Disciples and Stocks

The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty. Proverbs 21:5

“Being a Christian is a bit like getting involved in the stock market!”  What?  Those were the opening words of the homily at Mass this morning and if I wasn’t paying complete attention before I heard those words I immediately snapped to attention!  Money and faith aren’t usually a great combination; one usually offers the other complications so I was curious to see where this line of thinking was headed.  I was also inclined to pay careful attention because I had the privilege of attending Mass in the Diocese of Saginaw this morning and Bishop Cistone was saying Mass so I wanted to pay attention and soak it all in.  I’m actually on lunch break of the Hospitality training I get to offer to the fine folks of the Saginaw Diocese today and I just had to skip lunch to write this down because it was such a cool message.  I sincerely hope the “Good Bishop” won’t mind me spitting out parts of his wonderful homily to all of you!

Here are a few of the great ideas I left the chapel with today.  When we make an investment in the stock market we aren’t guaranteed the return we expect.  We can’t predict with certainty what ride our investment will take.  All we know for certain is there will be times of highs and times of lows.  We also know that sinking money into the stock market is risky and you have to have a “stomach” for it.  If you plunk in your money expecting gain after gain after gain you will be disappointed, frustrated and maybe even a nervous wreck.  The seasoned investors know it’s about the long haul not the immediate return.  They know to keep their eyes on what’s to come and not panic at every down turn along the way.  The stock market takes faith, courage and trust that things will prosper in due time.  The most successful investors also know there are lots of adjustments along the way. They also know that if they handle themselves with patience, diligence and faith the rewards on their investment will be amazing.

Isn’t all that true of our Christian walk?  The most successful disciples aren’t afraid to make a sizeable investment; maybe even go “all in”. In our discipleship we know that the bigger the investment the bigger the return!  In our walk with Jesus there will be gains and losses, there will be highs and lows.  We need to keep our eyes on the end result…Heaven.  If things start to go sour in our lives like loss, disappointment, sufferings and struggles of all kinds and we just loose our nerve and pull out thinking God has let us down, we will miss the return on our investment.  Every time we trust and put our faith in the Father the return is far more plentiful than we can ever imagine.  Being a Christian takes some nerve and some patience and the realization that every day won’t be lovely and predictable but through all the highs and lows God is there and the return on our investment will be of immensely higher value than anything we will ever chuck into the stock market.  Thank you Bishop Cistone for a great image of discipleship. 

A Seed To Plant:  Take this analogy to prayer with you this week and see where God invites you to follow him.  By meditating on the parallels he may have some great things to reveal to you…I know he’s got things bubblin in my head and heart.

Blessings on your day!