HOW TO BE A SUCCESSFUL INVESTOR

 

In the now classic 1926 story by George Samuel Clason, The Richest Man in Babylon, set in ancient Babylon around 4,000 years ago, he describes the frustration that a craftsman was experiencing because of his inability to get ahead. His clients were wealthy aristocrats who always seemed to be always getting richer. Yet, no matter how hard he worked he always seemed to be barely making ends meet. This led him to investigate how one might change his circumstances from struggling to succeeding. The result of his investigation was aided by an opportunity to talk with ‘the richest man in Babylon’ who told him that there was only one way for anyone to change their circumstances from poor to rich: invest. This, the wealthy man told the craftsman, was what all those who were rich did, and it was not what anyone poor was doing. The advice this craftsman received (and then implemented) was not a get-rich-scheme, but rather, it was a plan that involved budgeting, saving, and investing. The craftsman implemented the plan and, over time, he too became rich.

But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant!
You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed?
Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers,
and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest.
Matthew 25:26-27

 

HOW TO INVEST

Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it…he who doesn’t…pays it.”
― Albert Einstein

Investing to most people involves money. Money usually represents the exchange of a person’s time, which is a portion of their life. With money a person can live – but our Creator does not want anyone to live for money (Heb. 13:5). But our Creator has designed this world to be able to abundantly provide for every inhabitant of this planet because He has made a significant investment into this world to enable it to be so. When God created Adam and the First Woman, it was an investment into this world. This investment would eventually result in the world’s billions of people who have since been born. God is therefore the Ultimate investor. And it should be readily seen that He has created His image-bearers to also be investors. It’s no accident that after the first eleven foundational chapters of Genesis, the remaining chapters all narrate the stories of significant investors: Abraham (Gen. 24:35); Isaac (Gen. 26:12); Jacob (Gen. 30:43); and Joseph (Gen. 41:49, 56).

In Robert Kiyosaki’s 1997 best-selling book, Rich Dad Poor Dad, he states that there are 6 levels of financial investing beginning with:

(i) saving money; then

(ii) banking your money; then

(iii) investing into a cash-management/mutual fund; then

(iv) investing into a business such as shares or a rental property. 

“Investing involves taking a risk that also usually involves a sacrifice – in the hope and likelihood – that it will produce increase, multiplication and growth.”

It’s not just business-people who are investors. Farmers are investors. Gardeners are investors. Mothers and fathers are investors. Kids church workers, Youth pastors, Home Group Leaders, and worship team leaders are all investors. In fact, we are all investors – it’s just that some people have learned how to do it well. Dave Ramsey is someone who has learned to do it well. By the age of 26 Dave had become a multi-millionaire from flipping real-estate. He then over-extended his business loan and without notice his bank was acquired by another bank who demanded that he clear his multi-million dollar loan immediately. As a result, Dave Ramsey went bankrupt. When he hit rock-bottom he was determined to recover. It was at this time that he encountered Christ. His newfound faith in Christ led him to search the Scriptures to learn everything that God had said about handling money. Dave concluded that God instructed His people to manage their money by doing 5 things – including investing. By doing these five things Dave Ramsey has now become a multi-millionaire again which has enabled him to live debt-free and to undertake much philanthropic projects. His five things that he sees prescribed in God’s Word for every believer is a little different from Kiyosaki’s list.

(i) Set a monthly budget and keep to it.

(ii) Get out of debt and cease using credit cards.

(iii) Tithe.

(iv) Save.

(v) Invest.

His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.
You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much.
Enter into the joy of your master.’
Matthew 25:31

INVESTING MORE THAN JUST MONEY

¶ The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly,
and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
Second Corinthians 9:6

Followers of Christ should learn: how to live with financial integrity; how to live debt-free; and, how to invest their money. John Wesley reported said that believers should earn as much as they can, save as much as they can, and give as much as they can. Some believers have mistakenly said that they don’t care about money. In one sense this is a correct attitude toward money (Jer. 9:23), but in another sense it does not reflect the overall message of God’s Word about how a believer should regard money. The Bible calls believers to steward (“manage”) their money wisely (1Cor. 4:2). Handling money wisely enables a husband and father to provide for his wife and children, build reserves for life’s unforeseen circumstance, and save for the future when there will no further income from his employment.

