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In a Pit with a Lion 6
By John | August 4, 2008
For the next few weeks we’ll be using Mark Batterson’s “In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day” to help us stimulate a conversation about God-given opportunities in our lives. He blogs at: evotional.com
The title of the next chapter in Mark Batterson’s book, In a pit with a Lion, says it all, “Playing it safe is risky.”
Football season has officially started, so let’s follow a metaphor Mark uses here: do you approach life like you’re playing a prevent defense or a 2 minute offense? In other words, are you just setting yourself up to minimize the damage from an impending attack, or are you constantly seeking ways that you can beat “The Man” at his own game?
Mark wants us to remember that faith in Jesus calls us to be John Elway sometimes - to take the ball into our own uncertain hands, quickly scan the obstacles the defense has set up, and throw the deep post to a double covered wide receiver who may or may not have been out with his posse until 4am last night. There’s all kinds of risk involved in throwing that pass, but there’s an amazing reward if it works!
At times, we get crippled by the fear of our own inadequacy, the strength of our opponents, or even the lack of trust in the people around us. We’d rather punt the ball, set up the prevent defense, and play for a tie. Believe it or not, there’s plenty of this type of thought in the church.
Just think of the last budget discussion you may have been a part of. Did anyone ask of there were new projects or programs that reflected a new need in your community that could use more dollars, or did the discussion revolve around trying to be under-budget or pushing projects off until next year?
Does your church play offense or defense with their dollars? 
Do you play offense or defense with you dollars?
Ultimately, when we talk about dollars in the church, we’re talking about ministry to people. And when we’re talking about ministry to people, we’re talking about sharing our faith in the hope, love, and peace that only Jesus gives.
Would you rather hold that faith (and your dollars) close to your chest, or would you rather do something (with your faith & your dollars) that may look crazy so that someone who is far from Jesus might be brought to faith?
Which is riskier?
Topics: Books |
