Christians and Foolish Risks

That post is worth reading again, folks.

 

Bull-riders do work with their hands - it's really hard to hold on to that strap around the midsection of the bull with your foot or mouth.

On the serious side, how do you know that he wasn't called by God to do what he did? Everything in life has risks involved. Paul used the example of a runner training to win the prize as a way to live the Christian life. Note: Paul did not tell people not to run or never to enter an olympic race.

 

Some of us-- perhpas many of us-- do not differentiate those 2 concepts anyway. People do what they choose to do-- go to seminary, drive cars, ride bulls, dig ditches, preach the gospel-- and each of these has its own risks. I will venture to say going to Saudi Arabia to preach the gospel is likely more dangerous, for the person's well-being, than riding a bull.

 

No, but frankly I can't see how burning a bull on the altar, as was commanded to the Israelites, carried out a legitimate calling of anything; particularly considering that later, in the book of Hebrews, it plainly says animal sacrifices could never take away anyone's sin.

But how about a not-too-dissimilar example-- football. For a man to like the sport of football, to play it for money, to study it and to coach others playing it-- how does that serve any calling? Ordinarily it's hard to see. But with a man named Tom Landry, with the money and friends he'd made and a successful insurance business it helped him develop in the off-season, it brought him to a meeting of Christian businessmen in which he began to consider the overall plan of his life, and he saw that, in the pursuit of a passion of his-- football-- if he were successful as a coach it would bring him more of the oportunities to be a national leader in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and to otherwise speak and write about the 2 things that came before football in his priorities; God and family. His autobiography tells much about his perspective on this. So maybe he is a key to understanding how any endeavor-- no matter how far it may seem to be from gospel truth-- can be used positively for the Kingdom. It depends amost entirely on whether the individual recognizes that.

 

You are only responsible for being obediant to the leading of the Holy Spirit in your life. I am responsible for the same in my life. You seem to be saying that God would never lead someone to ride bulls or anything else that you would not risk doing yourself and that people that do are only in it for money, pride, adrenilin rush, ect.

There are many Christians involved in secular business and industry - from computer programming to banking to manufacturing. Yet, you are not questioning the leading of the Holy Spirit in their lives - only those that take risks that you would not take yourself.

 

This is almost comical to me. I used to roadrace motorcycles professionally. Now, I didn't take risks; I was very conservative and very smart. I prepared my body, my mind, and my machinery. I would walk the track, looking at the camber, crown, etc., then during the practice sessions, I would try different race lines to see how I got the quickest time, best acceleration out of the corner, etc.

By being careful, the best I ever finished was 5th place, with a few top 10's, but most importantly, I finished every single race I ever started. I scored enough points that although people would beat me in individual races that they would take risks to try to win the next one and crash. Once, I even made the ESPN crash of the week because I was the only rider in a group of about 10 guys who remained upright through a pretty terrific crash. (I did crash once at Talladega while passing a Harley, but I dropped it in such a way that I was able to get back up and on the track and only lost two places and passed the Harley a couple of laps later.)

But, I scored points in every race, and in so doing, I was invited to the championship race, while those who beat me in individual races did not.

My point? During all of this, I was never seriously injured. But, while walking out the door at work, I slipped and fell and broke my ankle in four places, ripped all the cartilege and ligaments loose, had to have 4 surgeries, have a permanent steel plate, 8 screws, and two pins.

Life is full of risks, and we can't (nor should we) avoid them all.

I was able to preach and witness at the race track quite a bit. It was very fruitful. On Sunday mornings, leading up to race time, we would have a church service in the race tower or somewhere, and encourage everyone to come. Usually, it was someone who wanted to fellowship. Sometimes it was a fan who wanted to hobnob with "famous" people. Either way, it was fruitful. (Except for the guy who raced under the number 666. Several people tried to witness to him, but several of us are convinced that it wasn't just a show and that he was truly demonized.)

But, we can conclude from this that high speed racing is safer than walking, therefore walking is evil.

 

I have found, in general, that Christians hate the word "sacrifice," when it comes to Christian service. In worldly amusements they are willing to play hockey with a broken bone in their foot; in football, a dislcocated shoulder; in basketball, a bad elbow, etc. People suffer pain in the sports arenas and are very willing to do so. But in Christian service, sad but true, sacrifice and suffering is generally unknown. Most people are afraid to walk across the street and witness to their neighbor.

"He died doing what he wanted to do," is basically a selfish statement, especially regarding amusements. As someone replied many people could die doing what they want to do in the realm of illegal activity. So that kind of selfish desire has no bearing in the Christian life. A life that says "I am crucified with Christ," does not at the same time say, "I will do what I want to do."