But investing does not just involve money – especially for the believer. The principles of investing also apply to our own lives by investing into our relationship with Christ through deepening our knowledge of God and His Word; prayerfully growing our capacity to serve Him; worshipfully learning how to emulate the attitudes of Christ in dealing with people, and sharing our time to serve and help others. You can invest into your own life by taking the time to learn, receive training, and develop new skills.

¶ You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus,
and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses
entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.
Second Timothy 2:1-2

Perhaps one of the most rewarding ways a believer can invest more than just money is by investing their time, expertise, experience, and presence into others. Mothers and fathers naturally do this with their own children. Any mother will tell you that mothering several children is a very demanding job that requires much sacrifice on their part but that they do it gladly because they know that the time and training they invest to the sons and daughters will one day produce a huge dividend. Elders and pastors within a church do the same thing for those in their church community. And God will often use you to invest briefly into the soul of another just for a significant moment with a word of encouragement or a timely gift.

If we want to see future generations of believers seeking the Lord and striving to serve Him more passionately, it will require that we each become prayer investors. Do you realise that your prayers will ‘live’ on after you have long passed away? You can begin to invest prayers by praying for those who will be ministering God’s Word the following Sunday. You can invest your prayers into the next generation of leaders within our church by praying for their future development. And you can, as I do, be praying for leaders of our church and state that are yet to be born! Be a prayer investor! 

 

THE CHALLENGE TO BECOME AN INVESTOR

Let me sum up. The most basic form of investing was described by Christ in the parable of the talents where He described it as putting money with the money-lenders to earn interest. Albert Einstein stated that compound interest is “the eighth wonder of the world”! When some people hear the word ‘investing’ they might think that it only involves money. Investing involves thinking about present action and the future consequences of those actions. And then acting in a way that sacrifices present income to invest in a richer future. Understood in a much broader sense, investing can – and should – mean thinking about much more than just money. It can involve investing time, effort, wisdom, training, and prayer. Investing done well results in increased wealth and riches which is not just limited to financial rewards. It is exemplified in the biblical promise, “You reap what you sow.” Each generation is responsible to steward the resources that are at its disposal. These resources are managed by individuals, families, communities, states, nations and the Church. Church leaders have a duty to invest well into the spiritual resources that shape culture to the glory of God so that a tree is planted for the next generations will be the ones who enjoy its shade. Will you invest your life, your time, talents, and treasure into a future reward that you may not even live to witness or enjoy?

¶ These all died in faith, not having received the things promised,
but having seen them and greeted them from afar,
and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.
Hebrews 11:13

Your Pastor,

Andrew

Let me know what you think below in the comment section and feel free to share this someone who might benefit from this Pastor’s Desk.

WHY FINDING TRUTH MATTERS

What value do people find in religion? Perhaps for many Hindus they might be attracted to its diversity and inclusiveness. Perhaps for many Buddhists they might be attracted to its offer of peacefulness. Perhaps for many Jews and proselytes they might be attracted to its long history and traditions. Perhaps for many Muslims they might be attracted to its strength of convictions, its muscularity. And perhaps for most Christians they may have been attracted to Christianity because it is true. Christianity is grounded in the truth. We live in a very spiritual world where 99% of the world’s population profess one form of religion or another. Within our spiritual world there are spiritual forces at work that particularly oppose Christianity because of its truth claims – and in fact, these forces go so far as to deny truth itself! These forces vigorously attempt to hinder people from seeing the truth by confusing even the concept of truth with vacuous suggestions whispered in people’s inner ears, such as find your truth — as if there are different versions of the truth each contradicting each other. Because truth is the greatest strength of Christianity, every follower of Christ and His Word should know the truth and why it is true.

The truth claims of Christianity are subject to the same tests and requirements of proof that any truth claims are subject to: can the claim be tested? and, can the truth claim be verified? In the case of Christianity the answer to both questions is affirmative.  

¶ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory,
glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
John 1:14, 17

C.S. (Jack) Lewis (author of The Chronicles of Narnia) and J.R.R. Tolkien (author of Lord of The Rings) were good friends. They both worked at Oxford University and caught up with each other every week at their local establishment. C.S. Lewis was not a Christian, in fact, he self-described himself as an atheist. In both of their worlds ancient and classic literature reigned – especially its mythology. To scholars of such literature mythology was how the people of long ago wrote about the inter-connectedness of this world with the supernatural realm. Stories of flying dragons, hideously evil creatures, heroes of great courage and military prowess, talking animals, and demigods all revealed something about the truths which the people of those by-gone eras sought to capture.

