Chapter 5 | Don't Waste Your Life

Chapter 5|RISK IS RIGHT-BETTER TO LOSE YOUR LIFE THAN TO WASTE IT

small group resource for groups studying John Piper's book Don't Waste Your Life

As I re-read these chapters I am flooded with emotions surrounding some massive work God did on me in February of 2007. After a surgery on my ACL and months of wrestling with God over how unfair His ways can seem (particularly for someone trying to serve Him), I begrudgingly went to a Passion Conference from Jan 1st through the 5th of 2007. It was there that I was introduced to the teachings of two very important saints in my Christian development, Francis Chan and John Piper. After the conference I downloaded a ton of their sermons and bought Piper's book DWYL. A couple short weeks later I boarded a plane for Nairobi Kenya and set off for a month long journey to serve the orphans in the slums of Africa. I brought with me my copy of DWYL.

It was on the plane ride home that I read the majority of the book (two 8 hr flights). I remember how much the content of DWYL resonated with my recent experiences. I had just spent a month with missionaries that had given up the comforts of my home town, Roscoe, IL to move to a far away land. Was their risk right? Was it right to peal their two boys away from a good public school system and make them grow up in danger? We will see as we explore this chapter.

The reason why this chapter is so important to us as a youth group, is because it flies in the face of conventional wisdom. It swims upstream against the currents of culture that tell you to play it safe. Most of the influences on you in the next years will tell you the opposite of this chapter. Unfortunately, parents too will beg you not to risk. Family, friends, teachers, and media will all plea with you that you go to school, find a nice person to settle down with, get into a career that you enjoy, buy a home in a gated or safe community and live the good life. Christ calls us to something greater.

I want to point out a concern before we go any further. Piper addresses it halfway through this chapter but I want to raise the flag earlier. The problem is that it is sexy to be a risk taker. I do not want to encourage these thoughts at all. Piper calls it, "risking for the wrong reasons" (pg. 90). I think that at your age you have to be careful of your motives and test your heart. The reason for taking risk is not self-exultation. Instead, risking for Christ is only appropriate when we are called to the task. Piper goes on to say, "risk for the cause of God is not heroism, or the lust for adventure, or the courage of self-reliance, or the need to earn God's good will, but rather faith in the all-providing, all-ruling, all-satisfying Son of God, Jesus Christ" (pg. 90). Faith in Jesus is the only pure motivator in our risk. If you are motivated to risk for any other reason, then you should draw back and reconsider.

Now that we have outlined the pitfalls of risk, let's examine if we are called to the task. What is risk? Piper defines it as "any action that exposes you to the possibility of loss" (pg. 79). He then goes on to explain that there is no way to escape risk. "Risk is a mirage. It doesn't exist" (pg. 81). There is no such thing as playing it safe. You can live in a gated community and protect yourself from as many dangers as possible, but there are still uncertainties. You could slip getting out of the shower and break your neck. You could get blind-sided while driving to school. You could catch a cold that leads to your death. Ultimately, safety is a myth.

Piper goes on to demonstrate the uncertainties of life and the power of risking in the story line of the Bible. He uses the story of Joab from 2 Samuel 10, the story of Esther, and the story of the three Hebrews from Daniel... I do not want to spoil these powerful illustrations of risk for you so be ready to get rocked. Essentially, characters in the bible are willing to put their trust in God (take a risk) even though they are uncertain of the outcome. Does that accurately describe you?

Furthermore, the call to Christianity is the call to a life of risk. In the history of Christianity it has been normal that Christians suffer and die for their faith. Is that a risk worth taking? In the eyes of Paul it certainly was. "I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus" (Acts 21:13). In addition, "Paul says that the love of Christ does not eliminate our suffering. On the contrary, our very attachment to Christ will bring suffering" (pg. 92). To associate with Christ is to risk your life and to suffer persecution. "In fact, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ will be persecuted" (2 Tim 3:12).

What of the promises in the Bible? What of the promise that "we are more than conquerors?" (Romans 8:37) Or the promise from Matthew 5 that if we seek first the kingdom we will be given all these things- meaning comforts like clothes, food, and other necessities? Piper calls to attention the paradox of these promises:

""Well, which is it?" we might ask. Are Christians subject to "famine and nakedness" or will God provide "all these things" when we need them? Will Christians never hunger or starve or be ill-clothed? Have not some of the greatest saints in the world been stripped and starved? What about Hebrews 11:37-38? ...What, then, does Jesus mean when he says, "all these things-all your food and clothing- will be added to you when you seek first his kingdom? He meant that you will have everything you need to do his will and be eternally and supremely happy in him." (pg. 93, 94 emphasis added)

It gets even better! The risks that we take for Christ that lead to suffer loss actually achieve for us a gain. "This slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison" (2 Corinthians 4:17). Piper illustrates how our hardships and enemies can become more than conquered: "The aim of the attacker is to destroy you, and cut you off from Christ, and bring you to final ruin without God. You are a conqueror if you defeat this aim and remain in the love of Christ" (pg. 96). Paul's life illustrates to us how this works:

[Paul's conflict] "has been taken captive, so to speak. It has been enslaved and made to serve Paul's everlasting joy. "Affliction" the former enemy, is now working for Paul. It is preparing for Paul "an eternal weight of glory." His enemy is now his slave. He has not only conquered his enemy. He has more than conquered him." (pg. 97)

Risk is right for the believer. It is appropriate for us to lay down our rights for the greater cause of Christ. Even if the result is hunger, cold, nakedness, or even pain. It was right for my friends to move to Kenya to minister to orphans and widows. There risk does not go unnoticed. Their risk is earning for them "an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison!"

Are you willing to risk for Christ's sake?

What risk do you consider too great for the cause of Christ?

Is there any specific risk Jesus might be calling you to this week?