. Remember, “A little bit of scary, a whole lot of fun.”
“God, as I consider the risks You have called me to take to invest my time and resources in your Kingdom, stretch me…”
“Listen in silence before me, you lands beyond the sea.
Bring your strongest arguments.
Come now and speak.
The court is ready for your case.
2 “Who has stirred up this king from the east,
rightly calling him to God’s service?
Who gives this man victory over many nations
and permits him to trample their kings underfoot?
With his sword, he reduces armies to dust.
With his bow, he scatters them like chaff before the wind.
3 He chases them away and goes on safely,
though he is walking over unfamiliar ground.
4 Who has done such mighty deeds,
summoning each new generation from the beginning of time?
It is I, the Lord, the First and the Last.
I alone am he.”
5 The lands beyond the sea watch in fear.
Remote lands tremble and mobilize for war.
6 The idol makers encourage one another,
saying to each other, “Be strong!”
7 The carver encourages the goldsmith,
and the molder helps at the anvil.
“Good,” they say. “It’s coming along fine.”
Carefully they join the parts together,
then fasten the thing in place so it won’t fall over.
8 “But as for you, Israel my servant,
Jacob my chosen one,
descended from Abraham my friend,
9 I have called you back from the ends of the earth,
saying, ‘You are my servant.’
For I have chosen you
and will not throw you away.
10 Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.
Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you.
I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.
11 “See, all your angry enemies lie there,
confused and humiliated.
Anyone who opposes you will die
and come to nothing.
12 You will look in vain
for those who tried to conquer you.
Those who attack you
will come to nothing.
13 For I hold you by your right hand—
I, the Lord your God.
And I say to you,
‘Don’t be afraid. I am here to help you.
14 Though you are a lowly worm, O Jacob,
don’t be afraid, people of Israel, for I will help you.
I am the Lord, your Redeemer.
I am the Holy One of Israel.’
15 You will be a new threshing instrument
with many sharp teeth.
You will tear your enemies apart,
making chaff of mountains.
16 You will toss them into the air,
and the wind will blow them all away;
a whirlwind will scatter them.
Then you will rejoice in the Lord.
You will glory in the Holy One of Israel.
17 “When the poor and needy search for water and there is none,
and their tongues are parched from thirst,
then I, the Lord, will answer them.
I, the God of Israel, will never abandon them.
18 I will open up rivers for them on the high plateaus.
I will give them fountains of water in the valleys.
I will fill the desert with pools of water.
Rivers fed by springs will flow across the parched ground.
19 I will plant trees in the barren desert—
cedar, acacia, myrtle, olive, cypress, fir, and pine.
20 I am doing this so all who see this miracle
will understand what it means—
that it is the Lord who has done this,
the Holy One of Israel who created it.
21 “Present the case for your idols,”
says the Lord.
“Let them show what they can do,”
says the King of Israel.
22 “Let them try to tell us what happened long ago
so that we may consider the evidence.
Or let them tell us what the future holds,
so we can know what’s going to happen.
23 Yes, tell us what will occur in the days ahead.
Then we will know you are gods.
In fact, do anything—good or bad!
Do something that will amaze and frighten us.
24 But no! You are less than nothing and can do nothing at all.
Those who choose you pollute themselves.
25 “But I have stirred up a leader who will approach from the north.
From the east he will call on my name.
I will give him victory over kings and princes.
He will trample them as a potter treads on clay.
26 “Who told you from the beginning
that this would happen?
Who predicted this,
making you admit that he was right?
No one said a word!
27 I was the first to tell Zion,
‘Look! Help is on the way!’
I will send Jerusalem a messenger with good news.
28 Not one of your idols told you this.
Not one gave any answer when I asked.
29 See, they are all foolish, worthless things.
All your idols are as empty as the wind.