One day Tolkien and Lewis were walking taking a walk and talking about spiritual matters. Tolkien put a question and a proposition to Lewis. After asking Jack if he enjoyed reading mythology (which Lewis did) he asked Jack if he knew what it was that separated Christianity from all other “myths”? Lewis didn’t know. Then Tolkien said: Jack, Christianity is true myth! It actually happened! That’s the thing which distinguishes it from all other myths. This conversation had a profound effect upon Lewis. He came to see that his friend was correct. A short time afterwards, unable to get this new and glorious thought out of his mind, C.S. Lewis came to accept, albeit reluctantly, that he now had no choice but to become a Christian—because it was true. 

This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Saviour,
who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
First Timothy 2:3-4

The thing that distinguishes Christianity from all other religions is that its claims are true. That is, they are verifiable and testable. (Read more here.)

If you are ever asked, Why are you a Christian? I hope I can show you why you should answer, “Because I have good reason for believing it’s true!” Conversely, if you are ever asked, “But why not be a Buddhist, or a Hindu, or a Muslim?” I hope you will come to know that you also have good reasons for replying, “Because I have good reasons for believing they are not true.”

How can we determine whether a claim is true or false?

Some people think there are different kinds of truth — my truth, their truth, and your truth. But how do they know that their assessment of truth is true? After all, their assessment – that there is my/their/your truth might just be based on their truth rather than the truth. Truth has certain qualities that distinguishes it from what is false-

1.  Truth corresponds to reality.
2.  Truth is verifiable (that is, if it is true, it can be evidentially shown to be so).
3.  Truth is falsifiable (that is, if it is false, it can be evidentially shown to be so).
4.  Truth is sometimes testable (that is, claims that are experiential can be tested by experience – including scientific claims, historic claims, and existential claims).

We have good reasons for the believing that the Bible is true because it is the divinely inspired, reliable and authoritative Word of God which has been superintendedly preserved by the Holy Spirit (read more about this).

The sum of your Word is truth,
and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.
Psalm 119:160

What you believe determines how you behave, how you treat others, and how you respond to life’s setbacks — and ultimately how you will die. If you believe that you are indestructible you are going to cross a highway of speeding cars hurtling in both directions in quite a different way to me (I will use the overpass by the way). If you believe that God is an angry god who demands appeasement from you outweighing your good deeds over against your bad deeds – then you are going to live differently to a Christian — and you will also die differently because you will never know whether you have done enough good deeds to appeasement angry-god. Following Christ and accepting His claims and commands as true will result in the follower living quite differently compared to those who have no hope (Eph. 2:12).

O LORD, do not your eyes look for truth?
You have struck them down,
but they felt no anguish;
You have consumed them,
but they refused to take correction.
They have made their faces harder than rock;
they have refused to repent.
Jeremiah 5:3

The challenge that those who know the truth have is to share it winsomely to a world who hates the truth because it is like a bright light being shone into their darkness (John 1:9-11). But just because there are spiritual forces which are literally hell-bent on keeping people from seeing and understanding the truth it does not mean that we should cower to their intimidation and keep silent (Eph. 5:11). Truth should be contended for in a culture that has often been beguiled by lies (Jude 3). We, the Church, are called to be custodians of the truth revealed in God’s revelation of His Word to mankind. This may mean that we won’t win the approval or applause of man, but when we do so gently with respect from a heart that genuinely loves it will challenge those in the media, those in the legislature, and sometimes even those in pulpits.  

If I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God,
which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.
First Timothy 3:15

This is why finding truth matters!

Your Pastor,

Andrew

Let me know what you think below in the comment section and feel free to share this someone who might benefit from this Pastor’s Desk.

