In the last few posts we’ve covered tough questions relating to stocks and bonds. I’d like to take a break from talking about investment vehicles to respond to one of the most asked questions and most popular assumptions in regard to Biblically Responsible Investing. The ever dreaded…

“Will I have to sacrifice returns to invest in accordance with biblical principals?”

Like I mentioned, this often comes in the form of a logically laid out assumption such as, “well if I limit the stocks that I’m allowed to buy, then I’ll miss a lot of opportunities that I would have had otherwise”. Before I respond to that statement or answer the above question, I’d like to address the biggest concern that comes to mind when I hear someone in that mindset. The first question I always have to do is, “Would you still invest in accordance with biblical principals if it meant that you would absolutely have to make lower returns with your investments?” What is more important? There are plenty of immoral or even illegal investing opportunities out there that will get you much higher returns than you could make in the stock market.  The point is, what is your first priority? Is it getting the best returns, or honoring God? In Matthew 6:24 Jesus tells us “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money”. That last line, “You cannot serve both God and Money” is important for Christians to understand. No matter what we do, or how hard we try to avoid it, at some point, our priorities are going to come to a test. We are going to have to choose between the things that we have chosen to make most important to us. Investing may be one of those times. We may have to make a choice between doing business the way God instructed us to, or the potential of greater returns. So what is the right thing to do?

Matthew 6 is one of my favorite chapters in the entire bible when it comes to God and money. Jesus sums up in a couple of short paragraphs many of the key themes that we need to remember about how God cares for us. Matthew 6:31-33 says, “So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ for the pagans run after all these things, and you’re heavenly Father know that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well”. We need to remember that God is going to take care of us and that worrying about losing returns is secondary to seeking his kingdom and righteousness. Remember, God knew how much money you would have to invest, and which way the market would move on any given day, when he gave us his rules of money. He didn’t add in any exceptions for investing in immorality even though he knows the outcome of every stock and bond in every market in the world. So if God isn’t worried if you make lower returns with the money that he gave you, should you be? If you heart is so attached to the money that you’re investing that you’re being tempted to violate Gods rules, then maybe the stock market isn’t where you should have it invested.

Now that we’ve talked about the concerns that come to mind I’d like to answer the question. The answer is no, you do not have to sacrifice returns to invest in accordance with the bible. In fact, according to US News.com, The Timothy Plan, an evangelical Christian mutual fund company, is well out performing the S&P 500 with a five year annualized return topping 16 percent. They screen all of their holdings for alcohol, tobacco, gambling, abortion, pornography, and “anti-family entertainment”. In my experience, screening the immoral companies from your portfolio only eliminates 30 to 50 percent of publically traded companies. There are still thousands of financially sound investments available. Of course there is no telling how long any fund will continue to make profits. Look at the bottom of any brochure or advertisement that has a graph of a stock or funds performance and you’ll always see the same disclaimer, “Past performance is not indicative of future results”.

So the good news is, no, you don’t have to sacrifice returns to invest in accordance with your faith but the more important thing to remember is that it wouldn’t matter if you did. God gave us extensive rules on how he wants’ money handled here on earth along with the order that we are to “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness”, (Matt 6:33). Like everything in the Bible, when interpreted correctly, these orders will not contradict each other.