Risk is an important business concept. We are taught that in general as risk increases in investment, so does the possibility for reward. There are investments that offer a guaranteed result, like bonds. The payoff is typically pretty small. You sacrifice potential profitability for security. That is the way it works. Safe investments promise a modest return. Risk is necessary for a big return. Or as the old saying goes, “You have to speculate to accumulate.” Of course there are also ridiculous and risky investments that offer no real hope of reward, which is to say, they are simply a swindle. We want to be wise with our investments!
Of all the precious resources we can invest, there is none more valuable than our life. You have one to use and spend. For what shall we trade our life?
The Scriptures teach that we should give our life to God. He made our life, and He made us to work for Him. He pays well. As a trustworthy master, there is no one who will provide for us the way He does. Here is how the Apostle Paul urged men:
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:58)
How many of us have chased a sale or worked at a project or a job only to find that the outcome was not as good as we hoped? Once you have tasted that kind of disappointment, it is very meaningful to hear that our work will not go to waste. But there is a specific kind of work which will not be wasted—that labor which is done in the LORD.
So here is the simple principle: if you want to make sure your life will count, work for God. He is the best friend, boss, and King that one could ever serve. While we were still hostile and at war with Him, God gave His own son Jesus to cover our wrongs. Going even further, He did not only forgive us. That alone would have been astounding. Then, after that act of mercy, God does another: He brought us into His family.
If you are working for Him, hear the other part of the sentence—be steadfast, immovable, abounding in the work of the Lord. The engine which drives that kind of perseverance and endurance in work is confidence that you cannot fail. Your work matters to God, and you can work for Him as a beekeeper or bus driver, doctor or dog walker. If your work is done for Him, it is not in vain.