I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.
John 15:15 (NIV)
When we talk and hear about "investors," we usually think in financial terms, typically of someone either participating in the stock market or who is a business owner. That's all well and good, but we are ALL investors. We invest in relationships. We invest in our spouses, family, kids, friends and sometimes other people who are part of our lives. Most of all, we need to invest in Jesus. I'm going to share an example of how I invest in an important relationship, and then how the lessons I have learned there can be effectively applied to our relationship with Jesus.
One of the most significant relationships in our everyday lives is with our boss at work. Let's face it, a bad relationship with that important person can have a really nasty impact on the other parts of our lives. If we wake up every day dreading going to work and facing that person, then have constant conflict with them during the day, it's a lot more difficult to come home and be a good spouse, parent, friend, and child of God.
I've suffered through those types of relationships in the past, but the one I have with my current boss is much different. We share common goals that we feel passionately about, and we both approach our work and relationship with integrity. That's very important, but there are some critical differences that I have to manage, to invest time and effort into, to emphasize our commonality and minimize the impact of our differences.
My boss is a type A++ personality and, quite frankly, can really get on my nerves when he gets cranked up. I am also capable of getting on people's nerves (just ask anyone I've met), but I do it more quietly, in a lower gear. He's also a gun-loving right-wing Republican redneck from West Virginia (his words, not mine). I'm pretty much at the other end of the spectrum from any of that. There are three main steps I've used to help our relationship work effectively.
1) I decided I had to make an effort. It wasn't up to him to treat me right. I had to decide to be the calm one when he went off on a rant. I had to go to him with suggestions and ideas, not wait for him to come to me.
2) I studied my boss. I learned what approaches worked well with him and what didn't. I learned that on the rare occasion that I messed up, he wasn't interested in me beating myself up. He wanted a solution, and he wanted me to present it. I learned that when I took a problem to him and invested the time in fact-finding and developing ideas of how to solve it, he would listen and usually agree with those ideas. I learned that if I brought something to him and he had already made up his mind, nothing short of God Himself would usually change it. I learned that he wanted to be hands-off and for me to handle details. I also learned his attention to detail could be beyond excruciating, and for him to be dissatisfied with the results of a project and go in himself was something to be avoided if humanly possible.
3) I take advantage of opportunities. When my boss offers to take me out to lunch, I go, even if I don't particularly feel like it, because that one-on-one time away from the office strengthens our bond, our sense of partnership. When his wife passed away, I was able to use my experience as a widower to offer comfort and speak into his life. Over time, we've shared a lot about our lives and believe we can count on each other. There is now a level of trust that keeps me from being on the defensive with him, that helps us feel we can count on each other.
I share that with you because as I was driving home today breaking that down, I was thinking how I could apply that to the most important relationship in my life, the one with Jesus.
Well, first it's up to me to make an effort. I often have this picture in my mind of His hand reaching down to me from heaven, waiting for me to reach back. I need to care enough about our relationship to extend myself to meet His outreached hand, even if it's just talking over my day with Him on the drive home--that's a start. I need to invest in Him, not just thinking about what He can do or what I think He should be doing in my life and address what I can be doing for my Lord.
Second, I need to study Him. Wouldn't it be great if everyone we met handed us a book that shared some of the most important and intimate information about themselves? Would we take time to read it? God did just that for us! It's not just what other people said about Him either, although that is important, it has direct quotes from our Lord! Some people have never heard His voice but they can sure read plenty that He has said. Sure, we have to invest some time and effort to study the Bible, but how can you develop a relationship with anyone if you don't get to know them?
Finally, I need to take advantage of opportunities to draw closer to Him. Going above and beyond, investing in things like participating in special ministry events, gathering for worship, either at church or at home, or carving out quiet time in a special place where it's just me and Jesus, one-on-one. Do you feel you can count on Jesus? Have you given Him reason to think He can count on you? If He's putting opportunities to serve Him on your plate, He has a level of trust in you that will only grow the more you show Him you are willing to invest in His work. Just think of that, God trusting little old you with an important assignment in His kingdom. I don't know how it gets more rewarding or fulfilling than that.
In the financial world, investors look at ROI, Return on Investment. I have received a good return on the investment I've made in the relationship with my boss, and encourage you to look at making a larger investment with important people in your lives. Even better, though, is the return I receive for investing in my Lord. We don't have to wait for heaven to get all the good stuff, He'll give a taste of it to us here on Earth as a reward.
We just need to invest our most important resource--ourselves.
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