Investing Biblically
Did you consult the Bible before you bought into your investment portfolio?
That may seem like a strange question, but the Bible has a lot to say to Christians about how to manage investments with both financial and moral implications.
Thankfully, in recent years there has been a resurgence of attention paid to the importance of applying the Bible’s commands and wisdom to our personal investment decisions. There has also been a corresponding proliferation of biblically responsible investing tools that help make it possible for Christian investors to put that biblical teaching into practice with their portfolios.
Following are five Bible verses that every Christian investor should take to heart as they seek to be wise stewards of the money God has placed in their hands.
Investing For The Glory Of God
“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31)
When you ate your oatmeal this morning, did you realize it was intended to be an act of worship? This verse says plain as day that our purpose for investing, and everything else in life, should be to glorify God.
This may seem like stating the obvious to some, but it is important because this verse is commanding us to intentionally pursue God’s glory in every investment decision we make. And God’s glory goes far beyond the financial aspect of investing and also includes issues of morality and ethics. To invest for God’s glory means that we must consider more than just our financial returns when making an investment.
If we can eat and drink to the glory of God, certainly we can and should invest God’s money for God’s glory.
God -vs- Milton Friedman
“Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues with injustice.” (Proverbs 16:8)
This verse could not possibly be more subversively counter-cultural. It flies in the face of all that Wall Street stands for. It contradicts the foundational economic theses of some of the world’s foremost financial experts, who boldly proclaim that maximizing profits is the first and only duty of business and investing. (I’m looking at you, Milton Friedman).
And the influence of this worldly perspective on wealth has also infected the Church, resulting in many Christian financial experts regurgitating Wall Street’s profit-at-all-cost stump speech. Sometimes these Christian voices even attempt (unsuccessfully) to validate that viewpoint with scripture.
Often they point to the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25 to make the claim that God rewards those most who make the most money. But that parable is not making that claim at all, and even if it was, it does not follow that the Master in that parable does not care about how his servants made his money grow.
What the parable teaches is that God expects us to use everything that He has given us in accordance with His expectations, His values and His will. Newsflash: God doesn’t need more money. He certainly could care less about how much money we make “for him” in this life. U.S. Dollars don’t spend in Heaven.
Proverbs 16:8 makes it clear that God cares more about how we make money rather than how much money we make. Indeed, God proclaims it is better to produce a lower return on investment in a righteous manner than high-flying profits unjustly. There is nothing wrong with earning high investment returns, but they must never come at the expense of holiness and certainly cannot be our primary directive.
Therefore, it is a biblical imperative that Christian investors consider the moral implications of their investments. Are you earning money from abortion, pornography, human trafficking or other unjust industries? We cannot ignore these issues if we are to be true to God’s word. Screening your investments with a free tool like www.inspireinsight.com is an easy way to get transparency on the ticker symbols in your portfolio and learn what you are invested in from a biblical values point of view.
Click here to read more.
SOURCE: Christian Post, Robert Netzly
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