Do you remember all of those dreams that you had when you were a child and how you planned to change the world?
At what point do we lose our ability to take risks?
I began writing because I decided to step out of my own shadow and do what I heard God calling me to do. You should know that I spent time assessing and reassessing whether people wanted to hear what I had to say and whether I’d be committed enough to keep it going. In other words, I placed a sign in front of me that said “proceed with caution.”
There are so many people living their lives in the caution zone. You know, that place where you are in the middle. You aren’t doing badly in life, but you know you could do more. You are good at your job, but there are some gifts and skills that you’ve let go dormant.
There are some things you want to accomplish yet, you don’t think that you want to do what it takes to step out and try something new. Worse yet, you let your fears get the best of you, so you stay safely tucked inside that little box.
That, my friends, is what I call living “criminally cautious.”
My mind goes to the Scripture where God says in Revelation 3:15-16, “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.” (NLT)
Wow … that is serious. We are all born with gifts, talents and abilities that God expects us to use here on Earth. But some of us are so “criminally cautious” that we won’t go for anything.
It’s like the third servant in the “Parable of the Talents,” who gave his master no return on his investment and tries to explain his behavior:
“Master, I know you have high standards and hate careless ways, that you demand the best and make no allowances for error. I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and secured your money (my talent). Here it is, safe and sound down to the last cent.” The master was furious. ‘That’s a terrible way to live. It’s criminal to live cautiously like that. If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least?” (Matt 25: 26-27 MSG)
Life is short. In the grand scheme of eternity, we only have a few days on Earth to make a lasting impression for the kingdom. As in the parable, we’ve been given some talents, the master expects a return, and our accountability meeting is coming. But as in that same parable, God knew our ability when he assigned the gift to us. So what are you waiting on? Throw caution to the wind …and get to work.
Cynthia Newman, a member of Light of the World Christian Church, is an inspirational speaker, author of Raising Queens and entrepreneur. Her e-mail address is Cynmedia@aol.com.
