Issue 173
Some people specialise in risk management; their job is to imagine possible disastrous futures and then plan to avoid them happening. They also help companies and organisations plan their response to disasters should they happen. The whole business is about prediction, planning, preparation, all in order to minimise loss in the event of a problem or prevent the problem from arising in the first place.
Any company or organisation that is exposed to risk would be wise to engage in such planning. It could be the difference between survival and extinction.
Closely allied with such planning is the area of insurance. Investment in suitable policies now may provide resources in the event of accident or loss which would not be available otherwise.
Slightly less predictable is the issue of inheritance. Some charitable organisations encourage donors to prepare a will which leaves a large portion of the estate to the charity. Some charities rely on this income stream for their financial planning.
For the more adventurous there is the stock market or the futures and options trade. Here investors do deals now which are connected to current trends and possible outcomes.
The chances are that your pension provider is involved in attempting to predict markets – not to mention your life expectancy.
So we work now, but we live in a world of possible futures. We try to minimise uncertainty but have to live with elements of risk. We operate in the present but plan for the next era. No one is untouched by this market force.
David adds another dimension to our thinking. “The days”, presumably past, present, and future, “of the blameless are known to the Lord”. The Lord that David had come to know was the Lord who knew all possibilities, futures, and outcomes. For those blameless ones he argues, “their inheritance will endure forever”. To walk in a blameless relationship with the Lord, he seems to be saying, creates an inheritance of enduring untouchable quality. David goes on to make a bold and startling statement. When disasters do hit, these blameless people will not wither and when there is a shortage they will enjoy plenty.
This is hard to take. Does it mean that we as Christians will never go hungry in a famine? Does it mean that we should ignore risk management, insurance policies, or planning? Are those who are faithful to God immune to the suffering of disasters?
I would suggest we should no more ignore these things than ignore the advice of a doctor when we are ill. I would also suggest that David’s words only make sense if we remember he uses the word “forever”. The future for the blameless has short and longterm components. In the end our firm guarantees lie in the realm of a life that goes beyond death. In the meantime the Lord calls us to know him, walk blamelessly and trust in him first. There is nothing inherently misplaced about risk management as long as our trust remains placed in the Manager of our inheritance.
Psalm 37
1 Do not fret because of those who are evil
or be envious of those who do wrong;
2 for like the grass they will soon wither,
like green plants they will soon die away.
3 Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4 Take delight in the LORD,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
your vindication like the noonday sun.
7 Be still before the LORD
and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.
8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fret—it leads only to evil.
9 For those who are evil will be destroyed,
but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.
10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look for them, they will not be found.
11 But the meek will inherit the land
and enjoy peace and prosperity.
12 The wicked plot against the righteous
and gnash their teeth at them;
13 but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
for he knows their day is coming.
14 The wicked draw the sword
and bend the bow
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slay those whose ways are upright.
15 But their swords will pierce their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.
16 Better the little that the righteous have
than the wealth of many wicked;
17 for the power of the wicked will be broken,
but the LORD upholds the righteous.
18 The blameless spend their days under the LORD’s care,
and their inheritance will endure forever.
19 In times of disaster they will not wither;
in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.
20 But the wicked will perish:
Though the LORD’s enemies are like the flowers of the field,
they will be consumed, they will go up in smoke.
21 The wicked borrow and do not repay,
but the righteous give generously;
22 those the LORD blesses will inherit the land,
but those he curses will be destroyed.
23 The LORD makes firm the steps
of the one who delights in him;
24 though he may stumble, he will not fall,
for the LORD upholds him with his hand.
25 I was young and now I am old,
yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken
or their children begging bread.
26 They are always generous and lend freely;
their children will be a blessing.
27 Turn from evil and do good;
then you will dwell in the land forever.
28 For the LORD loves the just
and will not forsake his faithful ones.
Wrongdoers will be completely destroyed;
the offspring of the wicked will perish.
29 The righteous will inherit the land
and dwell in it forever.
30 The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom,
and their tongues speak what is just.
31 The law of their God is in their hearts;
their feet do not slip.
32 The wicked lie in wait for the righteous,
intent on putting them to death;
33 but the LORD will not leave them in the power of the wicked
or let them be condemned when brought to trial.
34 Hope in the LORD
and keep his way.
He will exalt you to inherit the land;
when the wicked are destroyed, you will see it.
35 I have seen a wicked and ruthless man
flourishing like a luxuriant native tree,
36 but he soon passed away and was no more;
though I looked for him, he could not be found.
37 Consider the blameless, observe the upright;
a future awaits those who seek peace.
38 But all sinners will be destroyed;
there will be no future for the wicked.
39 The salvation of the righteous comes from the LORD;
he is their stronghold in time of trouble.
40 The LORD helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.
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Geoff Shattock
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