Scripture has a lot to say about debt, spending and generosity. What’s often overlooked is how much God’s Word says about investing. Today, investing professional Jason Myhre joins Rob West to dive into what the Bible tells us about investing.
<ul><li>Jason Myhre is Executive Director of the Eventide Center for Faith &amp; Investing, an educational initiative of Eventide Asset Management and an underwriter of MoneyWise.</li><li>THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTS</li><li>The parable of the talents is one of the parables of Jesus. And the story goes that a wealthy master had three servants. He goes away on a long journey and he leaves behind his wealth to be managed by his three servants in his absence.</li><li>While he was away, these servants engaged in business dealings and it even says trading to generate a return on this investment.</li><li>One servant was given one talent. Another was given two talents. And another was given five talents.</li><li>A talent was actually a measure of weight. When it was used as a measure of money, it was equal to 80 pounds worth of silver. And 80 pounds worth of silver was equivalent to 6,000 denarii. And one denarius was the wage that was commonly given for a day’s labor. So, putting all that together, one talent was equivalent to about 16 years worth of labor.</li><li>The person who received five talents for example had about 84 years worth of earnings. And so this seems very much like the practice of wealth management.</li><li>So, eventually the master comes back, and and we all know what happens. </li><li>One servant buried the money in a field, because he was afraid of losing his master’s money. And so he acted wickedly.</li><li>But two of the servants were able to grow the money that they were entrusted with, and they presented their profits to the master. This is the passage where we get the famous phrase that we all long to hear: </li><li>“Well done, good and faithful servant.” </li><li>So investing seems to be something that’s biblically sanctioned. But Jason Myhre says the interpretation many take from this parable misses the mark. </li><li>DON’T MISS THE FULL MEANING</li><li>To the parable of the talents, people often add other biblical principles, such as the principle of diversification, which we find in Ecclesiastes; things like having a long time-horizon, which we find in Proverbs, etc. </li><li>Many conclude that for Christians, investing simply means following biblical principles to generate a return on an investment. But let’s think more deeply. </li><li>Jesus himself told us that his parables are not plain. </li><li>He said that the parables contain the knowledge of the secrets about the kingdom of heaven. They’re not about the plain elements of the stories but explain the mysteries about the kingdom of God. This is why Jesus would almost always accompany parables with this saying, “He who has ears should use them!” He’s telling us repeatedly to thoughtfully consider, to contemplate the parables, to ponder, to think deeply about them.</li><li>The late pastor Eugene Peterson puts it this way: He said that Jesus was often not the type to “tell it straight.” Rather, as the title of one of Peterson’s books reads, Jesus liked to “tell it slant.” Jesus spoke more like a poet than a scribe.</li><li>Do you remember the parable of the pearl? </li><li>There was a merchant of pearls who was seeking the rarest of pearls, the pearl of great price. And having found the pearl, he sold all he had to buy it. </li><li>We don’t take the plain elements of this parable and conclude that Christians should be investing in rare pearls, right? No, the pearl is about the preciousness and pricelessness of Jesus and His kingdom.</li><li>Consider another parable of the minas in Luke’s gospel. We learn that the master is going away to be crowned king and that when he comes back he will reign. This is king Jesus who is coming again to reign.</li><li>The wealth that master entrusts to his servants is the good news about the kingdom of heaven. And we are to proclaim this good news in a world that opposes him.</li><li>When the servants take this wealth and put it work in the marketplace, this is about Jesus’ followers publicly identifying with him and witnessing to a world that hates him.</li><li>Remember Jesus said, if you confess me before men, I will confess you before the Father. But if you deny me before men, then I will deny you before the Father.</li><li>The kingdom message is to be proclaimed with the whole of our lives, publicly, conspicuously. We are not to take this message and hide it away in field, but to get out there in the marketplace of the world and proclaim him with the whole of our lives, speaking the words of the kingdom and displaying the kingdom with our radically different lives.</li><li>THE TAKEAWAY</li><li>So what should we take away from the parable of the talents for our investing?</li><li>Even though the parable is about the secrets of the kingdom of God, that’s not to say there’s nothing we can glean from this passage for our investing today.</li><li>The key insight for our investing comes from a deeper reflection on what it means to be a steward of the master.</li><li>To be a steward of the master means to be faithful to the master’s character. As Dr. Amy Sherman wrote for us at the Eventide Center for Faith &amp; Investing, “the ideal servant was one who knew his master’s mind so well that he ‘could anticipate the master’s wishes and take initiative.’ The good and faithful servant acted with the mind of the master, understanding his priorities and passions.” In other words, the good and faithful steward makes the kind of investments that the master would make.</li><li>Financial advisor friend Harry Pearson put in a recent interview: He said, “If we believe that God is the owner of all things, then that makes us the steward of his things. And if we’re the steward of his things, shouldn’t we consider aligning his assets with his principles and with companies that bless mankind, instead of cause harm.”</li><li>To make investments on God’s behalf means to make investments that maximize blessing for others, not merely return. And it means to forego investments that profit off the misery of others.</li><li>FAITH-BASED INVESTING</li><li>How can faith-based investing can help us as we seek to be faithful to the master in our investing lives today?</li><li>Jason Myhre says faith-based investing is an approach to investing that seeks to generate an attractive return to investors by investing in companies whose products and practices we believe are well-aligned with the character of the master.</li><li>Those are companies who are creating value for customers, employees, suppliers, communities, and society and whose practices demonstrate care for creation in their use of natural resources.</li><li>To learn more about faith-based investing, you can visit the <a href="https://www.faithandinvesting.com/">Eventide Center for Faith &amp; Investing</a>. It’s designed to help Christians apply their faith to their investing with articles and videos to help you understand the practice of faithful investing better.</li></ul>On this program, Rob also answers listener questions: 
<ul><li>How do you weigh your home buying options in a late stage of life? </li><li>What is the best way to invest funds from an inheritance? </li></ul>Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000 or email them to <a href="mailto:questions@moneywise.org">Questions@MoneyWise.org</a>. Also, visit our website at <a href="http://moneywise.org/">MoneyWise.org</a> where you can connect with a MoneyWise Coach, join the MoneyWise Community, and even download the free MoneyWise app. Like and Follow us on Facebook at MoneyWise Media for videos and the very latest discussion! Remember that it’s your prayerful and financial support that keeps MoneyWise on the air. Help us continue this outreach by clicking the <a href="https://moneywise.netviewshop.com/donate2">Donate tab on our website</a> or in our app.

FaithFi

Faith & Finance is a daily radio ministry hosted by Rob West. The program offers a practical, biblical and good-natured approach to managing your time, talents and resources.

Faith & Finance with Rob West

Scripture has a lot to say about debt, spending and generosity. What’s often overlooked is how much God’s Word says about investing. Rob talks about that with investing professional Jason Myhre.

The Investor’s Parable and Faithful Returns With Jason Myhre

FaithFi | Jan 31, 2022

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Where Faith Meets Finance

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