Last evening someone talked to me about saving for their children’s college education. They were systematically putting away a small amount of money each week for the last seven years. They said they were putting it into a savings account that was FDIC insured and paying less than 1% interest. They explained that they wanted to avoid any risk because they wanted to be good stewards.
There were a lot of good things about that conversation. They understood that they were stewards and not owners (1 Corinthians 4:1-2). They understood that “He who gathers money little by little makes it grow” (Proverbs 13:11b NIV). But there was one thing that they were missing: God is not opposed to us taking risks.
All through the Old Testament, God encouraged taking risks. God told Abraham and Joshua to take risks. How about the risk that Jachobed took when she put Moses in the Nile at the place that Pharaoh’s daughter came to bathe each day? Remember the risk that Daniel’s three friends took by not bowing down to King Nebuchadnezzar. Queen Esther and Gideon certainly took risks.
Ecclesiastes 11:1-6 encourages risk taking in our business and with investments. In the New Testament, in the parable of the stewards, the Master chastised the steward who buried his talent. While the ones that invested them and took risks were commended for their efforts (Matthew 25:14-29)
Our Christian walk involves faith and part of faith is taking risks. Hebrews 11:1 describes faith as “the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen”. Paul places an emphasis on the need to trust God, rather than relying on our physical senses and things that are certain. 2 Corinthians 5:7
Trusting God instead of what is certain and sure is what faith is all about. There is an element of risk in this.
So does this mean that with our money we should look for the most risky investment to get the highest return possible? Absolutely not. God’s Word is full of guidelines against this. We need to maintain a balance when we take on risk. Proverbs 27:23,24 tell us to know what we are getting into before we take risks. Luke 14:28-30 tells us to accurately identify the cost before investing. Proverbs 28:20,22 tell us to avoid a “get rich quick” attitude.
We need to check our motives before taking on risk. There are many cautions from God’s Word before we do take risks.
But 2 Corinthians 5:7 says that we “walk by faith and not by sight”. Risk is part of our lives and part of our faith. The Bible teaches that faith in God based on a relationship of trust can make uncertainty acceptable, especially where risk is involved.
James 4:13-16 cautions us about taking a risk without God’s involvement. Prayfully consider any investment and make sure it is part of God’s plan and your motives are honoring to Him. But remember our trust is in God and He is greater than any risk we may encounter. Don’t be afraid of risk.
2 comments:
Ok, so I read this... I am getting closer to being on the same page as you, but I still dont know if I would use the word "risk". Are we suppose to be faithful to God, and trust Him...yes!...I am just not so sure about that word risk. Question though.... God says that if we give, He will bless us. So should we "risk" all our savings and give it to the Lord.... How big should our risk be? I understand we need to be wise with our "risks", but isnt giving all our savings to God being wise? (sorry if my grammar is incorrect here... I get that from my dad)
Dear Kate, thanks for your comment. You bring up an interesting question. How much risk should be take? Or as you put it should we give everything to God's work and sit back and simply trust Him?
The Bible is pretty clear that we need to be responsible for not only ourselves, but those around us (1 Timothy 5:8; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Galatians 6:5). If we give everything away, we would not be able to meet those responsibilities and therefore would not be good stewards.
God's principles on money never include taking things to extremes. He wants us to save (Proverbs 21:20) but not hoard (Ecclesiastes 5:13). He wants us to plan (Proverbs 16) but never forget to trust Him (Proverbs 3:5,6).
I believe that giving is the same way. We need to give sacrificially at times, but never at the expense of the other responsibilities God has given us.
(Don't worry about the grammar, I have the same problem.)
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