The Benefits of Being an Opportunist

Sometimes the term "opportunist" gets bad press.  There are those who think that opportunists are taking advantage of people and/or situations for personal gain.  However, on the flip side seizing an opportunity is what has won wars, launched companies, saved lives and propagated the Gospel of Christ.  In Malcolm Gladwell's book The Outliers he shows graphically how seizing opportunities has given us Apple Computers, Microsoft, Starbucks, etc.  Erwin McManus in Chasing Daylight (originally Seizing Your Divine Moment) and Mark Batterson in In a Pit With A Lion on a Snowy Day show us from scripture and personal experience how the believer is benefitted by being an opportunist.

I have noticed that seizing opportunity leads to more opportunity.  Perhaps that is the reason we have some of our mega-churches today.  In grabbing hold of an opportunity, they showed themselves faithful and God sent more opportunity.  It is sort of like the parable of the 3 servants (often called the parable of the talents.)  The ones who invested their talent(s) were rewarded with greater opportunity while the one who squirreled his lone talent away was stripped of what he had.  Sadly there are many churches across our land today that are vainly trying to hold on to the status quo only to find themselves sinking into oblivion primarily because they have refused to "chase the lion" as Batterson puts it, or "seize the moment" according to McManus.  In order for them to turn things around and become Great Commission Churches, they need to recognize and capture the opportunities that God presents them.  It can be done even after years of decline.  In a subsequent blog, I'll deal with some ways a church can become opportunistic for the kingdom of God.