What's the Risk?

There is one game that my brothers and I love. Growing up we played it over and over again. It is a world conquest game. It takes hours to play. Sometimes, in the middle of the game, we would leave the board game on the card table, after 4 or 5 hours of play, only to pick up and finish later where we left off.

Playing the game Risk, as a family, became almost like a family tradition, until we stopped playing it a few years ago. Finding a night that worked with 5 grown men’s schedules is harder than it use to be, especially when the game lasts for hours.

We still have family game nights. But these nights don’t include the likes of Risk or Monopoly anymore.

I recently discovered a new world conquest game that isn’t played on a game board. It is hosted on the Internet. You can come and go as you please. Millions of players, world wide, build castles, raise armies, and fight battles against one another. Several of the members of my family have gotten into the game. This new found past-time reminds me of the game nights of my youth, and the found memories spending time with my brothers.

The virtual little medieval war game has the works: castles, castle walls, watch towers, catapults, etc. Survival is the key. The secret to survival is knowing how to manage your resources, attacking new territories, and defending your cities. It is easy to waste food and other resources building the wrong fortifications. It is easy to lose soldiers and cities by other careless mistakes.

Most often the mistakes are made in the risk taking. There are two sides to risk taking. One side is fairly straightforward: taking chances. But the flip side is almost always overlooked or forgotten: considering the consequences.

Recently a 16 year old girl accidentally killed her older brother in a parking lot. She was driving a car and playing some kind of game of slamming on her brakes to avoid hitting her brother. Unfortunately the stunt went terribly wrong. She couldn’t stop the car and the boy was killed. The consequence of this carelessness was the irreversible loss of life.

Most of the risks we take do not have life and death ramifications. But if we aren’t in the habit of considering consequences, then when real problems arise, we may not be ready to recognize the dangers and the dangerous results.

Here is a parable, like my virtual conquest game, filled with nobleman, watchmen, towers and walls.

A certain nobleman had a spot of land, very choice; and he said unto his servants: Go ye unto my vineyard, even upon this very choice piece of land, and plant twelve olive-trees;

And set watchmen round about them, and build a tower, that one may overlook the land round about, to be a watchman upon the tower, that mine olive-trees may not be broken down when the enemy shall come to spoil and take upon themselves the fruit of my vineyard.

Now, the servants of the nobleman went and did as their lord commanded them, and planted the olive-trees, and built a hedge round about, and set watchmen, and began to build a tower.

And while they were yet laying the foundation thereof, they began to say among themselves: And what need hath my lord of this tower?

And consulted for a long time, saying among themselves: What need hath my lord of this tower, seeing this is a time of peace?

Might not this money be given to the exchangers? For there is no need of these things.

And while they were at variance one with another they became very slothful, and they hearkened not unto the commandments of their lord.

And the enemy came by night, and broke down the hedge; and the servants of the nobleman arose and were affrighted, and fled; and the enemy destroyed their works, and broke down the olive-trees.

Now, behold, the nobleman, the lord of the vineyard, called upon his servants, and said unto them, Why! what is the cause of this great evil?

Ought ye not to have done even as I commanded you, and—after ye had planted the vineyard, and built the hedge round about, and set watchmen upon the walls thereof—built the tower also, and set a watchman upon the tower, and watched for my vineyard, and not have fallen asleep, lest the enemy should come upon you?

And behold, the watchman upon the tower would have seen the enemy while he was yet afar off; and then ye could have made ready and kept the enemy from breaking down the hedge thereof, and saved my vineyard from the hands of the destroyer.


The story doesn’t end there. Later in the parable, the lord gathers his servants, warriors, and others and goes and redeems the vineyard, breaks down the walls of the enemies, throws down their towers, and scatters their watchmen.

While it is impossible to avoid every tragedy, cutting corners by not building the watchtower was the wrong risk to take.

My internet game has been down for almost 2 days. I'm excited for it to return. When it comes back on line it will be more competative than ever. Risk taking will be necessary, but survival will really be more important.

In life, risk taking is also necessary, but to avoid some tragedies, risk taking should include more than just taking chances, it should include careful consideration of the consequences. I think I will keep building my watchtowers.