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How Should Christians Invest Their Money? 

When it comes to our wealth and assets, God has a lot to say about what we do with our money. There are literally thousands of Bible verses about money, wealth, possessions, and finances. And in fact, God even had a lot to say about investing as well. 

One question I often receive from readers is whether or not investing is biblical. There are many examples of the Bible accepting and even encouraging investing. As ambitious young professionals, we all understand that investing is truly one of the pillars needed to experience financial independence which will allow us to one day retire from working our typical jobs (though as believers our real job is never complete). 

“Investing takes assets that would otherwise be unproductive (savings) and allocates them to parts of society that enable us to be productive”
Tim Macready, CIO at Brighlight

Investing our money enables us to do more with it. We can grow our wealth, we can increase our net worth, we can give more freely, and we can make a greater impact for the Kingdom. For the majority of us, investing is a way to prepare for retirement, therefore, what you believe and think about retirement will truly affect how you invest your money. 

What then is our purpose when it comes to investing? How should Christians invest their money? 

Here’s the big list of money topics in the Bible, and here is a list of over 100 Bible verses about money.

What is The Purpose of Investing

We have been given the opportunity and honor to serve God with our finances. 

As recipients of his grace, we can choose to respond joyfully and contribute to God’s Kingdom with the resources we have been entrusted with. With this kind of mindset, investing transforms from something transactional to something with deep meaning and purpose. 

With the increase in popularity of mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, investors have become more and more separated from the actual moving of money. This leaves investors with little to no idea of what it is they own in their portfolio let alone what each company specifically values. 

Rachel Rupert at the Christian Stewardship Network reminds us that we should “consider the Kingdom value over our own personal gain.”

Do you know what you are investing in and what impact that is having on the world and the Kingdom of God? 

It may seem trivial to think about what kind of contribution your small amount of money might be having on companies pushing billions of dollars every day. However, many of these investors are just like you and me. They are devoted followers of Jesus Christ. 

If each of us, as believers, put a little more thought into what kind of world our money is going to support & build by investing in particular companies we may change our minds slightly and funnel our money into a different direction. 

The Source of Your Money Matters to God

Many believers, myself included, blindly throw money into mutual funds, ETFs, REITs, and stocks that have a high return on investment. We think it’s okay as long as we are generous with our returns. God is quite clear about how he feels about where our money comes from. 

Check out these Bible verses about how we obtain money. 

Proverbs 10:2 Ill gotten treasures have no lasting value, but righteousness delivers from death.

Leviticus 19:13 You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him. The wages of a hired man are not to remain with you all night until morning.

Proverbs 22:16 He who oppresses the poor to make more for himself or who gives to the rich, will only come to poverty.

Proverbs 13:11 Wealth gained dishonestly will be diminished, but he who gathers by labor will increase.

How Should Christians Invest Their Money? 

Compartmentalizing our faith from the rest of the world is unfortunately very common. We tend to think of our faith as private, between God and ourselves. And when it comes to our money, we believe good stewardship is simply tithing and being generous.

Every single one of our money decisions has the opportunity to make an impact for the Kingdom! Spending or investing money is like voting. Each dollar is a vote for the kind of values you support and even a vote for the kind of future you’d like to see. 

As Stella Tai says in the Faith Based Investing course hosted by the Denver Institute for Faith and Work, “How we invest is an opportunity to show that we value what God values.”

Matthew 24 & 25 – Jesus is direct, how we treat the least of these is incredibly important. We are to think wisely about how we can use our place in society, our abilities, and our wealth to help the least of these. If this is true, then investing can not only be about our financial prosperity. Nor is it about receiving the best possible return on investments. 

The Gospel should be infused into every decision we make, especially when it comes to our investing because that is where we have a great possibility of making a long-term impact. 

Stella recommends two main tips on how Christians should invest their money, and what they should look for when picking investments. 

1. Avoid companies that extract value or negatively impact communities
2. Embrace and engage companies that are making a positive impact on their communities

In his book, Your Finances God’s Way, Scott LaPierre gives us two suggestions of ways of accumulating money in general that we should avoid: 

• Avoid Gaining Money Corruptly
  • Examples: Illegally activities, lying on tax returns, overcharging, and failing to pay workers what they are owed.
• Avoid Gaining Money Quickly
  • Examples: Gambling, get-rich-quick schemes. 

What Should The Goal Be as Christian Investors? 

Contrary to the majority opinion, the goal of investing should not be to maximize profits, especially as committed followers of Christ. 

Economist Milton Friedman suggested that businesses’ sole purpose is to maximize shareholder value. However, if this is the only focus, then it wouldn’t matter how a company made its money. Eventide’s director of marketing, Sherrie Johnson Smith says in an interview, “Under the banner “profit as a purpose,” many companies have been totally okay with preying on customers’ weaknesses, exploiting the environment for natural resources” 

In an article on The Faith Driven Investor, Tim Macready suggests that the goal of investing is creation care, human flourishing, and redemptive investing. 

While we should always focus on doing no harm, we should also actively be on the lookout for ways in which we can reconcile and heal our world just as Jesus calls us into a ministry of reconciliation.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation
2 Corinthians 5:17-18

One way to do this is to engage with and invest in companies that do good and are helping make the world a better place and that foster flourishment for their neighbors. 

Instead of success being the ultimate goal for our finances, why not make significance the primary target? 

Deciding On Where To Invest Your Money

When considering a company to invest in, learn about and be aware of how the operations affect their employees, customers, and communities. Seeking to find out how employees are compensated or how factories, distribution, and the overall supply chain are impacting local neighborhoods and even the planet are just a few ways to do this.

Here are the areas of impact that you should take into consideration when choosing an investment: 

• Customers
• Employees
• Supply Chain
• Society as a Whole
• Local Community
• Environment

Wealth management is a sacred responsibility and we must always consult our Father for the final decision on where our money should go. It should also be noted, that the answer to where your money should be invested will be different for you than it is for me or any other believer. God has called us individually to different endeavors in life. He may call you to invest in specific companies with certain agendas that he may call me not to. The body of Christ has different roles and responsibilities to fulfill. 

Learn How to Discern Where to Spend Your Money

More Christian Investing Resources

• Want help investing in faith-driven companies? Check out this list of faith-driven mutual funds. 
• ESG mutual funds 
• Bible verses about investing
• Talk with a Christian financial planner

Not ready to start investing? 

Chat with a Christian money coach about preparing the foundation of your finances first. 

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