Risk is a part of our lives, almost every moment of every day. In the past twelve months, salmonella ran through 42 states because of what some thought was tomatoes, though many would confess they don’t have a clue where it came from. And now it’s been linked to peanut butter. From driving in your car, to opening a milk carton, risk is everywhere.
Whether we realize it or not, we’re risk takers. For some of us, the risks are more obvious. For example, this past summer my mother went parachuting. (I’m not ready for that one yet.) The real question is, are we taking the risks that matter? That’s point of Michael DiMarco’s book, “All In: Gambling on Life, Love & Faith in a World of Risk
Michael and his wife Hayley are the publishing company Hungry Planet. Their goal? To “combine cutting-edge design with felt-need topics, all the while injecting a much-needed spiritual voice” (from Hungry Planet information in the book). I picked up the book, saw the unique cover, the title and subititle, and left the store owning yet another book. (Yeah, I do that a lot.) The point is, they met their goal with me.
Michael starts right off with his experience in gambling that pretty much destroyed his life as he knew it. From that experience, he teaches us about life and risk-taking through that lens. The book is quick to help interpret his terms for those of us who might not have the same experience in gambling.
I was looking through my highlights for some good quotes for this review and started on the back cover. “Risk in life is unavoidable. Instead of letting fear take all you have, discover why playing for the house is the only bet guaranteed to win.” Let’s break that down as our review of the book.
Risk is unavoidable. We started this review with that thought. Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden of Eden, and faced a risk situation:
- Obey God by not eating from the tree and risk missing out on the potential knowledge or experience they could gain by eating the fruit.
- Eat from the tree and risk missing out on what God had in store for them as obedient children. (31)
When we face risk, we often answer the question, “What’s in it for me?” When we’re in line at the grocery store, in traffic on the way to work, at work looking for a raise or promotion. Instead, we should be asking the question, “What is morally right?” Our answer to that question determines the perspective we are going to use in moving forward. Granted, some questions don’t have a yes or no answer, like skydiving. But the important risks, the ones that really matter in our lives, do.
We also get locked down by fear or hurt, keeping us from taking the risk. Consider when Peter walked on the water with Jesus:
Even though Peter had enough faith to risk asking, enough faith to risk accepting, and enough faith to risk walking, he ran out of faith during what I suggest was the least risky part. It’s what coaches and athletes say when they give a game away: “We had it won. They didn’t beat us; we beat ourselves. (53)
Sometimes in our fear, we end up trying to make everyone around us happy. In such cases, DiMarco reminds us: “If you are trying to please men, remember, there are an awful lot of them with varying definitions of what’s right and what they want” (94).
One last note on the concept of fear. There is a great quote from the late Benazir Bhutto that opens a later chapter: “A ship in port is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.”
The final concept of the book is working for the “house.” He tells how many of the dealers and bosses in a casino are former players who were sick of losing. Statistics are that the house is going to win over the long haul. That’s why they find ways of keeping you around, with everything from meals to hotel rooms to prizes for winning a more challenging way. If you keep playing, you’ll eventually lose out.
So, many players say they’re done losing and want to be on the winning side for a change. Again, statistically speaking, no matter how long their day, these dealers end up on top, and at no personal risk to them. They were paid to play.
If the house always win, in life the house is God and His Kingdom. From that perspective, check out these last two quotes:
God wants us to be good casino employees and stop worrying about how many hands we win and how many we lose and just deal according to his rules. He has the odds stacked in the house’s favor, and if we’re a part of God’s house, we’ll end up winning in the end. . . .
With God setting the rules and odds in the game of life, wouldn’t you rather play on the side of the house? Because in the end, whoever is left gambling against the house loses. (200)
Now for the critique. There are just a couple of things I didn’t like about this book. There are 22 chapters, all of them less than 7 actual pages. Because the chapters are short, a lot of topics are thrown out there to chew on, and sometimes there doesn’t seem to be a continuation or progression between them. Thus the bit of difficulty I had in writing a review.
This also left me wanting more each time. But, I know why I feel that way. I don’t really fit into Hungry Planet’s primary market. I’m a guy who reads a lot and reads deep sometimes. They’re looking to reach those who don’t read a lot, need spiritual input, and don’t mind getting it in short spurts. If that’s you, go find this book. If you’re like me, you’ll still find a lot of encouragement and some push to live risking where it matters.