By Mark Wilmoth

People don’t assess risk very well.

Ask folks to list dangerous occupations and you’ll hear about folks in the military and about first responders who risk their lives on behalf of others. In fact, though, firefighters’ risk of death is only 3.4 per 100,000 and in Fiscal Year 2021, the last date for which statistics have been published, the on-duty ground Soldier fatality rate was 1.3 fatalities per 100,000 Soldiers. By comparison, the fatality rate for trash and recycling collectors is 34.9 deaths per 100,000 and being a truck driver is actually 4 times riskier than being a firefighter. Let’s honor those first responders who endure all kinds of conditions and risk their lives to help others, but don’t forget to honor the guy who picks up your trash and the trucker who delivers your groceries to the market; they risk their lives for you, too! In case you’re wondering, logging is statistically the most dangerous occupation world-wide.

Some people fear swimming in the ocean because of the risk of shark attack. But the risk of being attacked by a shark is 1/100,000,000. The risk of dying in your own bathtub is 1/1,000,000, so take your bar of soap and head for the ocean! By the way, 40,000 Americans will be injured by their toilet this year. Does that, er, stop you up in your tracks?

Medical providers sometimes recommend that those in the 2nd half of life take a low dose aspirin daily to lower their risk of heart attack or stroke. But aspirin kills 1/10,000 people. No one seems to worry much about that.

Risk is a part of living. The death rate for all of us, apart from natural causes, is 3.4 per 100,000. Merely getting out of bed – or staying in it – puts one at risk. Most of the time we simply choose not to dwell on the risks, or perhaps we’re not even aware of how risky a behavior might be. One man took his 7-year-old daughter to Disney World and they rode the coaster twice; she loved it. But when they went back the next year, she held back in fear and spent lots of time staring at the signs in the ride entry. When the father questioned his daughter about why she was so afraid when she’d had such a great time the year before, her response was “Last year I couldn’t read.”

The heroes of the Bible often engaged in “risky” behavior at God’s prompting. Noah spent more than a century preparing for an unprecedented flood. Abraham left family and home to go with God to a place he’d never been before. Gideon fought the Midianites while hopelessly outnumbered. David battled a giant. Daniel prayed even when he knew it would land him in the lion’s den. John the Baptist confronted Herod’s adultery and it cost him his head. The Apostles stood up to the authority of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish Supreme Court.

Those heroes had one common trait: faith. They lived in different eras, faced diverse challenges and experienced different outcomes, but each chose to trust that God would do right by them if they did right by Him. Each hero determined that the risk of not doing what God asked was far greater than any “risk” that might be part of obeying God. In a world full of risks, these folks chose the safer path – the path that God asked them to walk. Because they lived the life God desired for them, they experienced adventure, their deeds were legendary and their role in God’s plan is immortalized in Scripture. If they hadn’t trusted God, where would they be?

Which leads to this question: What about you? If you choose to live in service to Jesus, a lot of folks will judge that you’re wasting your life. Some will call you a “religious fanatic,” or think that you must have some mental issues. Even those who respect your dedication may question some of the sacrifices you make; they wouldn’t willingly make those same choices. You can be certain that you won’t live an easy life since Jesus warned his followers: “In this life you will have trouble” (John 16:33, NIV).

But remember, people don’t assess risk very well. Yes, it’s risky to serve Jesus; many have died because of their faith. But there’s an even riskier choice: Not serving Jesus. Turn away from Jesus’ and it’s 100% certain that you will be lost forever.

Mark Wilmoth is with Pinehurst Christian Church in Marietta and can be reached at Minister@PinehurstChristianChurch.org