articles
Category: Spiritual Life
Invest Early for Big Dividends by Mary Loudermilk
I am not a financial genius. Far from it. When I read the newspaper with its talk of bears and bulls, it’s like a foreign language to me. I am smart enough to realize that they don’t mean animals that roam the forest or a cow-like creature with horns. I’ve never known if Dow Jones was a real man, but I am fairly certain the “opening bell” does not mean school has started for the day. I would not be a good person to question about how to invest in the stock market.
Some things I have learned about this investing business. Someone once explained that the earlier one invests, the longer the money has to grow. By retirement age that person has accumulated a lot more than the one who started investing later in life, even if the latecomer put aside more. There are charts that illustrate this with dollar amounts, years invested, and rates of return. It looks good on paper but doesn’t translate out in my life. At age twenty I had other things on my mind, and I missed that early window of opportunity. Now at middle age I’m playing catch-up.
It is easy to understand that some investments pay bigger dividends than others and simple savings accounts are not the way to become a millionaire. To succeed one must hang in there through downward trends and reversals. Don’t panic. It’s all long-term, they say.
While I’m certain my next job will never be that of a financial advisor, I do know about the most valuable commodity that exists. Its value is greater than gold bullion or a handful of flawless diamonds. To invest requires no stockbroker for the transaction and anyone can earn great dividends. This thing of incomparable worth is the soul—mine, yours, the sinner’s.
According to the Bible a soul is more valuable than the entire world: “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26). The implied answer is, “Nothing.” Nothing compares to the value of one’s soul.
Psalm 49:6-8 says: “They
that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of
their riches; none of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor
give to God a ransom for him: (For the redemption of their soul is
precious, and it ceaseth for ever.)” Mere money cannot buy a soul;
the price is far greater than any of us could ever afford. But the
price has already been paid at
It is God’s will that every person on earth be saved: “Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (I Timothy 2:4). He “is not willing that any should perish” (II Peter 3:9).
A parable of Jesus told of a
rich man with some good investments. There was no stock market or
Dow Jones in those days, but his ground “brought forth plentifully”
(Luke
To his dismay, the bottom dropped out of the market, and he lost it all. “Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou has provided?”
The Lord warns of the folly of the rich man’s thinking: “So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God” (verse 21).
Like those tables that show
the earlier we invest, the greater our end balance, the wise person
begins early to invest his life for the
In time of financial uncertainty people become frightened. They see a lifetime of work and savings disappearing before their eyes. The comfortable life they thought assured can quickly slip away. In contrast, good spiritual investments bring only security, peace, and contentment. We are in for the long-term, and there are no fears about our “retirement.”
“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth . . . but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:19-21).
This is one investment you should be sure to make—the sooner, the better.
Featured Articles
