Risk/Benefit – Proverbs 14:4

With the covid-19 pandemic has come a push to create a vaccine.  Simple, right?  No.  Will the vaccine create other problems, like side effects that might be dangerous?  Scientists can anticipate and seek to avoid problems, but ultimately the vaccine must be tested to see if it is safe and whether the problems associate with it can be overcome or are mild enough to make the vaccine worth it.

Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean,

but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox. (Proverbs 14:4, ESV)

You’re not going to have to “muck out” the stalls if you don’t have any oxen or worry about providing them food in the manger.  But you won’t have the ability to produce a lot of harvest either.

With all personnel and processes for work comes the need for overcoming chaos.  If you want to have any tools for increasing production you will increase problems that need to be solved.  Do you risk it?  Do you count that cost?

Sometimes the problems created are too great.  It is alleged that by using the assembly line process for building automobiles, Henry Ford also stifled the creativity and skill building set of his workers and made his company one that after initial growth could not finally meet the needs of the market without making huge adjustments.  But it did make adjustments and it is still here today.

When you do something new you will inevitably create new problems that need to be solved.  You plan well by anticipating the problems and having proactive solutions.  But some problems cannot be anticipated.  And your solutions may create other problems.  That is the nature of human creating.  We must create, therefore we must risk.  But if you don’t risk, you don’t get reward.