the worries of the world and the deceitfulness of riches . If we remember the Parable of the Sower , this is the last obstacle that prevented the thirty , sixty , and hundredfold return . There ’ s a sense in which we trust God . Of course we do . If we ’ re Christians , then we say we trust God . But too often our actions reveal that what we really trust is our bank accounts . If we spend the majority of our time and focus on building up resources for our enjoyment and our safety , what does that tell us about whether we ’ re serving God or Mammon ?
When we spend all our energy and efforts hedging against risk , hedging against inflation , hedging against this , hedging against that , our entire life becomes a hedge . There ’ s the possibility that the faith we declare might only be a ticket to the afterlife . If we doubt the promises of God so severely that we place all our trust in our own ability to manage risk , then it ’ s possible we may not believe in what God has actually promised us .
This may sound accusatory , but what I ’ m saying here causes me just as much discomfort as you may be feeling now . What I want to do is encourage both of us to spend time on our knees asking God to search our hearts and show us where and how our investments might better serve him . To do anything else would be too risky . This isn ’ t to scare you into taking risks for God . This is an invitation to share in the full experience of knowing and loving our Savior , Creator God . When we avoid risk , we often end up avoiding what God is doing in the world .
God may have more in mind than just helping you hedge against inflation and save for retirement . We have to ask ourselves : Do we really believe that ? Do we really believe that God is working in and through the faithful investments of his people ? Do we really believe that he will take care of us ? Do we really believe that he ’ s in complete control over all the money and markets in the world ? Do we really believe that every investment has an impact ?
Faith Driven Investors love to talk about the Parable of the Talents . We all have thoughts and ideas for how this specific story Jesus told should inform our investments . But I ’ d invite you to consider the servant who buried his talent . Think about what his life looked like every day after that .
Not only did he totally miss the master ’ s assignment , but you have to imagine that he lived in pure dread of the master ’ s return . He hadn ’ t asked the master what to do with the money , and he hadn ’ t sought counsel . He just buried it and waited . And every day he looked out of his window with a pit in his stomach , scared to death that he may have done the wrong thing .
Faith Driven Investors shouldn ’ t live in fear . We should know that our master is coming back , and we should be excited about his return . When we open ourselves to take the risks that God would call us to , not only are we preparing ourselves for Judgment Day , but we ’ re also getting to experience and enjoy the excitement of doing God ’ s work today .
The flipside of the Parable of the Talents is the two servants who got to watch their master ’ s money grow . Think of the joy ! Think of the anticipation they experienced , eager to share their success with the master when he returned . We can live like that .
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