Risk Taking

One of my major annoyances of society is that everyone so scared of dying. Now I guess that's not a bad thing, but the thing is government and media try to force everyone else to be so scared. All over the place are people telling us the best way to be healthy or even by law forcing you not to do things because they endanger us. I mean people haven't got much of a choice when it comes to smoking; wearing a seat belt, going off camping in the hills in winter; having a fight with some people etc.etc.

Now these things are not all good but I don't want to live life with no fear or excitement. If I had been born 1,000 years ago I would have to fend for myself. I'd have a real job making and doing real things like: Hunting, building, chopping wood. Even 100 years ago things would have been very different. I would most probably be able to defend myself properly and know how to use a weapon. I'm sorry to say I've never been in a proper fight. Never known what it is like to get beaten up, never had to find out out what I'm made of.

It seems now that in the west with our "skilled" work force most people learn skills like typing, accounts or law which really wouldn't help you much if you were forced to live off the land. People are "Working for the cash machine" (Song line from Hard-Fi). How kool is it when thing we work for actually produce something worth being proud of?

This fear of risk, which most people are scared of, is understandable, life on earth is all they've got. Yet why should they force it on the rest of us. Taking risks is part of being human. Death is inevitable, surely it is better to live life.

Chatting to someone today about this I was reminded of a sermon by a bloke called Rick Godwin about risk. He uses a brilliant quote:

"Author Emma Bombeck wrote ' You can live on bland food in order to avoid an ulcer, drink no tea/coffee or other stimulates in order to avoid ill health, go to bed early, stay away from night life, avoid all controversial subject so as never to give an offense, mind your own business, avoid involvement in other peoples problems, spend money only on necessities, save all you can but you can still break your neck on a bath tub and it will serve you right.'" (The spelling may be wrote I just listened to it and copied it down)

I love listening to this guy preach. He talks about life like it is and speaks honestly. In that sermon he speaks about how faith is the absence of knowledge so is therefore risk and to get anywhere in life you need to take risks. Especially as a Christian I need to take good risks to change things.

The Church like most of society is scared of taking risks, either because we are scared of failure, death or, worse, people not thinking highly of us. Yet if you think about anyone who is worth respecting, who has made a difference in the world, in the bible or not, they have taken leaps into the unknown, taken a bold move and faced fear. I hope I'm the type of man of follow these greats of our world, step out of mediocrity and take a risk.