The Risks of the Final Play

Well the football season is finally over.  A new champion has been crowned.  And now the pundits are asking the question of why Coach Pete Carroll called that play with timeouts remaining, one of the best running backs in the game in his backfield, and on the one yard line of the opponent.  Four points down, it seemed that a touchdown was imminent.  But then the play was called.  The pass intercepted.  The game over.  Was it the right call?  That is the question many around the NFL, and especially in Seattle, are asking.  In an interview yesterday, Coach Carroll said it was the right call and he had an explanation for it.  Not understanding all the intricacies of football, his explanation made sense to me. 


There is an important lesson to be learned from those final moments of Super Bowl XLIX.  Play-calling involves risk taking.  That is true not just in football games, but in all sports.  Woody Hayes, the late head football coach at Ohio State often said of the forward pass, "Three things happen when you throw the ball, and two of them are bad." In other words, there is always the risk when you throw a forward pass.  Coaches know that they might call the wrong play.  Players know that they can execute a play badly.  Yes, there are risks in the world of athletics. 


There are also risks in the world of business.  What is a safe investment?  Outside of giving your money to the work of the Lord Jesus, all investments come with risks.  The stock market is up one day and down the next.  It is bullish, then bearish.  One never knows how long one animal is going to stick around.  Yet a person makes a decision regarding investments.  Sometimes it is a good one.  Other times it is not so good.  A wise old financial planner once told me, "Max, never invest money that you cannot afford to lose."  Yes, there are risks in the world of business.


All decisions come with risks.  There is a safe way out...and that is to let someone else make the decision for you.  When we do that then we do not have to assume responsibility for the consequences of the decision.  There comes a time when a person just has to "bite the bullet" and make a decision.  You have studied all the options.  You have weighed the costs.  You have looked at all the alternatives.  It is time to make a decision, to take a risk.  Is it scary?  At times very much so.  But there is a time for action. 


One of my favorite leaders in the Old Testament is Joshua.  As his life was drawing to a close, and after he had led Israel in their conquest of the Promised Land, he gathered the people together for one final word of encouragement.  He was troubled at what he was seeing in the people's attraction to the gods of the peoples they had conquered.  Joshua understand the history and heritage of the people - after all, they had come from a pagan background and had lived in a pagan land for nearly 400 years.  But God - his God and their God - had led them this far.  It was time for them to make a decision.  He knew he could not make it for them.  He knew there were great risks if they decided to serve other gods.  But the people could only remain on the fence so long...it was time to decide which side of the fence they were going to land in.  Listen to these familiar words of Joshua: "Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness.  Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.  But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living.  But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD" (Joshua 24:14-15).


Joshua had confidence in his God.  And so Joshua made a decision.  He took a risk that following God was the right choice.  He led the way.  Others soon made the same declaration.  Did Joshua ever second-guess his decision?  Probably not! 


Friends, perhaps God is calling you to do something.  Only you know what it is.  You might even say, "But God, I really need more information; I really need more clarity.  How can I be sure?"  And God's response is simply, "You have all the information you need; you have all the clarity you need.  Now, just trust Me!"  What God is saying is, "It is time to take a risk.  It is time to make a decision.  Now, go for it; dare to trust Me."  And, unlike Coach Carroll's final play-calling that snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, you can't lose when you are following God's leading.