Today's Investments, Tomorrow's Income

Investments are a sore subject as of late. The market dropped again today, intensifying one of the worst financial crises in this country during my lifetime. I dare say there are no investments paying well today, that is, in the market. Last time I blogged, I mentioned the plausible payoff for choosing production over perfection. Choosing. This is the key word. In what do you choose to invest? Your answer to this question says much about the type of payoff you can expect.

Investing in perfect tasks may yield perfect products, but at what price? Investing in worldly gain may yield creature comfort, but at what earthly expense? On the other hand, investing in things that matter to our Father in heaven brings the greatest payoff, that of eternal rewards in heaven. And this payoff is worth any price. How can we know those things that matter to the Lord? This was the subject of my research that resulted in the Precious Stones Bible Study. God showed me that to love Him fully and actively means to love what He loves. For one, God loves people. How well do we invest in people, what type of return do we seek and for what reason?

It seems to me that oftentimes our investments in others may have selfish roots. Let’s consider parenting as an example. Parents invest in their children because they love them and want them to achieve to their potential. On the surface there is nothing wrong with this. Parents should want their children to succeed. But hopefully this desire for their children to achieve is for the glory of God and not for the glory of their children, or worse, the glory of their own achievement as parents.

Similarly, we invest in other people to develop friendships, hopefully for the purpose of glorifying God through the good that the relationship can bring, and not for selfish gain. It’s really either one or the other. There is an old saying, “You scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours.” I guess if such mutual scratching is glorifying God, then there’s no problem. “Iron sharpens iron,” after all, and this process can bring glory to God. But most likely, we often operate with an unconscious mindset that if I’m not going to get anything, then I am certainly not going to give anything. It makes me wonder, “Is this what Jesus would do?”

Choices. They are a driving force in our lives. In my school where I served as principal, we used to say on the announcements daily, “The choices you make today shape your world tomorrow.” What choices are you making today? In what are you choosing to invest your time, your talents, your gifts, your emotions, your money, and your strength? Why are you choosing these investments? Is the final payoff you receive worth the price you pay? What might God say? There’s one way to know the answer – pray.