Opportunity. With the mention of the word one usually thinks about missed chances. Indeed the saying goes that opportunity only knocks once. Seize the moment.
I remember a few years ago a not so famous coach of my favorite team would regularly refer to challenges being tremendous opportunities. Opportunities and challenges.
What do you think of when you consider opportunities? Life is full of them. Most of the time we don’t recognize them until the opportunity is past. Sometimes when we do recognize it, there is a challenge present that makes it a risk. And we hesitate to act.
I like John F. Kennedy’s take on opportunity. He noted that when written in Chinese, the word crisis is composed of two characters. One character represents danger and the other represents opportunity.
Crisis. Do we realize when faced with a crisis there may be an opportunity to grow? Or does the danger involved paralyze us? And we thus let the opportunity pass.
Opportunities. How many times have we let those go by?
Time is short. Opportunity is knocking. Answer the door. It has been said there are four things that will not come again: the spoken word, the spent arrow, time past and the neglected opportunity.
There is no doubt that we will be held accountable for opportunities in life. Does the scripture not teach that he who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin (James 4:17)?
One of my favorite scriptures is Galatians 6:10. Therefore, as we have the opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.
Opportunity. Accountability. Ability. Now let’s consider all three.
Opportunity with no ability equals no accountability. Ability with no opportunity likewise equals no accountability. But opportunity plus ability equals accountability.
Opportunities. Today will be full of them. They may appear as a crisis but more often they will present themselves as a friend in need or a small chance to do good.
Let us look for opportunities to do good. A complement, a smile, an offer to help, etc. A small act on our part might make the day better for someone else. And may everything we do glorify the Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16).