Sabbath Thought - Investing in God

How well are you planning for your future financially?  Financial planners say that your expenses in retirement do not go down as much as most people think they will - that a person needs almost as much income or savings to spend in retirement as they do while still working full-time.  As uncertain as the economy or future is, people are still investing.  Do you have investments?

More importantly, are we investing in God's Work?  Our spiritual relationship with God is not boiled down to an exchange of money, but consider the concept of investing in Gods' work.  The tithes and offerings that we bring to God show Him in part just how willing and committed we are to being part of His Work - "God Inc." if you will.

One meaning for the word "offering" is that of a gift or contribution.  In Deuteronomy 16:16-17 we are told to bring an offering before God three times a year.  This was done at the worship gatherings of Unleavened Bread, Pentecost and the fall Holy Days beginning with the Feast of Trumpets.  For the sake of our analogy think of these festival gatherings as shareholder meetings.  We come together to hear what the President and CEO of God Inc. has to say to us.  We are reminded of the vision and mission of the organization.  We take stock of our role in that organization and see how our contribution has done.

How are we doing?  We have survived the downsizing of our organization a couple of times now, and in many respects have been made stronger by it.  In any organization, money is necessary to do the work of that organization.  Funds are needed to be able to print magazines and various booklets.  Money is needed to support the Youth Camps, the FOT locations, ministerial and employee salaries, and so forth.  We need the funds to reach out to the world with our product - the message of the coming Kingdom of God and His plan of salvation for all of mankind.  Is God Inc. worth investing in?

Not everyone will catch the vision of being part of God Inc. now - others will but will not have the strength to weather the volatile market.  Where do we fit?  This is the lesson of the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:18-23).  We are not here to only get - or even just to give of our money.  We are here to be participatory investors.  We are to strive in our understanding of what is said when we gather on God's Sabbath and Holy Days.  We are to be productive in increasing our growth within the company to be a more valuable asset.

How would you like to be one of the first to invest in a company offering stock - a stock that later generates huge returns and value for the initial investors?  It is every investor's dream.  Thirty-four years ago a little known software manufacturer went public and offered stock in its company.  That company was Microsoft, and their initial stock offering was $21 per share.  If you had invested $1,000 in their stock back then, that stock - after splitting a number of times - would now be worth more than $1.6million.

Who wouldn't have liked to have purchased $1,000 of those original shares?  In a sense we have an opportunity to have original shares in God Inc.  Of all of the billions of people on earth, how many has He called at this time to be a part of His Work?  Being the first investors is not without its risks, but as we know it also has its rewards.  We are laying up treasure in heaven (Matthew 6:19-21) - that is investing in what is necessary to inherit eternal life!

As we consider our offering for the fall Holy Days, let us consider our investment in God Inc. - and what God has also invested in us.

I wish you a profitable and value filled Sabbath and upcoming Holy Days,

Dan Dowd

27 August, 2021