Saving, Investing, Giving

Sup! Well, my second money post in a row. Having money is a new thing for me, and it's been kind of exciting recently figuring out how I should be stewarding it... especially since in Economics I learned all these different theories about finance and the markets, and in church I learned all these different principles, I finally have a real chance to apply what I've been taught. I remember the first time I paid my credit card bill this summer; I thought, gee whiz, I'm an adult! Haha, paying off debt, my coming of age moment =p

Anyway, here are some of my thoughts on saving, investing, and giving. Being new to this whole money thing, I'm definitely not saying this in a prescriptive way; rather, these are my thoughts on these issues, and the principles that I believe should guide me in money matters.

The Case for Saving
Proverbs 6

6 Go to the ant, you sluggard;
consider its ways and be wise!
7 It has no commander,
no overseer or ruler,
8 yet it stores its provisions in summer
and gathers its food at harvest.

We're taught to imitate the ant, to work hard and to save in times of abundance for more difficult times. I once read someone who said that saving was a sign that you're putting your trust in money rather than God. I definitely agree that there is a real danger that we will begin to trust what we have saved up for ourselves rather than trusting in God, but misfortune happens even to those who earnestly trust in God. And when that misfortune happens, who will pay for the medical bills and repair fees? Stories come to mind of God miraculously providing for individuals in these kinds of situations, but in most cases it just seems irresponsible to ask others to cover every unexpected bill. Though the amount that we save is up for debate and probably dependent on the circumstances (Joseph recommended a high degree of savings when he knew the seven years of famine was forthcoming), preparing for nearly inevitable future needs seems ant-like and Biblical.

The Case for Investing
In Matthew 25, Jesus tells the parable of the talents. A man entrusts his servants with his money and goes off on his journey. The first two servants double the amount given to them, and the man is very pleased with them and blesses them. The third servant does nothing with the money, claiming in his defense that he was afraid of his master and didn't want to lose the money. The man points out that if it was really the case that he was that afraid of losing the money, he still should have put it on deposit with the bankers so that he would receive it back with interest. The fact that he didn't shows that even if it was true that the servant was extremely loss-averse and had poor investing abilities, the primary cause of his not doing anything with the money was that he is wicked and lazy.

The standard application for this passage is to say "Christians should be good stewards of their talents," talents now referring to both resources and abilities. The way the parable works is to tell a story, and to say that the same judgment we make in earthly affairs is also true in heavenly affairs. How it plays out in this parable is to say "just like the first two servants were good stewards of their master's money and earned their master's approval, so we should be good stewards of God's resources and earn God's approval." And how were the first two servants good stewards of their master's money? They invested it well, doubling what God gave them. Likewise, we ought to invest well everything God gives us; everything meaning more than just money, but it certainly does include money.

The Case for Giving
In Luke 16, Jesus tells the story of a manager who's about to be fired by his boss. The manager knows that everything he's in charge of will soon be useless to him anyway, so he goes to each of his master's debtors and reduces the amount owed. He does this so that when he loses his job, he will have friends who will welcome him into their homes. The boss commends the dishonest manager because he acted shrewdly.

Though the manager's behavior is dishonest, he's shrewd because he recognizes that his resources have a very short expiration date on them, and uses these very temporary things for a more lasting investment that will serve him in the long run. Jesus says that we should be shrewd, too; just like the manager was shrewd in using temporary things to invest in his future, so we should be shrewd in using temporary things (every worldly resource) to invest in eternity.

Purchasing shares in a 5-star mutual fund may be a sound investment decision because even though I'm not able to use that money for immediate benefit, that money will grow over the long haul and provide for me in the future. But, mutual funds fail, and future provisions for myself are of limited value. Relatively, what is the value of donating to an organization like Compassion International? If I donate to Compassion, I care for the physical and spiritual well-being of impoverished children, and Jesus said "whatever you did for the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me" (Matthew 25:40). Giving money, whether to a friend in need or an impoverished child, is a sound investment decision.

Conclusion
The difficult part is knowing how much to save, invest, give, and spend. I originally had a fourth section entitled "The Case for Spending," but I'm still trying to figure out some guiding principles as to how much is appropriate for spending. When is it ever justified to spend for myself? For example, seems like it'd be okay to buy ice cream for myself once a month, but why? I remember one scene from Schindler's list when Schindler is looking at a long line of Jews that he was not able to save. He takes a gold pin off his jacket, and, sobbing, says for this price of this worthless pin he could have saved at least another life. So, I'm still trying to figure that out.

The last thing I keep in mind before making a financial decision is to ask myself, if I die tomorrow, would I be okay with how much money I've saved, or how much money I've spent? Will I be okay with where it was spent? Or will I regret not giving more? I detect in myself a desire to hoard, to be protective of the little treasures I have on Earth, and to justify it by saying that I'm hoarding out of prudence, so this is definitely something to keep asking.

In summary, with money, as with all things, I'll try to keep a clear conscience before God. After all, he "will give to everyone according to what he has done" (Revelations 22:12).