All Bible verses in this article are English Standard Version (ESV).

As Christians, we’re called to be good stewards of all that God has entrusted to us, including our financial resources. But why is stewardship particularly important when it comes to investing? How can we ensure our investment decisions align with our faith and values? In this blog post, we’ll explore the concept of active stewardship in investing, its importance for Christian investors, and practical ways to implement a responsible investment policy.

What Is Stewardship in Finance and Why Is it Important for Christian Investors?

For devoted Christians, responsible financial stewardship means making sound and principled choices with all aspects of our finances—including our money, investments, and assets. This active stewardship holds particular importance for Christians as it directly reflects the principles of our faith. Here are key reasons why Christian investors should demonstrate biblical stewardship:

1. Alignment with Christian Values: Through ethical stewardship, Christian investors can ensure their financial decisions align with their beliefs. This involves carefully avoiding investments in companies or industries that contradict Christian morals and teachings.
2. Positive Impact: By choosing to support businesses that share their values and actively work towards positive change, Christian investors contribute to creating a better world while pursuing financial growth. This dual purpose allows us to be salt and light in the financial realm.
3. Ethical Considerations: Christian investors prioritize companies that demonstrate ethical behavior, transparency, and a commitment to social and environmental responsibility. These considerations reflect our calling to be good stewards of both financial resources and God’s creation.
4. Long-Term Perspective: Christians often prioritize sustainable investing options that consider the well-being of future generations. This approach not only encourages ethical investing but also establishes a lasting legacy of fiscal responsibility, mirroring our eternal perspective.
5. Accountability: As Christian investors, we recognize that we are accountable to both God and our faith community. This accountability motivates us to strive for honesty and trustworthiness in all our financial dealings, reflecting the integrity to which we are called.

At its heart, practicing good stewardship in finance allows Christian investors to manage God’s wealth in a manner consistent with our beliefs. Active stewardship ensures that our financial decisions align with our dedication to God and upholds our Christian values. It also empowers us to make investment choices that promote positive societal and environmental outcomes, fulfilling our role as stewards of God’s resources and agents of positive change in the world.

What Is Stewardship In Responsible Investment?

Thoughtful investors see themselves as caretakers of their portfolio companies, not merely passive owners. They purposefully interact with these firms to boost corporate responsibility and benefit society. For Christian investors, this care centers on aligning the companies in our portfolios with our faith’s core beliefs and principles.

A Christian approach to investing involves two main elements:

1. Mindful Asset Selection: Picking investments that match Christian values and moral standards.
2. Purposeful Involvement: Urging businesses to embrace and uphold ethical and lasting practices.

As believers managing money, we strive to handle the wealth God has given us wisely. Our investments should mirror our faith, potentially sparking improvements in society and pushing companies to be more answerable for their actions. This method highlights:

• Creating lasting worth
• Openness in company operations
• Responsibility to investors and the public

By following this path, we show that principled investing can effectively showcase our beliefs and morals in the financial sphere. It lets us fulfill the call to “let your light shine before others” (Matthew 5:16) in money matters, proving that earning profits and upholding ethics can go hand in hand.

At its heart, Christian stewardship in responsible investing means using our money to reflect our beliefs. It’s a chance to show we’re “trustworthy in small things” (Luke 16:10) with our investments, believing this loyalty can bring about good changes in business and society overall.

What Are the Two Primary Tools of Investor Stewardship Activities?

Christian investors who want to harmonize their financial choices with their faith can leverage two key methods: direct dialogue with companies and thoughtful voting on corporate matters.

1. Company Dialogue: Believers who invest reach out to the firms they’ve backed, nudging them towards ethical and community-minded choices that mesh with Christian principles.
2. Informed Voting: By carefully selecting which company proposals to support, Christian shareholders can nudge businesses toward actions that echo their faith-based convictions.

Through open talks with their invested companies, Christian investors can champion the adoption of social, ethical, and environmental practices that reflect biblical teachings. Similarly, by casting well-considered votes, shareholders can shape corporate paths, backing decisions that mirror their spiritual or moral compass.

These approaches offer a way for Christians to be “salt and light” (Matthew 5:13-16) in the business world, seasoning corporate conduct with godly wisdom and illuminating ethical pathways. By actively participating in these processes, believers can help steer corporations toward greater responsibility and Kingdom values.

What Is an Example of a Responsible Investment for Christians?

Christian investors have several options for aligning their financial choices with their faith. One prominent example is investing in socially responsible mutual funds or exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that screen their holdings according to Christian ideals and principles.

These faith-aligned funds typically operate on two levels:

1. Exclusion: They avoid companies involved in activities that conflict with Christian values. For instance:
   • Companies producing or distributing pornographic content
   • Businesses profiting from our neighbors addictions
   • Businesses profiting from abortion services
2. Inclusion: These funds prioritize investments in companies that demonstrate:
   • Ethical treatment of employees
   • Fair practices towards customers
   • Positive engagement with the broader community

By choosing such funds, Christian investors can potentially grow their wealth while supporting businesses that align with their values. This approach allows believers to be good stewards of their resources, making financial decisions that reflect their faith and potentially influence corporate behavior for the better.

Invest Now. Thrive Eternally.

When we invest as Christians, we aren’t merely gaining riches; we’re establishing a kingdom of purpose, where our investments are a reflection of our beliefs and values. Cornerstone Financial Advisory is here to help you reach your financial goals by investing in companies whose products and practices are serving the world in compelling ways.

As faith-based investment experts, we will show you how your material success can praise God and help you grow into a faithful steward. We can assist you in being an effective manager of the financial resources that God has given you by offering investment choices that are in line with the Bible and your personal spiritual values.

If you want to learn more about faith-based investing and how you can be a good financial steward, our Let’s Plan to Thrive program will help you deep-dive into the Bible and what God says about your finances. 

 

The mission of Cornerstone Financial Advisory is to be an engine of blessing to our clients, families, and community. Our method of accomplishing our mission is by practicing servant leadership. 

 

We will serve and create compelling value for our clients by leading and inspiring clients to reach their goals. With their permission, we will hold clients accountable on keeping their best intentions. We, in turn, translate our client’s needs, goals, and values into a strategy, helping align their actions with their values.