Category: Kingdom Mechanics

Lessons From Las Vegas

This is third in a three-part series on risk-taking in the kingdom of God. I started with When Safe Sucks, followed that yesterday with Cautious Christianity v. Kingdom Christianity. I end here with some lessons I’ve learned in Las Vegas.

I love Las Vegas for a lot of reasons (but not for the prostitution and girly shows).  One of those reasons is Blackjack.

I stay away from the other games because I am smart enough to know you don’t build an $800 million hotel by just cooking a good steak.

Blackjack is different though.  If you learn to play according to basic strategy, you play at only about a 1% disadvantage to the house.  If you learn to count cards, you can play at anywhere from .05 to 1% advantage over the house.

I began playing years ago and over the years have learned to count cards.  Don’t get too excited though because to make money, real money, counting cards you need to play on teams, and that’s the sort of thing that gets you a date in the back room with Nunzio. I just love to play, and by playing well and counting cards hopefully win a little money in the process.

One of the most important skills in basic Blackjack strategy is doubling down, which means doubling your bet after the dealer deals you two cards but before you’ve seen both of the dealer’s cards. To pull up to the nearly even odds Blackjack can offer, you have to know when to double down and be willing to do so, otherwise you might as well be over at the slot machines throwing your money away and helping them build the next billion dollar hotel.

Here is where all this is going.  The Bible provides principles by which to live our lives, basic strategy if you will, and we can plod along making reasonable, cautious decisions about our careers, callings, finances and futures, but there will come times when the Lord calls us to double down, to take a risk.

The Bible says, “My righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in Him.” (Heb. 10:38).  That means if the Lord calls you to take a risk and you chicken out, He’ll not be happy with you, and you may miss your destiny.

So, know when to double down, and when the time comes, do it. GS

Cautious Christianity v. Kingdom Christianity

I blogged about risk-taking in my last post, When Safe Sucks.  I’ve decided to camp out around this subject of risk-taking for a three-part series because I think it an important subject for Christians.

I think it important  for Christians because Christians, are, on the whole, one of the most conservative and cautious groups of people I know.  Maybe you can think of  a more cautious group.  Perhaps the financial consultants for AARP are more cautious. I don’t know.

It puzzles me though that the Church doesn’t produce more risk-takers. Think about it. You can only enter the kingdom of God as a citizen if you are willing to lose your life (i.e. to save it). (Matthew 10:39).  Kingdom citizenship is an all or nothing proposition. Jesus said, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62).

And yet, after risking it all to enter the Kingdom, once inside Christians are subjected to the culture of cautiousness that permeates the Church, and they begin to play it safe.  They opt for cautious Christianity over Kingdom Christianity.

I understand why it happens.  So much of morality is premised on restraint and moderation that it’s easy to see caution as a common denominator and virtue and therefore, its opposite, risk, as a vice.

But risk, like money, is amoral. It can be used for good or bad, to save or destroy. And to disavow it, like taking a vow of poverty, can be to place a roadblock on the path of one’s destiny. Sometimes the only way forward is across a dangerous stretch of road, or through a raging river. Unfortunately, too many Christians have stopped on the bank, having forgotten how to risk it all to go forward.

Christians should be known as the greatest risk-takers. They have the promise of a Divine Enabler (Philippians 4:13), a Divine Indweller (Romans 8:11) and a cosmic safety net (Romans 8:28).

When’s the last time you risked something for the kingdom of God? GS

When Safe Sucks

Safety is usually a good thing.  We like safe cars, safe airlines and safety locks on guns.  We seek safe investments, safe places to live and safe schools for our kids.  We seek more income because we believe it will make us more safe and secure.  We buy insurance in case the unexpected occurs.  We are constantly looking for ways to reduce risk, and that is usually a good thing.

There are times, however, when being safe is not a good thing, like when God is calling you to take a risk.  The Bible records that one Spring “at the time when kings go out to battle” King David stayed home in Jerusalem.  (2 Sam. 11:1).

Staying in Jerusalem was certainly the safe thing to do.  It was a lot less likely David would be run through with a spear or have his melon lopped off  in Jerusalem than on the battlefield, but it was “the time when kings go out to battle.”  It was a time for King David to take a risk and lead his people into battle.  It was his calling.  Instead  David played it safe by staying in Jerusalem, ended up being in the wrong place at the wrong time, which led to horrible moral failings.

