Like many of the topics I consider and briefly comment on in my weekly column, this article today came through seeing an individual take an unnecessary risk that could have been detrimental or even deadly to himself and others. I will not give you the nature of the risk due to the fact that I will most likely include it in my presentation. There are various types of risks that people commonly take that are unnecessary that can lead to loss or ruin. I will only consider a few in my column today.

Health Risks
he meaning of the noun risk means “a chance of harm or loss”. When we are applying that word to our health, it means that we are taking a chance of harming or losing our health through taking risks. Though the term health can apply to any area of our personage (like mind, emotions, or body), I want to focus on physical health. The most health risk that the average person must be concerned about is physical. I believe that we risk our health when we fail to eat properly and nutritionally. Proper and nutritional eating is balanced eating of vegetables (especially green leafy varieties), fruits, and a minimum amount of carbs, starches, salt, and sweets. Drinking the right amount of water and getting the right amount of sleep will help to keep you off the risk list. Finally, if you are genetically predisposed to a disease like hypertension, diabetes, cancer, and such like, you must get ahead of the game and initiate being disciplined through dieting, exercising, and routinely visiting your health care providers.

Highway Risks
I believe that I am safe to say that more people die from accidents on the highway because of people taking unnecessary risks than any other cause. Let me give you some things to not do on the highway to avoid unnecessary risks. First, do not attempt to go around another car when you are going up a hill and cannot see oncoming traffic in the opposite lane. Secondly, do not attempt to go around another vehicle when there is a curve in the road that prevents you from seeing what is coming in the opposite lane. Then, do not drive while you are texting or doing anything that will prevent you from being focused and alert. All it takes is one slip up to lead to a serious or fatal highway accident. Finally, do not drive under the influence of alcohol or any drug that will impair your judgment or ability to make a quick decision. Delay on the highway, when a decision needs to be made in a split second, can prove detrimental and fatal.

Financial Risks
Believe it or not, more and more people are taking financial risks of various types that are wiping them out. I have been guilty of doing risky things that greatly diminished my cash reserves. Right here, I will list a few things to not do, if you wish to avoid taking risks with your money. Do not be a day trader and play the stock market. Most people who attempt this are not trained enough to come out on top. They ultimately lose thousands of dollars playing a game where they are amateurs and greenhorns. Do not play the lottery, pull tickets, or engage in any form of gambling. All gambling is a sucker’s game that is based on mathematics and the odds. Only a fraction of the people who gamble ever win because the odds of them hitting the jackpot is too great. Do not trust people, either by phone, social media, mail, or any other way, when it comes to investing your money or giving them personal information about you (like social security number, banking account number, or any information) that they might use to steal your identity. Finally, do not lend money to people who come to you in desperation and tears and make a promise to pay you back, even though there are a few out there who will keep their word (even if it hurts them to do so). Nevertheless, the overwhelming majority of folk who make promises to you to help bail them out of a financial bind (that their negligence and poor money management got them into) will not keep their promises. I have learned by experience that if you cannot give them what they need, do not loan it to them because if they do not keep their word, they will often avoid you or become somewhat hostile toward you.

Highly Secretive and Special Information
I would argue that perhaps everyone has some information about their lives that falls in the category of being very personal and secretive. Such classified information is kept in a place labeled “only for those who have a need to know”. Like many others, I have made the mistake of sharing secretive and special information with the wrong people (who I thought I could trust), but who betrayed my confidentiality and trust by sharing it with others.
Being young and very inexperienced, and quite naïve, I took a risk and put my trust in the wrong people. The information they shared with others brought much hurt and shame in my life and it took much time and growing to overcome it.
Learn from the mistake that me and many others have made; do not share secretive and sensitive information with people who are unproven and untrustworthy. To do so is to do it at your own risk.

The Risk with Unimaginable Consequences and Detriment
This final section is the one that I saved for last because of its gravity. Nothing else that I have considered or could possibly consider could be more essential in regard to risk taking than that of taking the risk on where you spend eternity.
I do not mind being criticized by those who disagree with me when I say that if you are not saved through believing and calling on the name of Jesus Christ, you are at risk of being eternally lost and separated from God.
There is just no reason to continue to take the risk of eternal damnation and torment when God gave us a way of escape through Jesus Christ.
“How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation….” (Hebrews 2:3).