Antidote Investing
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven Matthew 6:20
Lay Up – A few days ago we looked at some very difficult verses about the poor. After reading the comments on Proverbs 17:5 and 6, a friend of mine wrote this: “You did a good job in explaining the problem, but what is the solution? If Americans didn’t buy all the coffee from South America or jeans from Honduras, would those workers have a job?” It’s a great question, but it looks for an answer in the wrong direction. Let me tell you why.
Jesus gave us an answer that does not point us toward spending less. In Matthew, Jesus does not say, “Don’t buy.” That would be an easy, self-righteous solution for us but an impossible solution for the poor. My friend is right. If I don’t buy coffee and jeans, someone will lose that job, even if it pays almost nothing. My protest makes life worse for the poor. I feel good because I am protesting, but the result is greater economic depravity. Jesus points us in another direction. The answer is not spending less but rather spending differently.
“Lay up” is really the same root word as “treasures”. Both words come from thesauros, meaning, “anything stored up.” It’s easy to see how this word came to mean “treasure”. Did you notice that Jesus does not say, “Don’t have any treasure!” He does not tell us to become paupers. He actually commends “storing up” , but only if we do it in the right place. So, go ahead. Make investments. Build up your treasury. But make sure it is a portfolio that will last for eternity. Anything you store up on this earth is doomed for destruction. Even if you leave it behind for others, you will never take it with you. Jesus’ investment advice is this: store up in the right place.
How do I do that? How do I put treasure in the right place and, at the same time, avoid the temptation to accumulate treasure in a place that won’t last? Here’s a very practical suggestion that I learned from a very godly man. Whenever you buy something for yourself, no matter what it is, spend an equal amount on someone in need.
Go get that $5 cup of coffee. Then put $5 more in a homeless shelter fund. Take a $2000 cruise. Enjoy the vacation. And then put $2000 more into housing for the poor in Honduras. Buy those new golf clubs or that dazzling jet ski. Spend an equal amount on a hungry child. Purchase a new car. Put the same amount into a micro-credit bank for the destitute in India. You get the idea. Simple, isn’t it? This practice will control what you spend and open your eternal bank account. Then go ahead and spend lavishly, always putting the same amount in the lifetime investment trust for others in need.
Can you do that? Are you willing to discipline your use of treasure in this way? If you suddenly get a panic attack, maybe you need to re-evaluate where your bank really is?
