Daily Devotion

Return On Investment

 

'He said to his disciples, "The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields."'  Matthew 9:37-38

 

The finance concept ROI, return on investment, or ROR, rate of return, measures the percentage of money gained or lost versus the money invested.  I did not fully learn this until last year when I was preparing for my Security+ certification.  I know you say what relevance does it have?  Well, as a government employee, and any information security professional for that matter, we must determine all sorts of situations and the likelihood of them happening.  That also takes into consideration procurement of systems.  This mainly applies to the maintenance and use of those systems; i.e. how long before it breaks down and will we get past that initial investment based on the use we got out of the system.  But anyway, that made me think about the global area of return on investment, and as a Christian, am I reaping a good return?  Am I investing all the time I can in my relationship with God and am I living up to His standards in this walk?

 

Are there any stocks out there that are mutually beneficial?  Meaning, does it benefit you the investor initially and for the long haul, and the creator of the stock?

 

Being that God is our creator, the stock we invest in is our salvation. God invested Christ to give us that salvation. This is the only thing that is mutually beneficial because both parties are getting something out of it--God redeems us from the curse and we are saved from eternal damnation.  Yes in business there are some stocks where the creator of the stock and the investor both benefit, but there is no direct connection.(And business folks please correct me if I'm wrong)  Most times an investor goes through a stock broker to procure stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc.  The broker and the stock creator make money off the purchase of new shares; the investor only hopes to do so.  Often, the investor does not see a return immediately, and most times takes a loss if he is not careful.  It is something that has to be cultivated over time, sometimes many years of being watched, adjusted and reallocated at times to provide a nice profit.  Sometimes the stocks go belly-up and everybody loses.

 

Trusting in God, and holding on to His promises even through the most tumultuous of "stock periods" will always give us a good return.  In the darkest hour, when most turn to God, He still reigns supreme.  He still provides, still protects, still conquers, and He is still on the throne.  Just like you invest your money, time, and patience in your financial future, try do the same with God.  Tithe and give offerings (Malachi 3:8-10), spend time praying (James 5:13), reading (1 Timothy 4:13), and sometimes you have to be patient to see what God has in store and until He has brought His will to pass (Romans 12:12).