WEEKEND TALK: Best investment ever
Financial gurus told us that the safest financial investments were the treasury bills and bonds because the government would never get broke and so our investments would be safe.
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They were wrong!
We now know that governments certainly get broke and cannot guarantee a safe return on our financial investments. Therefore, the financial gurus were wrong.
Not to mention the reality that you wake up one day to learn that the bank or financial institution where you kept your money has ceased to operate. Where is your money? No one knows!
And if you decide to keep a large amount of money at home for safe keeping, behold, there are thieves lurking about to arm-rob you or cleverly syphon your money!
Long-term investment experts tell us that buildings and parcels of land are best investments because landed properties are safe and long-lasting.
But the endless land litigation, court cases and land guard phenomena that result in the confiscation of people’s landed properties make us disbelieve those long-term investment experts. Even lands and buildings are not foolproof investments.
What property insurers tell us is the bitter reality. They tell us that our landed properties are not as safe as we think they are. Just because buildings are constructed with block and concrete does not necessarily make them safe.
Buildings collapse and fires raze down structures, markets and farms. This confirms what the property insurers tell us indirectly, that no property is safe—hence the need for insurance. Yet, even insurance does not guarantee lasting safety.
Where to invest
There is another phenomenon that happens on a daily basis and separates properties (financial or landed) from their owners—death. Scary as it is, the truth is undeniable; that death permanently separates people from their properties. Pile up earthly wealth to the height of the Tower of Babel, but the day death occurs, you part company with your wealth.
Here is what a Bible commentator says on this subject: “The rich and poor have one similarity—when they die, they leave all they own on earth. At the moment of death (and all of us will face that moment), both the rich and the poor are naked and empty-handed before God.
“The only riches we have at that time are those we have already invested in our eternal heritage. At the time of death, each of us will wish we had invested less on earth, where we must leave it, and more in heaven, where we will retain it forever.”
Wealthy, but sorrowful
One day, a young man went to Jesus and asked him about heaven. He claimed that he had done everything the law demanded of him and hoped that Jesus would issue him with the requisite visa for a safe passage to God’s Kingdom.
“Great!” Jesus told him. “But you lack one thing: go, invest your property in poor people, then come and follow me. Your visa into the Kingdom of God will then be fully assured.” That is a paraphrase, of course.
The man was sad. The idea of investing in the poor with his resources did not please him at all. He would rather invest in treasury bills, bonds, lands and buildings—the very things that easily perish.
Gospel writer Matthew notes that, ‘When the young man heard what Jesus said, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions’ (Matthew 19:22).
The man went away sorrowfully, grieving. Why? Because earthly investments do not guarantee happiness. We are told that the most sorrowful people on earth include the very rich ones!
The Lord Jesus protects us from investment grief when he says, “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where termites eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal.”
Where to store treasures
Where should we store our treasures? “Store your treasures in heaven,” the Lord said, “where termites and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.”
The Lord then made a powerful statement about desire, which drives our investment destination. He said: “Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be” (Matthew 6:19-20).
Is it not the wisest thing to do to store our treasurer where we are going after we depart this world? While not despising earthly wealth which is useful for mankind, scripture enjoins us to think more about eternal wealth and not focus on earthly wealth that is temporary.
The Bible commentator we mentioned earlier hit the nail on the head when he said, “To have treasure in heaven, we must place our faith in God, pledge ourselves to obey him, and utilise our resources for the good of his kingdom.
“This is a good time to check up on your investments and see where you have invested the most. Then do whatever it takes to place your investments where they really count.”
The writer is a publisher, author, writer-trainer and CEO of Step Publishers.
E-mail: [email protected]