This is a sample Life Journaling entry from Pastor Brad
(Note: we intend to publish journal entries from various leaders of JRCC here in the future so check back often)
Title: "Invest Wisely"
Date: Saturday, January 12, 2008
S "Yes, a person is a fool to store up early wealth but not have a rich relationship with God" (Luke 12:21)
O There's all kinds of advice and strategies these days for getting rich. Much of it seems to centre around simple decision - making wise choices; exercising discipline and starting early (i.e. - the power of compound interest, etc). It's interesting to me to explore how many parallels exist between wealth-building and investing in my relationship with God. For example, the benefits of starting early and little grow and multiply over time. Or how about the concept of making short-term sacrifices for longer term gains (i.e. - giving up one latte per day and investing that money at 10% compound interst over will result in something like $849,000 over 40 years! Similarly, what if I gave up just 10 minutes of sleep per day to invest in prayer?)? And in both cases, there is a sense of joy that comes when you see the power of being disciplined and consistent.
A The real challenge for me, however, is that if I think about the amount of time I (and others) spend worrying about and working at finances verses investing in my relationship with God, there's a profound sense of disconnect. Perhaps it's because wealth and debt management are easily quantifiable and measurable whereas a "rich relationship with God" doesn't come with a monthly statement option. But if I know the benefits, perhaps it's time to reassess my investment strategy.
P Father, just as a wise and measured financial planner makes decisions based on knowledge of long-term goals and relational proximity to their client, help me to make similar investment choices in my walk with you. Amen.
