“Whether you eat or drink, or
whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”
I Corinthians 10:31
Investment Checkup
As Christ followers, we are to be in constant pursuit of holiness. As God forges his word into our hearts, our lives begin to reflect greater obedience. This verse in I Corinthians calls us to examine every area of our lives and seek God’s best.
God’s Best
Today, let us consider God’s best on the topic of investing, specifically, biblically responsible investing (BRI). BRI is a concept recently adopted by a growing number of Bible-believing investors. BRI investors are like other investors in that they look for companies with financial stability, future growth potential, and intrinsic value above the stock price. Yet, in addition to these metrics, BRI investors also seek to identify companies whose operations align with biblical values or, in the least, do not participate in activities the Bible describes as sinful.
Sin Contamination
The reality is that we live in a world deeply contaminated by sin. The heinous acts of abortion, slavery, pornography, among others, are more prevalent now than at any time in history (even slavery through trafficking and forced labor). These sinful behaviors are not only tolerated; they are often exploited for financial profit by many Fortune 500 companies.
Part Owners
Consider the SPDR S&P 500 (SPY) fund, perhaps the most popular in its asset class. This fund contains 9 companies involved with pornography, 5 companies selling abortifacients, 1 company funding abortion legislation, and 128 companies funding LGBT legislation. Of course, investing in this fund makes us part owners in all these companies. Thinking back to the passage in 1 Corinthians, would we want any of our financial earnings to come from activities that are in direct violation of God’s word?
Why BRI?
BRI is not a strategy one should adopt out of guilt. Nor should one be legalistic toward other Christians who may not share the same conviction about this investing philosophy. Nonetheless, BRI does provide Christ followers an opportunity to align their investments more closely with values taught in Scripture. From my perspective, BRI is about “going the second mile” in our efforts to do all for the glory of God.
Resources
This vast topic is difficult to fit into a brief message. Thus, consider the resources below if you have additional questions on BRI such as: How do I know which companies fit into BRI? or Will my investment performance suffer?
Resources:
Investing with Integrity – Loran Graham
Biblically Responsible Investing – Robert Netzly
Caleb Crawley
MD5 Facilitator