THE FIVE MOST IMPORTANT YEARS OF ANYONE'S LIFE

I have just completed a university degree course on sociology. Sociology is the science of how people interact with each other. It arose as a field of scientific study during the Industrial Revolution of the 1800s. It was during the Industrial Revolution when there was much upheaval in the western world as families were uprooted from their farms and villages to relocate into cities to work in factories. Many previously unheard of social problems arose as a result. People, often living in crammed inner-city conditions, became disconnected with their extended families. These cities became huge drawcards not just for people to move from their rural villages and towns, but also for impoverished immigrants to leave behind their poverty in foreign countries and migrate to countries where they could not speak the language let alone understand the local customs, traditions and laws. It was a French academic, Auguste Comte (1798-1857), who noticed that after the French Revolution (which coincided with the Industrial Revolution) that “a new form of society” was forming, and that this could be scientifically studied. Comte coined the term, sociology and set about to write several books explaining how the scientific method could be applied to study of how the members of a society interacted. Those who came after Comte began to study why some people seemed to grow up to become virtuous contributors to society – who always seemed to have ever increasing opportunities for advancement – and others did not. The universal discovery of all sociologists ever since Comte was starting. The secret to the success of these high achievers, seemingly without exception, was determined by the first five years of their life! Sociologists now describe the first five years of anyone’s life as “the most important years of anyone’s life.” This is particularly important for every parent and educator to know. 

French Philosopher, Auguste Comte, who lived a tragic life and died of stomach cancer at the age of 59. He coined the term, “sociology.”

Consider my picture of the two burning candles. The caption asks, Which candle represents the adult and which candle represents the child? Which candle has been burning longest? From this point in time, which candle has the potential to burn longest?

Train up a child in the way he should go;
even when he is old he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6

 

WHAT HAPPENS TO A CHILD IN THE FIRST FIVE YEARS OF THEIR LIFE?

“Characteristics of personality that are established in the first five formative years will survive into an individual’s adulthood, directing his or her responses to various life situations.”
(Introduction To Sociology, Koichi Kitano, 2013: 57)

Sociologists have discovered that much a person’s future direction in life is largely determined by the extent to which they were socialised in their first years. Being positively socialised depends on the level of interaction a child has with his or her biological parents, the extent to which their boundaries and consequences are clear, the values enforced, their education (distinct from ‘schooling’) and their comprehension of their place in this world. Sociology Professor, Alex Thio (Society Myths and Realities, 2007:73), cites numerous examples of negative instances where these necessary formative aspects were deprived some children and the result was what he calls feral children.

Professor Thio also cites examples where these formative aspects were intentionally provided to some children with extraordinary results. I think that all Christian parents, educators, and disciplers should be aware of why the first five years of a child’s life are the most important years of their when it comes to shaping a person’s personality and character; and, how can each play a critically important role in positively contributing to each child entrusted into our influence.   

For I, too, was once my father’s son,
tenderly loved as my mother’s only child.
Proverbs 4:3 (NLT)

#1. Children need to learn love.

A newborn and growing child is designed by God to immediately experience love. This often involves being hugged and held by his or mother. As both mother and father then demonstrate and model appropriate touch and affection the child develops the psychological security that he or she is loved. This experience of love is then translated into realising that mother has been serving her son or daughter. The child comes to realise that serving is an intrinsic aspect of loving and being loved. Educators and disciplers (Kids Church/Sunday School teachers) are recognised as reinforcing this vision of love which the child’s parents have also established. In this way the growing child realises that his or her loving community extends beyond their family to their church family. The child can come to see that God is his or her loving heavenly Father, and that we love, because He first loved us (1Jn. 4:19). As the child comes to understanding that love involves sacrificial serving they develop the virtue of helpfulness and see it as an honour to help others.

#2. Children need to learn that boundaries and consequences are necessary for a virtuous life.

A newborn and growing child is designed by God to immediately experience boundaries and consequences appropriate to their age. Some boundaries are laws, some are rules, and some are what sociologists call norms. Norms are the way we are supposed to behave even when there is no law or rule telling us we have to. Understanding that life involves learning how to get along with others, a child comes to understand that do so requires learning what the norms are for doing so. These norms are often referred to as “common courtesy” or “being polite” or “showing respect”. By experiencing their mother and father’s boundaries and consequences the young son or daughter can come to see that God has boundaries and consequences for violating them that are designed for our good, because He loves us (1Jn. 4:17-18). As the child comes to understanding that God has ordained certain boundaries with consequences for breaching them they develop the virtue of godliness and see their worship of God as an honour.

#3. Children need to learn that honesty and integrity are essential qualities of a virtuous life.

