Spiritual Investing

There is one all important question when we are trying to build something. Whether it be a house, a fortune or a church. That question is one word—“how.” Once, when I was starting a church, I went to see the professor of church growth and evangelism at Erskine Seminary, Dr. Oliver, to ask his advice. He asked me one question--”What’s your vision?” I told him what I wanted the church to look like. He said it sounded pretty good. “All right,” he said “Now how do you plan to get there?” I had no answer. I guess I assumed that you just put up a sign saying “we want to build this kind of church here” His answer was that this was very good, but I had told him nothing about how to build it. We can dream all we want, but if we don’ t know the process, we’re lost. As a church we can wax eloquent on what we want to be. We want to be a witnessing church. We want to be a growing church. We want to be a loving and friendly church, but we often know how to get there. We don’t know the process. We are stuck between what is and what ought to be. We talk about growth, but we don’t grow. We talk about building, yet we don’t build. We talk about witnessing, but we don’t witness. What’s wrong? The problem is not in our heart. The problem is not in our vision. The problem is in the process. We don’t know how to do it. If there is a secret formula to becoming what we ought to be for God, then that formula has a name-- spiritual investment. There is a lot of bad teaching about spiritual investment going around today—two in specific. The first is the prosperity Gospel. Prosperity gospel suggests that God wants everyone to be rich. It suggests that the key to riches is found in giving to God’s work. We give money, we get money. If we give love, we get love. It’s a tempting thought, but it’s wrong. God does not want everyone to be rich. He wants them to be happy in his life, and rich in the next. He will not give us what he does not promise. Fortunately, as Presbyterians, we are not too susceptible to that particular poison. I have often joked about Presbyterians and their conservative view of spending, which probably stems from their mainly Scottish ancestry. It’s easy to see why Scotsmen have the reputation of being thrifty. They had to be, to survive through the hardships of life. This attitude carried over to the Lord’s work as well. We can’t stand the idea of wasting money, either for ourselves or for the Lord. But this isn’t the mindset that Jesus encourages. He does not encourage thrift. He encourages making investments, so that God will openly reward. Spiritual investing is similar to earthly investing, but with a crucial difference. Earthly investing says that if you take what you have and put it to work for you, then that money will produce more money. God says that if we invest in His work, God will reward us, whether or not it we gain anything. Imagine a man going into a casino in Vegas. The owner of the casino gives him a large pile of blue chips. He says to you that he wants to check the system. He wants us to gamble with this money he gave him. If he loses or gains, he will pay him to play. This is what God says to His people. God guarantees our investment through His Spirit. In the parable of the talents, none of these men were rewarded for their investment. Non e of them had anything to invest. It all belonged to their master. The master gave them a great reward far out of proportion to what they would have otherwise received. The only one who did not receive was the one who was too timid to take a risk. The point of this parable is not how much the first two made. The point is what happened to the third one. The third investor failed, because he had a mistaken view of his master. He saw his master as a punisher, not a rewarder. He was obsessed at what would happen to him if he made bad investments, so he risked nothing. In the end they got what their risked. Since he risked nothing, he got nothing. Consider that this means to us. We don’t have to be wise, only willing. These men were not rewarded for making wise investments, neither were they rewarded solely by power or money. The fact that they made money was incidental. The point of this story is that they were willing to risk. The man who did not risk was not rewarded. Risk is everything. Now, risk is faith, and faith brings blessing. If we have faith, then we will risk. But if our fear outweighs our faith, we take no chances. God’s blessings come by faith, and not by sight. God rewards faith more than he rewards wisdom. Why do we not give our time, talent, friendship, or energy to God’s work? Because we’re worried that we will lose it. We’ll not risk our future on an unsure opportunity. But suppose there was no risk involved. Suppose God promised to make up your losses Himself. Then you would be a fool not to invest. The reward for our tithing, our serving, and our loving comes from God. What if our tithes go to an unworthy cause? What if we try to serve God and what we do turns out to be a mistake? What if we give love and it returns unrequited? Rewards are not the reason for our giving. They are part of the process that leads to God’s blessing. If our investment turns out to be foolish, God rewards us the same as if we were wise. If our sincere efforts go awry, that doesn’t matter to God. God forgives our mistakes All he cares about is our heart. If we love someone unworthy of love—well, so what? The only thing we can do that will displease God is not to love or try or give. How do we spiritually invest? First, we throw ourselves into our relationship to God. Spiritual investment means investing in the spiritual. How much risk are you willing to take in improving your God connection? William Carey, the great missionary once said that he wanted to do something for God so big that if God is not in it, it is doomed to failure. He was a risk taker, a spiritual investor. he knew that to give his life in service on the foreign mission field was an act of worship to God. This mattered more to him than success. He could give himself to God, and God would bring reward. Are you a risk-taker in your relationship to God? How much time do you spend with Him each day? When was the last time you stepped out of faith and attempted something for God greater than normal? When will you let your “I can’t” be overwhelmed by “I can do all things through Christ”? Second, we give ourselves over to the mercy of God. When you run a race, there is a point where you no longer think of anything else but the finish line. Until that time, you’ve reserves something for the end. Now, the end is in sight and you take all those reserves and put them into crossing. It is a flat-out sprint. You couldn’t keep this up for very long, but you don’t have to. All you have to do is cross that line, and you’ll be done. You give yourself to crossing the line, because you know that you can rest on the other side. Someone will be there to cheer you, when you get there. Third, we invest through percentage giving. Spiritual investing is based upon the proposition that God loves a cheerful giver. The master is coming, and He will reward us in His time. We don’t have to seek a reward ourselves. He will reward us. But we should not simply give everything away, either. Jesus told the rich young ruler to do just that, and there are many people through history who have been called to poverty. But for most of us, it is not what God wants. To give everything away is to surrender our stewardship. Rather, we give away a percentage and invest the rest in living for God. The third man in this parable, the one who was rebuked, refused to manage what was given him. He hid his talent and thought that his master would be pleased if he merely retuned what was given. He was wrong. God expects us to assume the responsibility of work and investments, to keep building on what He gives. Fourth, apply spiritual investment in all areas of our lives. Stewardship is not about money. It is about living. We talk about tithing in this church, but there are other things we should tithe as well. Tithe friendships. For every nine friends you have because you like. You should have one who is just as close because they need a friend, not because you do. Tithe time. Give a tenth of your time to prayer, worship, and service to God. Tithe dreams. For every nine minutes you spend dreaming about what you want, spend a minute dreaming about what you can do for others, and so on through your life. These moments will be spiritual investments that God will reward. Fifth, conserve your own expenses, so you can risk more for God. Don’t allow yourself to be caught up in desire for this world. Many Christians today are like a salesman on an expense account. This salesman went out on a sales trip. His expenses were paid by the company. He was a successful salesman, but the company found his expense account was outdistancing his orders. He stayed in the fanciest hotels, ate the best food, paid for movies, plays and ball games out of his account. When the end of the month came, what do you think the boss did with this servant? God is the same way. Don’t expect to hear “well done” from God if our spending on ourselves outdistances our giving. What we say that we as individuals we must all admit is true for the church. As we look at the expenditures of time, talent and money in God’s house, how much of it goes to the upkeep of the building and the edification of the members, and how much goes to saving the lost, feeding the poor, and easing the pains of the sick? If we expect the individuals of the church to follow God’s plan of investment, so must the church. We must have a vision for ministry. We must not be satisfied with reaching the same old people in the same old ways. We must not play it safe. That would be like burying our money in the back yard. The work of the Lord requires an investment from all of us.