Thinking Biblically: Long-Term Investments

Here’s this question I always hear from you folks about this an investment for the long term. But I also always hear you mention the end time. Shouldn’t we be investing in short term, make money now only because God only knows the time of when the end times come.

Thanks and good job. Thank you for that question, Marvin. Good one.

We’ll tackle it piece by piece. We speak about this sometimes on the show, but it’s a good reminder. Let me open by quoting my friend and mentor who’s now in glory, Dan Celia, the founder of our ministry.

He always used to say something like this, we need to live as if Jesus Christ will return today, but we need to plan as if he won’t come back for another hundred years. We need to live as if he’s going to come back today. We need to plan as if he’s not going to come back for another century or longer.\

Marvin, the reason why we encourage people to invest in the long term while understanding that we are in those general end times, as you said, is simply this. None of us knows the day or the hour that the Lord will return. None of us knows.

That’s part of the hidden will of God. He’s chosen not to reveal that to us. If any of us thinks we can predict it, I will go on a limb and say that person is a fool because the scripture clearly says no one knows.

And I would actually argue that if people claim to know, if they say, oh, I know exactly when Jesus is going to come, that’s actually revealing of the sin behind all sin in that person’s heart, which is the desire to be God. Because only God knows the day or the hour. Now, the Lord Jesus could return this afternoon or he could return 5000 years from now.

You understand? Both of those are possibilities. We simply don’t know. God does since none of us knows the day or the hour.

Marvin, we need to plan financially as if Jesus will not come back in our lifetime. That’s being a good steward. That’s being wise.

We need to take care of our families. We need to take care of our churches in the event that the Lord will not return in our lifetime. Planning for the provision of those who come after you is an excellent thing to do.

Now we might not need it. Say you plan as if Jesus won’t come back for a while. You plan to have money for your heirs, for your children, grandchildren, kingdom beneficiaries, all that sort of thing.

And let’s say Jesus does come back this afternoon or tomorrow or next week. Well, it’s not going to matter. Your money’s not going to matter at that point.

You did a good job stewarding for it, and the plan ended up differently. Oh, well, you know, it doesn’t. It’s not.

It’s not going to matter. Nonetheless, it’s absolutely a provision worth taking. Even if Jesus comes back this afternoon, you should still plan as if he’s not going to, because it’s being a good steward.

It’s being wise from a financial perspective. Marvin, here’s the key. We need to live as if our money is going too long, long outlive us.

We need to provide for our heirs. We need to provide for the body of Christ. We need to leave a lasting legacy of faith.

That’s a wise thing to do. And so we shouldn’t be invested in the short term in that way because there is a chance that Jesus will not come back in our lifetime. Now, I will tell you, from a spiritual perspective, we have to have a very different perspective.

From a spiritual sense, we have to have these two simultaneous perspectives going on. Financially, we’re planning for the long term. Spiritually, we have to plan as if the Lord will come back today.

Spiritually, we’ve got to be ready for that return. The scripture says he’ll come like a thief in the night. No one knows.

Could come when we least expect it. Don’t you see? We need to live spiritually as if every day on this earth is our last day, either because this is the day we will die or this is the day the Lord will return. So that means we got to have a fire in our gut to spread the gospel and to make disciples and to kill indwelling sin and to teach our children and grandchildren to love and serve God and urgently live for the glory of God.

And I’ll include in that as well. To use the money we have right now to spread the gospel. The money that you have right now, not.

Not worrying about what you might have in the future, but what you’ve been given right now. Use that money to spread the good news and to fund the light. So, Marvin, it’s a great question.

You got to have those dual perspectives at play. Financially, plan for the long term. Spiritually, plan for the short term.

Meaning financially, you need to save, invest, be ready to give all that stuff as if the Lord will not return, as if you will live for a long time, as if your family will live for a long time, and they will need that money someday. But spiritually, every day, we have to treat it as if it’s our last day. Because it just might be.

And there are people around us who are on their way to hell unless they hear the gospel. So there’s urgency there. There’s fire there.

And I’ll just remind you once again, Marvin, you know, if this mindset ends up, you know, let’s just say, for example, that you follow a good long term strategy and you invest for the long term and you’re putting money away. And somewhere in the middle of that, the Lord Jesus decides, you know what? I’m going to return. And you’re thinking, man, I saved all this money.

I was going to have a great retirement. I was going to have money saved up for my kids. No, no, no.

It’s not going to matter at that point. You will be with the Lord in glory, with your eternal treasure. The treasure that you saved up in this life will be dust.

You’re not going to care. It’s much better to do that to plan anyway. And if the Lord returns, to not need that money that you plan to save up, it would be much better to do that than to assume that he’s going to return today or tomorrow and therefore not plan for it and not have anything saved and not, you know, provide for the future needs of your children.

And then the Lord doesn’t return. And now you’re stuck with no plan and your children aren’t provided for and your grandchildren aren’t provided for because you mistakenly assumed when the Lord would return. Does that make sense? I hope it does.

So you invest for the long term, financially. You live spiritually for the short term, knowing that at that moment when the Lord returns or when you are called home, when you leave this earth, all that’s going to matter is you’re standing before God. Nothing else will matter.

Your money’s not going to be worth a hill of beans, as Dan always used to say. And truthfully, folks, that’s what matters all the time. Ultimately, even more than our money, what matters most is our standing before God.

And so that’s why our strategy, which is financial in essence, is based upon what is spiritual. We have a seen strategy where you have money in your hand, you have money on your brokerage account, but it is governed by a spiritual thing. And that spiritual thing is the gospel faith in Jesus Christ, the authority and inerrancy of the word of God.

So you can use that money to invest for the glory of God. That’s biblically responsible investing, Marvin, I hope that makes sense. It’s a good, good question, my friend.