Four Things to Consider Before You Make That Next DecisionSample

A life well-lived and pleasing to God is one characterized by both faith—which by its nature requires risk—and wise restraint. If you are too risk-averse, you may be settling for a ho-hum existence—producing a degree of impact that falls short of what it might have been. We saw that in yesterday’s devotion featuring the three servants (Matthew 25:14–30).

Yet if you risk recklessly, then you may gravely tarnish or even destroy your reputation and nullify your life’s work. When Christians do that, the damage is compounded. We should see ourselves as “ambassadors” of Christ—as representatives of Jesus to the world around us. In that sense, our reckless behavior can blemish the reputation of Christ. We become a source of repulsion from Christ rather than a source of attraction to him.

Therefore, we have developed a model that aims to help us make better and calculated decisions so we can lead and live with confidence. We believe that for any decision where risk is involved, we will invariably encounter four distinct propositions—four propositions to risk.

These four propositions invite us to either enter the risk before us or to back away from that risk. How we progress through the four propositions will ultimately determine whether we choose to initiate or avoid the risk at hand.

It is important to understand that these four propositions of risks come at us whether we want them or not. They simply present themselves automatically and cannot be avoided. Thus, in order to make good decisions and take wise risks, we must be aware of them and consciously deal with them.

The four propositions include:

1. “What would you like?”
2. “What is available?”
3. “Can you make it happen?”
4. “What might result?”

We’ll look at the first two propositions tomorrow and the last two the day after.

They may be dealt with reflexively or reflectively, or anywhere in between, but the four propositions invariably bear upon our final choice and should be taken into account when considering taking a risk. The dynamic interplay of these four propositions will determine whether we choose to take a chance in any given set of circumstances.