When we talk about faith-based investing with investors checking out our company, and even other advisory firms, sometimes we hear the objection that faith-based investing isn’t realistic because there are no perfect companies.
As a reminder, faith-based investing is the process of aligning your investments with your faith values. Among Christian investors sometimes it’s referred to as Biblically Responsible Investing since the faith values that are guiding our investments choices are those set forth in the Bible. Kingdom Advisors says that it’s “Investing that seeks to please and glorify God as an act of worship.”
At the risk of creating a straw man, here is the objection as it is commonly communicated:
- There are no perfect companies. All companies are led by sinful people who cannot live up to God’s standard of righteousness. (We agree, there are no perfect people or companies.)
- Because there are no perfect companies, there can be no perfectly faith-aligned portfolios. (We agree here too. There are no 100% biblically-aligned portfolios.)
- Therefore, since there are no 100% perfectly faith-aligned portfolios, Christians should not shoot for this goal and focus on the basic investing goals of maximizing risk-adjusted returns and just give the most that they can to churches or ministries. (Here we strongly disagree!)
We disagree because we’re not aiming at perfection, we’re aiming at consistency and faithfulness.
If you think about it, we don’t expect perfection in any other area of life do we?
Like many of you, I’d like to be more physically fit. I make plans to eat better, to get on an exercise routine. Do I keep my plans perfectly? No.
Sometimes, I don’t exercise because I don’t feel like it! Sometimes I eat more chocolate than I should because it tastes good and I want more!
But the fact that I can’t keep a perfect diet or fitness plan doesn’t mean I should give up. It’s good for me and I am shooting for better health which I can get with consistency and faithfulness. I’m not shooting for perfection.
The same is true of the Christian life. Even as forgiven, justified Christians, we cannot live perfect lives in the flesh, but we press on toward righteousness anyway. Paul writes to the Philippians, encouraging them to strain forward to attain their future goal. In Chapter 3, verses 10-14 Paul says,
I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
So, back to the objection that “there are no perfect companies”, no there aren’t, but as believers we should do our very best to take faithful steps forward, working to make our portfolios as God-honoring as possible.
If we can make investing more God-honoring by screening out things like abortion, pornography, and products and services that prey on addiction, why wouldn’t we try our best to do so?
If we can make investing more God-honoring by actively seeking out companies whose products, services and business practices help people and communities flourish, why wouldn’t we try our best to do so?
Perfection is the wrong goal and stops many earnest Christian investors from taking meaningful steps to make their investments more aligned with their faith.
If you’re ready to take your first step towards a portfolio that more closely aligns with your values, give us a call!
We’ve been helping Christians just like you for over 25 years to invest more faithfully.
Call us today! (540) 345-3891
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