Distance and ignorance are like nerve numbing opioids; they mask the reality of hurt and pain and deliver a sickening and addictive sense of euphoria. The farther removed we are from the experiences of injustice and immorality, the more ignorant we keep ourselves of hard truth, the easier we sleep at night and the less trouble our conscience gives us.
If we refuse to confront ourselves with the millions of babies whose lives have been ended by abortion, refuse to hear the heart wrenching stories of young men and women whose souls and bodies have been shattered by gender reassignment surgeries, the less pain and responsibility we personally feel to end such evil. And we can easily ignore the stark reality that we, the people of God – the people of God! – are actually making money from abortions and other atrocities through our investment accounts. But ignorance is not really bliss.
There are some things that we would rather not know about, rather not think about, because they trouble our conscience. There is a story told of a church in Nazi Germany which was situated near the railroad tracks being used to herd Jews like cattle to their slaughter in concentration camps. One Sunday morning, a train pulling box cars full of Jewish men, women and children broke down outside the church, and the wails and cries for help of hundreds of desperate souls were loudly audible to the church goers at their worship. Troubled, the pastor chose the coward’s way out and called the congregation to sing their hymns a little louder, so the weeping and wailing would be drowned out by the heavenly sound of God’s people singing songs of mercy and salvation to their own shame.
But what else could they have done, one might say? They certainly were not prepared to storm the train, overthrow the German soldiers, and free the captives. And what good would that have done even if they succeeded? The Nazi army would have recaptured the prisoners, then rounded up the congregation and put them all to death. Maybe passivity was the godliest option, to preserve the lives of their families and friends?
A hard decision, to be sure. But would there not be any other option between immediate armed rebellion and deaf passivity? Could the congregation not at least have walked out to the train and prayed over the passengers? Could they not have looked through the boards of the boxcars and shared the Gospel with those entrapped, pleading with them to believe upon the Lord Jesus for eternal salvation, offering them peace and rest in Christ that surpasses their earthly suffering? And while they were at it, could they not have pleaded with the soldiers themselves to repent of their sin and trust in Christ? Who is to say what miracle the Lord may have worked with a display of such faith?
We may eschew consideration of such actions as we despair that our efforts would make no difference, and in this way, we tell ourselves that we really have no other option than to ignore the harsh reality and wash our hands to rid us of the burden. But we wash our hands in filth, and they do not become clean. “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD or God,” (Psalm 20:7). Oh, that the words of the psalmist would be true for us today! That we would trust not in our own efforts but in the might of our God!
The revenues of cruelty, injustice, moral filth, and all manner of ungodliness ooze from the investment portfolios of too many Christians today. Abortion blood-money, pornographic profits, Satanic trans-activism striking at the image of God in male and female, destroying the souls and bodies of vulnerable children; all these atrocities are real, and so is our responsibility to put them to death. But how are we to do this? What difference can we actually make?
If we trust in our horses and chariots, we should not expect much. But if we trust in the name of the LORD our God, we should expect everything is possible for we who believe. And we are seeing the Lord move! By His grace, major corporations like Costco, Chevron, Service Now and many others have responded to the voice of Christian investors and backed away from giving money to Planned Parenthood, LGBT activist organizations and other harmful activities. And more can be done as more of us act in faith and join the biblically responsible investing movement.
It is easy to feel distant and to remain ignorant of the problems we are participating in through our investment portfolios. It is tempting to ignore what lies beneath the ticker symbols on our brokerage statements. But we cannot take the shot that numbs us to the real pain and suffering on the other end of our investment activities. We must courageously look through the slats in the boxcars, into the eyes of the oppressed and do something about their misery. We must look through the lines on our investment statements and into the eyes of the unborn, the eyes of the vulnerable teenagers, the souls of the lost and hurting and take responsibility for our part in their pain, and then do our part to end it.
Are your investments singing hymns just a little louder, or are you preaching biblical truth to corporate power? Is your portfolio cowed under the thumb of Babylon the Great, or standing boldly under the Lordship of Christ?
Let us rise to the occasion, Church! Let us invest for the glory of God and trust His mighty hand to move mountains. Will you join us?