Hebrews 11 contains a list of heroes from the Bible, people who out of obedience to God did things like leaving the security of a home to go to a foreign land without knowing where they were going or what awaited them; or others who left a life of luxury in the Pharaoh’s court to be a deliverer to an oppressed people; or others still who shut the mouths of lions, willingly endured torture and suffered death.

The Bible celebrates these men and women as having achieved greatness in the eyes of God and men, but they would not have, and they would not have been remembered, had they not been risk-takers.  Had they not been willing to take a risk they would not have fulfilled their destiny.

Being safe is usually a good thing, except when God calls you to take a risk.  Then safe sucks. GS

Saving For A Storm

People often ask, “How much money should I have in savings?”  Given the statistics showing how few Americans save, the first question perhaps should be, “Why save at all?” The answer is that savings promotes continuity.

Jesus likened those who acted on His words to building a house on a rock, as contrasted with building on sand. When the storm came, the house built on the rock stood while the one built on the sand fell. (Matt. 7:24-27).  What’s interesting is both the wise man and the foolish man were subject to the same storm.  In other words, surviving the storm was not a result of having been exempt from it but having prepared for it.

Everyone is subject to storms.  Adversity is a given.  What matters is how you prepare for it. Having money in savings allows one to weather the storm and keep going without getting slowed down or pulled off the path of one’s destiny.  It provides continuity, a hedge against interruption. Continuity is “[a]n uninterrupted succession or flow.” (The American Heritage Dictionary, 4th Ed.).

Some may say this is not faith but trusting in savings and that real faith is trusting Jesus to get you out of the adversity once you find yourself in it. But that is not what Jesus said. Jesus said to prepare because storms will come. Faith is trusting in what Jesus said and acting in obedience to His words.

So how much savings is enough?  The general rule of thumb is six months living expenses, although I believe that is really the minimum.  That means the more debt you have (mortgage, cars, credit cards, student loans, etc.) the more savings you need.  The irony is those who are already in debt need to save more to maintain continuity in their lives but because of their debt payment obligations are less able to do so.  Those with little debt and lots of discretionary income needn’t save as much but are better able to do so.

With these principles in mind you should be able to put pen to paper and figure out how much savings you need to ensure when the storm comes you can preserve continuity in your life. GS

A Point On Prayer

I was watching the end of the LSU v. Florida football game Saturday evening as the camera focused in on a Florida fan with her eyes closed, apparently praying for a favorable ending to the game.

It reminded me of my college basketball days, when I would pray fervently that we would win games.  I continued the practice into the beginning of my law career, praying before each trial that we would win.  I don’t pray that way anymore.

It’s not because I don’t think God is interested in the outcome of college basketball games or trials.  He undoubtedly is. I don’t pray that way anymore because I now understand about common ground.

C.S. Lewis explained it like this:  If you are walking downhill in one direction, a person walking in the opposite direction must, by necessity, walk uphill. This seems simple enough, but I found myself praying like I didn’t understand it.

Football games, basketball games and trials all occur on common ground, in other words, on a common objective reality.  The outcome of the LSU v. Florida football game probably affected more than a million people. For those watching at home who were watching for entertainment value, the effect was probably minor. For the coaches, and to a lesser degree the players, the effect could be major or career-altering.  How could I possibly know how to pray for the outcome of the game to account for all the people it would affect?

Sure, I could pray completely self-interested, “Lord, I don’t care how the outcome of this game affects a million people, what I want is most important”? How spiritual is that?

The only person who could know how to pray in such a situation, who has the breadth of knowledge to take into account all the variables and persons involved, is God, and I ain’t He.

So I generally don’t pray for outcomes in such situations; I pray for outworkings. For example, going into a trial, instead of praying to win (an outcome) I pray the Lord would work in and through me to enable me to perform excellently (an outworking).

Two things happen. First, it takes the pressure off me because trying to control an outcome creates anxiety. Second, I can pray with more faith because I can be more confident the Lord wants me to do well than I can be about a particular outcome.

Give it a try.  I think you will find it liberating. GS