“Don’t Fall Me Down”
This evening after dinner, Brooke, our two-year-old, wanted to jump up on our oldest daughter’s lap. As you might guess, any leap for a two-year-old involves a lot of risk. So, before the big jump, she blurted out, “Don’t fall me down.”
I guess that fear of taking risks is something we have from birth. Don’t you wonder why God created us that way? When so much joy and accomplishment can be experienced through the risks we take in life, why is it that God wired us up to instinctively fear them?
I suppose it all comes down to trust. If you know someone you love and trust is going to catch you, you apparently are willing to take bigger risks. Knowing that, of course, causes control-freaks like me to question how much faith we really have in a sovereign God. Is it wrong for me to admit that sometimes I’m afraid to leap because I’m worried God won’t be there to catch me?
There, of course, is a leadership lesson here as well. People are looking for security before they’re willing to risk. They want to know if they fail that someone will be there to pick them up. Does it make you wonder who on your team is ready to leap? It should.
What would you be willing to do if you knew someone would be there to don’t fall you down? Let’s commit to take that leap together.
Makes me think about Jesus and his team. He was there, while they were babes, for all the “don’t fall me down” moments. And cause He was, they were ready to leap after He was gone.
Love the application of trust being the requisite factor for being willing to “jump” in at the deep end. I’m not sure I agree, though, that we were born with an innate response to fear. I believe fear is a learned response, conditioned by our environment. That’s why kids aren’t afraid of fire, or snakes or even of falling, until they’ve experienced the pain of any of these things, or the pre-conditioning by their influencers to fear and avoid those things. Just a thought to consider!
Thanks again for another great leadership reminder. Tony, I love your stuff. I’m constantly forwarding your post to different staff people. Your stretching us all!
Tony,
I read your blog every single day because of posts like this!
NICE!
Joe
I recall reading in a book recently (I think Mark Batterson’s In a Pit with a Lion…) that we are only born with 2 fears. The fear of falling/being dropped and the fear of loud noises -all other fears are learned. That was simultaneously one of the most encouraging and discouraging things I’ve ever read.