Robert Netzly is the CEO of Inspire Investing and frequent contributor on FOX, Bloomberg, New York Times and other major media. Read more from Robert in his #1 bestselling book Biblically Responsible Investing, available at Amazon.com and other major retailers.
Distance and ignorance are like nerve numbing opioids; they mask the reality of hurt and pain and deliver a sickening and addictive sense of euphoria. The farther removed we are from the experiences of injustice and immorality, the more ignorant we keep ourselves of hard truth, the easier we sleep at night and the less trouble our conscience gives us.
If we refuse to confront ourselves with the millions of babies whose lives have been ended by abortion, refuse to hear the heart wrenching stories of young men and women whose souls and bodies have been shattered by gender reassignment surgeries, the less pain and responsibility we personally feel to end such evil. And we can easily ignore the stark reality that we, the people of God – the people of God! – are actually making money from abortions and other atrocities through our investment accounts. But ignorance is not really bliss.
There are some things that we would rather not know about, rather not think about, because they trouble our conscience. There is a story told of a church in Nazi Germany which was situated near the railroad tracks being used to herd Jews like cattle to their slaughter in concentration camps. One Sunday morning, a train pulling box cars full of Jewish men, women and children broke down outside the church, and the wails and cries for help of hundreds of desperate souls were loudly audible to the church goers at their worship. Troubled, the pastor chose the coward’s way out and called the congregation to sing their hymns a little louder, so the weeping and wailing would be drowned out by the heavenly sound of God’s people singing songs of mercy and salvation to their own shame.
But what else could they have done, one might say? They certainly were not prepared to storm the train, overthrow the German soldiers, and free the captives. And what good would that have done even if they succeeded? The Nazi army would have recaptured the prisoners, then rounded up the congregation and put them all to death. Maybe passivity was the godliest option, to preserve the lives of their families and friends?
A hard decision, to be sure. But would there not be any other option between immediate armed rebellion and deaf passivity? Could the congregation not at least have walked out to the train and prayed over the passengers? Could they not have looked through the boards of the boxcars and shared the Gospel with those entrapped, pleading with them to believe upon the Lord Jesus for eternal salvation, offering them peace and rest in Christ that surpasses their earthly suffering? And while they were at it, could they not have pleaded with the soldiers themselves to repent of their sin and trust in Christ? Who is to say what miracle the Lord may have worked with a display of such faith?
We may eschew consideration of such actions as we despair that our efforts would make no difference, and in this way, we tell ourselves that we really have no other option than to ignore the harsh reality and wash our hands to rid us of the burden. But we wash our hands in filth, and they do not become clean. “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD or God,” (Psalm 20:7). Oh, that the words of the psalmist would be true for us today! That we would trust not in our own efforts but in the might of our God!
The revenues of cruelty, injustice, moral filth, and all manner of ungodliness ooze from the investment portfolios of too many Christians today. Abortion blood-money, pornographic profits, Satanic trans-activism striking at the image of God in male and female, destroying the souls and bodies of vulnerable children; all these atrocities are real, and so is our responsibility to put them to death. But how are we to do this? What difference can we actually make?
If we trust in our horses and chariots, we should not expect much. But if we trust in the name of the LORD our God, we should expect everything is possible for we who believe. And we are seeing the Lord move! By His grace, major corporations like Costco, Chevron, Service Now and many others have responded to the voice of Christian investors and backed away from giving money to Planned Parenthood, LGBT activist organizations and other harmful activities. And more can be done as more of us act in faith and join the biblically responsible investing movement.
It is easy to feel distant and to remain ignorant of the problems we are participating in through our investment portfolios. It is tempting to ignore what lies beneath the ticker symbols on our brokerage statements. But we cannot take the shot that numbs us to the real pain and suffering on the other end of our investment activities. We must courageously look through the slats in the boxcars, into the eyes of the oppressed and do something about their misery. We must look through the lines on our investment statements and into the eyes of the unborn, the eyes of the vulnerable teenagers, the souls of the lost and hurting and take responsibility for our part in their pain, and then do our part to end it.
Are your investments singing hymns just a little louder, or are you preaching biblical truth to corporate power? Is your portfolio cowed under the thumb of Babylon the Great, or standing boldly under the Lordship of Christ?
Let us rise to the occasion, Church! Let us invest for the glory of God and trust His mighty hand to move mountains. Will you join us?
