Christian
Money
Why invest?
God is the perfect partner in any investment program. It is
He who supplies all the seed to be planted. We plant it, He multiplies it. So,
any investment program ought to be based around multiplying assets that God
supplies and returning the bulk of the crop, as pointed out in the parable of
the stewards in Luke 19:12-24. The seeds that we retain then bring in a greater
harvest the next time. As we show our faithfulness, He will give us even more.
Our responsibility is to return it to His work.
Reasons for investing
God’s number one prerequisite for investing is always centered on our
attitudes. Money can be used for the comfort and convenience of our families. It
can be used to provide the needs of others. It can be used to spread the Gospel.
Or it can be used for destructive purposes. Money, if misused, as in the case of
the rich young ruler recorded in Matthew 19:16-30, can be an object of devotion
and idolatry. Love of money has separated families and shattered friendships.
Countless marriages have split up over the love of, or the misuse of money.
Christians, therefore, must assess why they want to invest and how the surplus
from the investments will be used, in the light of God’s principles. God is
not against prosperity, but He hates evil attitudes that often accompany
prosperity. These attitudes include greed, covetousness, and pride. So, since
ultimately attitude will determine how an investment surplus is used, it is
vital to discover what attitudes God wants us to have.
In addition, there are scripturally sound reasons for investing, and there are
unscriptural reasons for investing. If you are investing for the wrong reasons
it’s like having your ladder leaning against the wrong building. No matter how
high you climb, you still end up on the wrong building.
So, first we will evaluate why people invest and accumulate money, and then
we’ll look at the scripturally sound and unsound reasons for investing.
Why do people invest?
- Others advise it. Many people invest simply because
someone else advised them to. They don’t have any clear personal plans or
goals with regard to their investments. According to God’s Word, we are to
seek good counsel, but we must weigh all counsel received against His Word.
Listen, but seek God’s direction before taking action.
- Envy of others. Many people want to invest and
accumulate wealth simply because they envy other people and their successes.
- It is a game to them. Many people invest because they
consider it to be a competitive game. As such, they often get so wrapped up
in the contest that they sacrifice family, friends, or health in order to
win the game. They have no particular attachment to the money; it’s
winning that’s important to them.
- Self-esteem and ego. Many want to accumulate wealth so
that others will envy them. Those who are victims of this motive use their
money in an attempt to buy esteem and bolster their pride and ego. “A
man’s pride will bring him low, but a humble spirit will obtain honor”
(Proverbs 29:23).
- The love of money. Those who love money will not part
with it for any reason. Their lives are characterized by hoarding and
abasement. This is a type of idol worship, which separates us from God.
First Timothy 6:10, Hebrews 13:5, and Luke 9:25 caution against the love of
money.
- Protection. Many people accumulate money for protection.
This attitude places money as the object of trust and security rather than
God.
- Slothfulness. Often people don’t plan well during the
earlier years of their lives and, consequently, when faced with expenses in
their middle or later years, they panic and try to generate in five years
what they should have saved over the previous 20 years. A regular habit of
spending less than you make and saving the difference is the proper
investment plan.
- A spiritual gift. There is only one reason why God would
supply a surplus of wealth to a Christian: so the needs of others can be
met. If Christians want God to entrust greater riches to them, they must be
found faithful in the smaller amount first (Luke 16:10-11). God promises His
blessings to all who freely give and promises His curse on those who hoard,
steal, covet, or idolize.
What are the scripturally sound and unsound reasons for investing? There are
three scripturally sound reasons for investing.
- Multiply to give more. The parable of the talents
recorded in Luke 19:12-26 tells us that God entrusts wealth to some of His
stewards so that it will be available to Him at a later date. The management
of the wealth requires that it be invested or multiplied.
- Meet future family needs. The indication throughout
God’s Word is that the heads of families should provide for their own (1
Timothy 5:8). Good planning requires laying aside some of the surplus for
future needs.
- Further the Gospel and fund special needs. This type of
giving is necessary to maintain and promote the Gospel. If the church is
ever to break out of the borrowing habit, Christians who invest must
maintain some surpluses and be willing to give to legitimate needs.
There are four unsound reasons for investing.
- Greed. Greed is the desire to continually have more and
demand only the best (1 Timothy 6:9).
- Envy. Envy is the desire to achieve based on other
people’s successes (Psalm 73:3).
- Pride. Pride is the desire to be elevated because of
material achievements (1 Timothy 6:17).
- Ignorance. Ignorance is following the counsel of other
misguided people because of lack of discernment (Proverbs 14:7).
Once a Christian has accepted the purpose of investing—to serve God
better—the crucial decision is how much to invest. This decision must be made
after much prayer. In addition, a plan for the use and the distribution of the
potential surplus must be made before the money becomes available. Set goals and
pray about each goal before attempting to do any investing. If motives are
anything but biblical, it would be better to give the money away rather than to
risk losing something far more important than money—a relationship with the
Lord.
Conclusion
Being rich or being poor is a matter of providence in God’s will, and He will
give us only what we are capable of handling. The Christian’s responsibility
is awesome and sobering. God, in His eternal plan, has decided to use us to
supply and to fund His work. One day we must all stand before God and give an
account of what we have done with His resources. Why does God provide an
accumulation of wealth from investing? So His people can exercise giving in
order to meet the needs of those who cannot provide for themselves.
Financial
Stewardship Godly
Counsel Scriptures
Christian
Advice Seven
Steps Investment
Principles Money
Management
Learning to be
responsible stewards of the finances that God has entrusted to us is a
difficult challenge for many Christians. You however don't need to be
alone struggling with financial decisions. The Bible encourages us to
seek wisdom and counsel. One challenge is to find someone with similar
values as you. Working with a competent Christian financial advisor to
help you with Christian investing can be very advantageous when trying to maximize investment
performance.
ElderAdo Financial is a faith based Christian Financial Planning firm that
blends our faith along with traditional financial planning standards. We manage investment accounts with Christian values in mind for our client's
accounts. In order to be effective stewards for our clients we avoid investments such as abortion, pornography, alcohol and tobacco.
We are also a fee-only financial planning firm that offers
full-service investment advice without being influenced by sales commissions. As
financial planners that believes in Christ Jesus, we feel the fee-only method is
the best approach to offering the most ethical advice for our Christian clients
since we give advice and don't sell financial products.
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If you are looking for a Christian financial planner,
I encourage
you to consider utilizing our services.
We
serve clients all across this nation.
We Offer Personalized
Private Account Management Starting At $100,000
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A Christian Financial Planner will help
give you wisdom to manage your money with Biblically based investment advice. If
working with a Christian Financial Planner appeals to you, we encourage you to
consider our firm for your financial services needs.
Why should a Christian investor hire a Christian Financial
Planner? The main reason is because the investor and advisor are both
Christians, they share similar values. The advisor understands Biblical
principles such as tithing, budgeting, saving for the future, investing and
giving to the needy. After the
initial interview process of numerous financial related questions, the financial
advisor can identify areas of improvement for the client.
If you would like more information about working with a fee only Christian
Financial Planner, please click here
or read through our www.ElderAdoFinancial.com
website further to learn more about us and how we operate.
