Unexpected Benefits
Theme / Biblically Responsible Investing
Read Time / 3 Minutes
Since they seemed like an unnecessary add-on, I told myself that I would never get them. I couldn’t imagine what help they would provide, so I put off the idea. But as I began to see more of my friends take the plunge and enjoy the benefits, I reconsidered and made the leap. I bought hiking poles! Now, I rarely hike without them.
I found many unexpected benefits of using hiking poles. They protect my knees, especially when walking down steep hills, while improving my power and endurance when walking uphill. They improve my posture, making me walk more upright, which also helps my breathing. Plus, hiking poles increase my balance and stability in challenging terrain which encourages me to get out and enjoy God’s creation.
Life is full of unexpected benefits, ranging from helpful hiking poles to spiritual blessings from the Lord. For example, the Lord gives us the Holy Spirit which helps us experience “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22). Perhaps you’ve never thought about it, but even investing can have spiritual benefits. By morally screening our investments, often referred to as Biblically Responsible Investing (BRI), we can invest in companies that reflect biblical values in their products, practices, and philanthropy. And, by investing this way, we can experience unexpected benefits spiritually.
BRI increases our commitment to Christ. There are areas of our daily lives that we allow Christ in, but often there are areas where we do not – including investing. By considering the moral merits of where we invest, we are allowing Christ to influence yet another part of our life.
BRI increases our wisdom in finances. When we seriously evaluate where we are invested, we take other financial principles in the Bible more seriously: be wary of debt, spend wisely, be generous, and many others. When we increase biblical scrutiny of our finances, we become wiser in our financial decisions.
BRI increases our impact on others. Investing to reflect our faith can open doors to sharing our faith. When the discussion with a neighbor turns to the economy or the stock market, it opens a door for us to share the “where and why” of our investments. Within our families, sharing our investing “where and why” can be a teaching moment to our children, which can influence them for life as they make financial decisions.
BRI increases our contentment with money. If we take steps to screen our investments, we are, in a sense, turning our investments over to Christ. The result is financial contentment, knowing that despite market fluctuations, we have a heavenly Father who cares for us as we seek to live for Him.
BRI increases our conviction to not sin. For example, if we have taken the steps to not invest in companies that profit from pornography, then it should cause us pause if we consider looking at pornography. Since we have made a commitment in one part of our life about pornography, then we should have more fortitude to not fall prey to it elsewhere.
However, just as hiking poles don’t get me up or down the mountain by themselves, investing according to biblical values alone doesn’t make us saints. There are many other things we need to consider in living a godly life. But just as hiking-poles help me as a hiker, Biblically Responsible Investing can help us as investors pursue more of Christ in our lives.
Doug Hanson, MBA
Wealth Advisor
208.697.3699
doug@christianwm.com
