Do You Believe in God?
Theme / Behavioral Finance
Read Time / 2 Minutes
Do you believe in God? A Gallup poll in 2017 determined that 87% of Americans do. Of course, it depends on how you interpret “believe.” 64% of Americans characterize their belief in God as certain, while the rest have varying degrees of doubt. It is an important question because the answer determines your view of the world. An atheist does not believe in God. For an atheist, evolution brought us into existence and death will cease our existence. In contrast, a Christian believes that God is a personal Creator who created us to be in relationship with Him during our time on earth and for eternity: “Yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him” (1 Corinthians 8:6).
But why are we talking about believing in God in a blog about investing? Because our worldview determines how we live our lives. In Scripture we read of the two greatest commandments. The first is to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” and the second is to “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39). Our lives – even our investing – should show our love for God and our love for our neighbors.
But how can we love God and love our neighbors in our investments? Jesus should be our model. In Luke 4:18, Jesus proclaims: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.” There is an important spiritual interpretation of Christ providing eternal freedom for those captivated by sin. But there is also a physical interpretation which challenges us to constructively enrich the lives of others, in recognition of our love for God and our love for others. Our investments can make a difference in the world. Invest to improve lives!
Doug Hanson, MBA
Wealth Advisor
208.697.3699
doug@christianwm.com
