By Jerry Harris
What would you describe as your best investment? For a Jesus follower, that’s a pretty easy question to answer. For me, it was the day I came into an intimate personal relationship with Jesus Christ. After that, it might be your wedding day or the day your children were born. All of them carried a high and ongoing cost, but the return on those investments far outweighed the amount that was deposited. I’m sure you’ve invested in many things, and in many ways. We all have time to invest, talents or abilities to invest, and other resources to invest, and we make those investments for many reasons.
I’m glad I listened to my father when I was young. He told me to invest in my future by putting some of my income away and acting like I never had it in the first place . It wasn’t much. On a young minister’s salary, our family didn’t have money to spare. So, after my tithe, it was a constant temptation to refrain from setting that savings amount aside. Now, as I look back, I’m thankful that I took that advice seriously and kept putting money away, little by little, and gradually added to it as I could afford it. Proverbs 13:11 reminds us to gather our resources this way: “Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it” (English Standard Version).
Scripture teaches us to save for the future, especially in Proverbs. Proverbs 6:6-11 says: “Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest—and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man” (New International Version).
Proverbs 21:5 encourages us to make a good plan and stick with it: “The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.”
And Proverbs 21:20 declares the wisdom in the discipline of saving: “The wise store up choice food and olive oil, but fools gulp theirs down.”
That doesn’t mean we neglect giving our best and our first to God, because that is the ultimate investment in our future! Jesus taught us to store up treasure in heaven and we do that by following God’s prescription of tithing and generosity over the tithe. In doing so, we’re conducting ourselves as rich toward God.
But where do we put resources we save for the future? I’m sure many of us have our resources invested in places we believe will earn us the most interest so that our savings will increase. We might speculate on stocks or bonds, but they can be volatile. We might keep a savings account at a bank or invest in a certificate of deposit, but they might provide little in their rate of return. We might have a retirement plan with our employer to invest in a mutual fund or 401K, but we often have little idea what our resources are being invested in or what we might be promoting or participating in.
That’s why I’m happy to be investing my savings in The Solomon Foundation where I’m saving for the future, earning a great rate of interest, and helping churches around the country break through to the next level and reach more people for Christ.
I used to think saving and investing were different than contributing to the growth of the kingdom; that you couldn’t do both at the same time, with the same money. But when The Solomon Foundation receives your investment and starts paying you interest on that investment, they take resources you’ve entrusted to them and partner with churches to build their influence and grow the kingdom where they’re planted. When those churches have the opportunity to get through their obstacles to growth, more people attend and hear the message that Jesus loves them and has a plan for their lives. Literally tens of thousands of people have been baptized into Christ in churches that have partnered with The Solomon Foundation.
What a blessing it is not only to give to my local church in tithes and offerings, but also to allow the investments I’m making in my own future work toward building the kingdom while I’m earning a great return on my investment!
I’ve always believed that God would do more in my life with 90 percent than I could ever do with 100 percent. That’s not only been proven true in my life, but in the life of everyone I’ve ever spoken to who has turned Lordship over to God with the tithe. I also believe that God is able to do more than I could ever imagine with my investment dollars when they’re put to work for his glory. I don’t have to wonder if my stocks or mutual-fund dollars are being used to promote things that are outside of my faith, because not a single penny of the money managed by The Solomon Foundation goes into the stock market. And I don’t need to worry about the security of the money I invest in The Solomon Foundation, because in the history of church extension funds, there has never been a single failure, which is something banks cannot say.
Investing with The Solomon Foundation is easy. With as little as $250, you can start investing. Go to TheSolomonFoundation.org and learn about all they have to offer. Scroll down the front page and read about the kingdom impact they have had. Scroll down further to view some great video stories from specific churches, and then scroll back up and look at their rates of return on your investments. Scroll down again and read The Solomon Foundation’s core values and ask yourself what other investment organization has values like that. All in all, I think you’ll be blessed in finding a ministry partner in The Solomon Foundation.
Jerry Harris is publisher of Christian Standard.
0 Comments