An Investment Strategy
“But store up for yourselves treasure in heaven…. for
where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
As we begin again this year to raise money to provide bible school graduates in the Philippines with study bibles that they could not otherwise afford, I can’t help but think about the importance of making sound investments and about realizing what the best investments of all really are. And the matter is not just about money because we invest our time, our energy, and even our lives in causes, in pursuits, and, hopefully, in other people’s lives. Some of those investments are in this life only while others are eternal, a true storing up for ourselves “treasure in heaven”.
My parents did some investing in their lifetime, some incredibly profitable and some not so much. Not all that many years ago, for example, they bought stock in a very notable telecommunications company for $116 a share, investing a good portion of their retirement savings in the hopes of adding to that reserve. According to the New York Stock Exchange, those shares are now worth slightly less than $10 a share, a pretty significant loss for any investor. On the other hand, the investments my parents made in our children, supporting them in everything from help with school books to going on missions trips, are paying far greater dividends than they ever could have imagined as their grandchildren are being used by the Lord in so many ways. And the amazing thing is that those dividends are only going to increase and increase as those and others my mom and dad invested in continue to be used by God to build His kingdom.
The time we spend encouraging a struggling friend or family member is a wise investment in the life of another. And the return comes as they are strengthened and live fruitful lives for the Lord. The money we donate to help the poor and less fortunate is an investment in a life that has a natural need but an eternal purpose. And the dividend comes as they testify of God’s faithfulness in providing for them in their time of greatest need. The Bibles we send to the Philippines that are used Sunday after Sunday to minister God’s Word bear incredible fruit, affecting an untold number of lives as they help these young men and women prepare anointed messages filled with faith and hope in God.
Wall Street might not agree with my investment strategy but the best investments have always been, and will always be, those made in the lives of people. Invest your time, your energy, and your finances in other people, in their hopes, dreams, and visions, to meet their needs and to heal their hurts, and you will certainly end up a very wealthy person!
God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church
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