As we seek to grow our wealth by making long-term investments, we have to start asking ourselves this question: What would Jesus Do?
Financial Ethic #6 states: “We will look for investments that produce redemptive results, not destructive ones. We will use our investment money for God’s glory.” [1]
My husband and I have always been very cautious about where we donate large sums of money. We carefully and prayerfully investigate the vision and the operations of the organizations and missions that we sow into.
But until recently, I must admit that it didn’t occur to us to be equally cautious about where we sowed our investment dollars.
The main criteria we used to evaluate an investment were the fund family’s reputation, the fund manager’s track record, the class of investments, and the past performance.
Now I realize that there’s a critically important criterion that I was overlooking: do the things I’m investing in reflect the things I truly care about?
In Luke 12:34, Jesus says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Are your “treasures” invested in companies that align with your heart and God’s? Are your investment dollars funding activities that you as a Christ-follower would want to participate in? Do you even know what kind of activities the companies in your investment portfolio are involved in?
It takes some time and prayerful investigation to answer these questions. But the good news is that you don’t have to start from scratch. There are several software and web-based services that screen individual stocks and bonds, as well as Mutual Funds, determining whether certain non-Biblical or non-socially responsible investments are in the fund. Some of the typical things they highlight are alcohol, tobacco, pornography, and abortion.
If you don’t want the hassle of trying to monitor every mutual fund you’re invested in, another option is to specifically invest in funds that abstain from companies that participate in non-Biblical activities. These funds may be labeled “Socially responsible funds” or “Biblically responsible investments”.
If your goal as a Christ-follower is to live an abundant life of bringing glory to Him, then this same goal must guide your investment decisions. While it is wise to entrust the management of your investment portfolio to your broker or financial advisor, you still need to make sure they are aware of your convictions.
Maybe you feel discouraged or trapped because you are limited to the investments that are offered through your company’s retirement plan. Or maybe you are hesitant to make a change because your current investments are performing well. I would certainly not want to make you feel guilty for either of these positions. But I must encourage you to at least make a decision not to be passive about the use of your money. Do some research and pray together with your spouse about what God would have you to do.
Some of the screening websites that I referred to above offer information on how you can write a letter to the mutual fund companies (or individual companies), stating your convictions about the types of investments they make. You may discover that the light you shed on this situation has more of an impact than you could imagine. The important thing is that, one way or another, your investment dollars are ultimately bringing glory to God.
“Search My Heart, O God…”
- Ask God to help you to align your investments with His heart and yours, praying
Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting (Psalm 139:23-24).
[1] Anderson, Neil T. and Charles Mylander. The Christ Centered Marriage. (California: Regal Books, 1996), 174-175.