A child is born a rebel with a disposition to sin, lie, cheat, and steal (and I should know, I was one). The person who said that children are as perfect angels had obviously never had children! Prof. Thio describes a new born child as a tabula rasa (a blank slate, p. 72). But he also says that every child is born with certain “inherited” qualities. Biologists might argue that is merely genetic but Christians know every child is born with the stain of sin on their soul (Rom. 5:12) because the first man, Adam, represented each us via a genetic connection (1Cor. 15:22). But the good news is that God has made a way for each of us to be set free from the stain of sin through repentance and confession of sins and putting our faith in Christ (Rom. 10:9). Every child needs to be taught to how to confess their sins, how to repent, and how to apologise. By witnessing their mother and father confessing their sins, repenting, and apologising, a child comes to understanding that God is good, loving, holy, and forgiving Saviour and that he or she can also develop the virtue of honesty and integrity and learn to forgive those who offend against them (Eph. 4:32).

#4. Children need to be taught to learn and educated into how to live a virtuous life.

A child requires teaching to learn how to learn and how to be educated. In a recent Pastor’s Desk I discussed the important role that parents play in educating their youngest children by simply reading to them. Parents, Kids Church workers, and Christian educators need to teach children that this world was created by God and it is His will that we learn about it. Children can be introduced good stories, how to count, how to spell, how to write, how to discover, and taken on ‘field trips’ around their neighbourhood to learn about bio-diversity and ecology (the plants and insects and animals that inhabit their neighbourhood). Every child needs to be taught to how to learn and then how to be taught so that they respect their teachers (Prov. 19:20). By witnessing their mother and father reading, studying, and learning, a child comes to understand that God is inexhaustibly magnificent and that He has made a beautiful world full of diverse wonders which reflects His artistry and unlimited intelligence (Psalm 19:1; Rom. 1:19-20).

#5. Children need to be taught how to discover that the purpose of life is to live to the glory of God.

A child must be taught that their life is a gift from God meant to be lived to God’s glory – not theirs. Happiness is a poor substitute for the true purpose of life. Ignoring God’s Word as the moral compass for our lives and fooling ourselves into thinking that we are a better moral compass than the one God has provided can only lead to inevitable pain. Every child needs to understand why the claims of the Bible are true and what the evidences are for the existence of the God of the Bible. By understanding why the Bible is trustworthy and authoritative, a child can develop their own confidence in their faith in God and His Word. The result for a child will be an understanding about how to live to the glory of God and how to see their role in society – whether they are a student, an employee, a volunteer – is to be carried out for God’s glory (1Cor. 10:31). Christian parents, Kids Church workers, and Christian school teachers play a critical in a child’s life — especially in a child’s first five years. When a child is living to the glory of God they have discovered the meaning and purpose of life itself.

 

LET’S SEE INFANTS AND TODDLERS DIFFERENTLY

The early years of a child’s life are critically important. As a church family we can each play our part in ensuring that we together do our best to ensure that youngest members of our church family are given the best role models that we can be so that their parents are supported through this important season of a child’s life. For those of us who perhaps did not receive the benefit of intentional virtue training and discipleship, the good news is that the Word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit can redeem any life.

While our society seems to be doing all it can to avoid marrying early and starting a family, and even promoting so-called marriages that are biologically incapable of procreating children, if we can just encourage and train prospective parents on how to raise children to be virtuous followers of Christ, we stand a great chance that within one or two generations the majority of our society will actually know the Lord. And perhaps then, we will be one or maybe two steps closer to fulfilling the Great Commission Christ. While parents, Kids Church leaders, and Christian school teachers should be intentional about shaping young children to be fully devoted followers of Christ who have reasons for believing Christianity is true – which shapes them into virtuous contributors to society and to find their role in God’s Kingdom, we can all play a supportive role in prayer, volunteering, and encouraging. Perhaps then, this Sunday, you might see some of the young children in our church family through different eyes. Hopefully you will see future doctors, future teachers, future pastors, future politicians, future business leaders, and future prime ministers. This is why I think our Kids Church and Youth Group are pivotal and key to us establishing a church than in generations to come will win their generation to the Lord!

Your Pastor,

Andrew

Let me know what you think below in the comment section and feel free to share this someone who might benefit from this Pastor’s Desk.