WARNING: Reading beyond this point will expose you to risky thinking. This could result in your life becoming unsafe if that risky thinking leads you to risky living. You have been warned. If you stop reading now you can remain safe - curious, but still safe. If you proceed beyond this warning paragraph you will have passed the point of know return. You will no longer be able to plead ignorance. After this sentence you will have officially assumed the risk.
Warnings have become a familiar sight in our American culture. Some warnings are helpful, while others…well - they seem pretty silly. Here are some samplings from the silly side:
“Caution: Hot beverages are hot!” — On a coffee cup.
“Do not use for drying pets.” — In the manual for a microwave oven.
“Warning: knives are sharp!” — On the packaging of a sharpening stone.
“Caution: Remove infant before folding for storage.” — On a portable stroller.
“For external use only!” — On a curling iron.
“Warning: This product can burn eyes.” — On a curling iron.
“Do not iron clothes on body.” — On packaging for a Rowenta iron (for us guys in a hurry).
“Do not drive car or operate machinery.” — On Boot’s children’s cough medicine.
“Wearing of this garment does not enable you to fly.” — On a child-sized Superman costume.
“Beware! To touch these wires is instant death. Anyone found doing so will be prosecuted.” — On a sign at a railroad station (I guess if you survive the electrocution).
“Warning: do not use if you have prostate problems.” — On a box of Midol PMS relief tablets.
“May be harmful if swallowed.” — On a shipment of hammers.
“Do not put in mouth.” — On a box of bottle rockets.
“Do not attempt to stop the blade with your hands or genitals.” — In the manual for a Swedish chainsaw (you know there’s some story behind that one!)
We have begun to warn of such obvious things that I am concerned that most people just ignore the warnings, all warnings – even those that serve the purpose of informing you of risks which may not be so obvious. As Grant and I were hiking near the Maroon Bells (the most photographed spot in Colorado) we came upon a warning posted on a kiosk entitled “Deadly Bells” by Maroon Lake. “The beautiful Maroon Bells … have claimed many lives in the past few years. They are unbelievably deceptive. The rock is downsloping, rotten, loose, and unstable. It kills without warning. The snowfields are treacherous, poorly consolidated, and no place for a novice climber. The gullies are death traps. Expert climbers who did not know the proper routes have died on these peaks. Don’t repeat their mistakes, for only rarely have these mountains given a second chance.”
Now, to me, that was a serious and useful warning. “Unlike other mountains in the Rockies that are composed of granite and limestone, the Bells are composed of metamorphic sedimentary mudstone that has hardened into rock over millions of years. Mudstone is weak and fractures readily, giving rise to dangerously loose rock along almost any route. The mudstone is responsible for the Bells’ distinctive maroon color. The Bells got their ‘deadly’ name in 1965 when eight people died in five separate accidents.” Information excerpted from Brainy Encyclopedia. Since the risks were not obvious to anyone with “good walking around sense” (as we say here in the south), this was the kind of hike which warranted a warning. We did not hike on the Maroon Bells because we did not have the experience or expertise to take on these mountains. We stayed on the Crater Lake Trail, which was adventurous enough for us.
Warnings are most useful where the risks are not obvious. There are three very useful warnings regarding what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. He warned His followers, right up front: “’If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters – yes, and even his own life - he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple’” (Luke 14:26-27)(HCSB). Now, Jesus is not literally telling us to hate our relatives. He is speaking in hyperbole here. The warning here is that you will have to make choices. This passage tells us to prioritize our lives and be willing to sacrifice that which is good for that which is best. And oftentimes, those best choices will not look very appealing on the front end. Don’t reject your cross, whatever that cross may be. I believe that each one of us has hard things laid out before us. Whether we choose to pick it up will forever impact the world in which we live.
His second warning deals with the cost of discipleship. “’For which of you, wanting to build a tower, doesn’t first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, after he has laid the foundation and cannot finish it, all the onlookers will begin to make fun of him, saying, ‘This man started to build and wasn’t able to finish’” (Luke 14:28-30)(HCSB). Before undertaking a life of discipleship Jesus warns that we should consider the cost. Are you willing to invest everything you have? That’s what it will take to finish. You should consider that on the front end. God has given you enough to finish, but you must be willing to put everything you have into it. Otherwise, you will not complete that to which you are called.
Finally, the last warning deals with odds and risk. “’Or what king, going to war against another king, will not first sit down and decide if he is able with 10,000 to oppose the one who comes against him with 20,000? If not, while the other is still far off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. In the same way, therefore, every one of you who does not say good-bye to all his possessions cannot be my disciple’” (Luke 14:31-33)(HCSB). As a disciple of Christ, there will be times you will be outnumbered 2-1. There will be impossible odds and seemingly insurmountable circumstances. You do not merely root for the underdog; you are the underdog. Will you compromise in those situations, or will you still willing to go to war? When you say good-bye to all your possessions (not some, not most, but all), and give them to God for His purposes, you indicate that you trust an unseen God to make provision for you from His unseen, but unlimited resources. It is a risk. Consider yourself warned. Now, do you want to assume the risk of discipleship?
(To be continued in Consider Yourself Warned, Part II - Risky Business).
