Everything

Everything matters. Yes, everything. How you dress matters. How you treat your wife, children, relatives, friends, co-workers, customers, and even strangers matters. The kind of music you listen to and the things you watch on TV or at the movies matters. Even the simplest, smallest details of our lives matter.

Why do these things matter? Because the way we handle them, the way we behave, reflects on our willingness to accept God’s presence in our lives.

You’ve heard the old adage, “dress for success”. While true, it only touches the surface. How we dress reflects the degree of respect we have for ourselves and for others. Someone who habitually dresses sloppily indicates a lack of respect for themselves. Going to church in cut-offs and a tank top communicates a lack of respect for fellow parishioners, the priest, and ultimately, God Himself. Immodest dress puts temptation in the way of others.

If you fail to treat the people who surround you on this earth with dignity, respect, and kindness, then you are failing to “love one another” as Jesus Christ instructed us. That rule is so important that He said that it is secondary only to loving God. He did not limit it to only those closest to us, either, by the way. In fact, he explicitly said that we are commanded to love those with whom we are enemies.

Filling one’s mind with the seemingly endless stream of vice and corruption that pours forth from the music industry and Hollywood alienates us from God. God does not approve of misogyny, pornography, or the gratuitous violence that saturates our modern culture. From a societal viewpoint, these things corrupt and denigrate the very things that are meant to bind us together.

Why does everything matter? From the Bible, in Leviticus 48 we read: “Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect.” As you have surely heard, we are all called to be saints. What is the easiest, surest way to be a saint? To be perfect. Certainly, none of us will be perfect, but we are all called to try. This call extends to all facets of our lives, not just those elements we happen to select because we perceive them as important, or easy, or convenient. We need to examine everything that we do, every action we take or fail to take, every opinion we hold, to make sure that we are in alignment with Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit. Jesus told us, “He that is not with me, is against me…” (Matthew 12:23).

What does all this have to with investing? Investing involves taking action and so falls under the admonition directly above. When we invest, we need to achieve two things: 1) an adequate return so that we qualify as good stewards of the bounty that God has bestowed upon us; and 2) align our investments with the will of God.

We can all understand the first item. The focus of most investors is on making money. That’s fine, up to a point. First Timothy 5:8 tells us, “…if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his own household, he has denied the faith…”. In other words, we need to provide for ourselves and those who depend upon us. To do that, we need to earn an adequate return on our investments. Sadly, while most of us get that first part, the second part is almost universally forgotten or ignored. Why?

In their anxiety to earn adequate, or even out-sized returns, many investors let the financial imperative be all consuming. They are willing to sacrifice their obedience to God out of fear that they might leave something on the table.

Unfortunately for them, this is a foolish, uninformed, and short-sighted choice.

Foolish, because they are flouting God’s word and will. They are acting out of fear, when God has repeatedly instructed us to be unafraid if we do as He instructs. Without limiting their investments in such a way as to avoid those companies that are significantly contributing to moral decline, they become complicit in the morally objectionable activities. Without working to improve companies that can be helped, they are ignoring their bishops’ call to advocacy.

Uninformed, because those same bishops have determined that investing in a moral way does not necessarily negatively impact investment performance.

And lastly, such a choice is short-sighted as it puts the temporary (worldly wealth) above the eternal (eternity in Heaven).

At Summit, we believe that it is possible to invest in a moral manner as a faithful Catholic. To do so, we adhere to the Investment Guidelines that have been laid out by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops that calls for the exclusion of certain companies and active advocacy where needed. We believe that competitive returns can be achieved, as has been witnessed by our successful track record spanning more than a decade.

Post from: Insights