In-Vestments

In one way or another I have been in the investment field for 38 years. I remember well the October 1987 crash, the recession in the early nineties, the 2002 dot.com crash, and the wonderful 2008-9 melt down. Yet there were many years on the upside. Exuberant years – the market is “different” this time years with excess returns. Stocks, over the long-term, return about 10%, so when we string two or more years of 20% returns, old timers like me know there is something called reversion to the mean. In other words, a correction back the long-term average. Investment prophets have been calling from the wilderness, for some time now, about such a time as a market reckoning. It is hard to discern which are true prophets and which ones are false. Are they telling me to sell so they can buy cheap, or are they saying lock in your gains because a drought is coming? Most of these prophets wear suits, nice ties, quality shoes, and have an Ivy League diploma hanging on their office wall. Some are from the streets, Wall Street to be exact, earning their reputation and place in the pundit pulpit by creating great wealth.

I share these thoughts because the current “pension” system is worker managed. The 401k and 403b plans self-managed. To assist us, plan administrators offer “retirement target date” portfolios to help the novice stay invested for the long-term. The fact is, as markets rise and fall like the tide, and the voices from the investment prophets cry from podcasts and Bloomberg, our sense of security evaporates.

There is, I think, an investment – theology connection. It takes a certain amount of faith in our retirement plans, and in social security to quit working and let our money work for us. Imagine receiving a check with no work hours clocked in. Those we listen to for investment advice are like ministers of money. They speak a different language. We trust them. We trust that they have a vested interest in us as people. We trust and have faith that their guidance will provide the peace of mind during those market corrections. It is a relationship where they are “invested” in us, and we in them. The trusted advisor is like a spiritual advisor, a minister who listens to our deepest concerns and hopes. Money, you see, is an intimate and personal force. We use it to express love and gratitude, control and power, humility, and self-centeredness.

The intersection with our Christian faith and money comes from biblical prophets and from Jesus. The warning not to follow false prophet’s echoes throughout scripture. Following a false money prophet can lead to poor investment returns, or, like the people who followed the prophet Bernie Maddof and lost their nest eggs. It could be worse, following another kind of false prophet could separate us not from our money, but from God.

Those in-vestments, those who are called to be vested – robed, are entrusted with the mysteries of Christ. They guide us, teaching us the ways of Jesus. We trust them with our souls and the souls of our family. They are there is times of trouble; when grief and pain overwhelm us. And when we need Christ most, they give us Jesus in the bread and the cup.

As a church we are invested in those who are in-vestments; those robed in Christ, robed in love, robed in mercy, robed in hope, and robed in faith. Some members say that our offerings are an investment in the church. They are also an investment in those in-vestments.