The Cost

I read a phrase that struck me today on Steven Furtick's blog. The phrase that jumped out was, "The cost of missing out can be greater than the cost of messing up." On a side note I think it is funny that a quote he read led to him blogging about a topic which led to a quote I read and my blogging. I am not sure that is a good cycle, but it is interesting in its own way.

The obvious implication here is that decisions must be made in the proper time. There is an inherent danger in waiting, or better said stalling, when God presents an opportunity. Too many times the fear of failure prevents the attempt. The real problem here is that our fear indicates our selfishness. We care more about how God will see us than we do about how the world will see Him. Perhaps we also care more about how the world will see us than how God will see us. In the end most hesitation comes back to ME. I don't want to fall flat on my face. I don't want to have to explain why I messed up. I don't want to make a decision that will hurt... me.

There is another implication here as well. Missing out has more than just a time component. It also has a vision component. I remember in college most of the direction I received when it came to my spirituality was based on guarding my morality. It was all good advice, but it was incomplete. I was not warned to watch out for how quickly those four years would be over, how short my time for impact would be on that campus, and how each class may hold a divine appointment in which God wanted to use me to pour out His love into a fellow student. I was focused on not messing up... morally. That focus can sometimes cause us to miss out on the chance to minister to the world around us.