Perhaps many of you have heard of the Raines family. There is a family that died doing what they wanted to do. They were missionaries in India laboring among the outcasts of India, among those that not even the government would care for--the lepers. And yet, at the same time, the Hindu extremists were so concerned that their loving, tender care of these outcasts of society would win these outcasts over to Christianity that they hatched a plan to do away with them. When the Raines along with their two sons were in their car the Hindu surrounded it and torched, setting ablaze the family and cooking them to death on their own car. It was a horrible death to die. News of it quickly spread all over the world. What a cowardly act to do; especially to those who would care for those who no one else would care for.

One might say: "At least they died doing, not only what they loved doing, but what God wanted them to be doing." For they knew they were in the center of the will of God, and that is what counted most. I can't say the same for those that ride bulls, especially if they are Christians.
Christ said: "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daly, and follow me." Are we willing to deny ourselves, crucify the flesh, sacrifice to the extent that we will follow him to wherever he would have us serve?

 

The same argument can be made about football players, NASCAR drivers, baseball players, basketball players, and anyone in the "entertainment" business.

Every job has some inherent risks, therefore, risk is not the deciding factor. Some jobs are certainly riskier than others, but Christians are not required to work jobs with the least amount of risks.

Driving trucks for a living is one of the most dangerous jobs you can have. Truck drivers are providing a service and I think all would agree that this is honest work. Risky, but not sinful.

Commercial fishermen have extremely dangeous jobs, yet that has never been condemned, even in Jesus' day.

We are commanded to provide for our own. As long as it is not sinful and is done in an honest manner, I will never speak against it. At the same time, we each have a measure of common sense and I think God expects us to use it.

Having said all that, to me it is a question is it sinful to "work" in the entertainment business? Can a person provide an honest living in the entertainment business as long as the activity is not inherently sinful?

I cannot think of any example or instruction that would discourage or prohibit this. The command is for honest work. I do not know what would disqualify this activity from being "honest work".

 

So, you can determine that God doesn't want anyone riding bulls? I guess those people don't need a positive Chritian witness, when there's lepers to be cared for.

Perhaps everyone should go out and care for lepers and ignore everyone else?

No, I think it's rather presumptuous to judge that God doesn't want anyone riding a bull. Or anything else that is not immoral.

 

Jesus even went fishing with them. Hmm... Do you suppose that Jesus was encouraging them to sin by taking risks?

I should have thought of the commercial fishing aspect, because I'm so close to it. I've picked nets in 25 foot seas.

Some of them even get glory, being featured on TV. Most recently (that I'm aware of), the Time Bandit was featured on the show "Most Dangerous Jobs". So, they received fame and recognition, and they are taking great risks.

 

Your right, the bulls don't need a positive Christian witness (after all that is what they are riding). :laugh:

 

Well, it does say preach to every creature...

Seriously, though, what about the other participants and the audience, etc.? This is a sport that grew out of a necessity, and it just sees who does it best.

 

How does any sport grow out of a necessity. Sports are mere entertainment. Nowadays many are seriously injured by them. One doesn't have to "ride the bulls" to witness to the others. At various rodeos some church people go to the gates and hand out tracts. But that could still be done by rural based churches visiting the farmers in their areas. It is the same principle as, you don't have to be a drunk to witness to a drunkard. Neither do you have to enter a bar to witness to them. You can witness to the same people in their homes when they are sober.

When speaking of sacrifie, the Raines ministered in India, a nation of one billion people. There were many saved because of their sacrificial lives (not all lepers). There outstanding work and sacrifice had a trickling down or domino effect into America. There were many in some Bible Colleges that were challenged to be full time missionaries to foreign nations. Their sacrifice brought much more fruit then they would ever imagine.

 

Somewhat off topic -- or at least off the current trend of this thread: but today I was attempting a little family history research, and went to the website of the Highfield Road Baptist Church in Dartford, England, where my wife's grandparents were married a little over a hundred years ago. The website shows the pastor in his hobby of hang-gliding and avers that at one time he was the only clergyman in England who admitted to this sport! Wow ... looks risky to me. But I suppose not if you know what you are doing. Imagine the proclamation opportunities (somehow I am thinking about Joseph Bayly's little book of a few years ago, "The Gospel Blimp"). :laugh:

 

Now this is a prime example of a risky business done for all the right reasons. Not the least of which is a personal love for the sport. Your witnessing and preaching is precisely what you should have been doing, and I commend you for it, and bull riders and ropers and clowns, all need the Lord, and who better than another rodeo man to serve them.

Each man has areas of interest, such as mountain climbing or sky diving, that someone will accuse them of being "out of God's will" but the Lord wants to use each of us where we "are", not where someone else says we should be.

I have for many years wanted to help troubled youth in a dirt bike ministry, but it never happened but not because it couldn't have, but because I wasn't the one to do it. But it is probably being done somewhere successfully.