Book Review- "Biblically Responsible Investing - On Wall Street As It Is In Heaven"

My husband put some money in an investment account for me to learn how to work the stock market. It wasn't' until this last year that we even thought about the "God Side" of it. He bought me this book as food for thought.

 "Biblically Responsible Investing - On Wall Street As It Is In Heaven" by Robert Netzly

 We know that the "Magnificent Seven" stocks lean heavily left, do we want to support those agendas by our investing? 

Finally, this book offers a handful of thoughts on why biblically responsible investing is necessary for Christians. These are the arguments that the Lord used to pry me out of the impressive but godless world of secular investing and plunge me headfirst into the biblically responsible investing movement. 

Netzly, Robert. Biblically Responsible Investing: On Wall Street as It Is In Heaven (p. 10). Canon Press. Kindle Edition. 

The book is pretty conversationally written, and easy to understand, while bringing up eternal questions for anybody interested in investing.

Netzly went from "how much money can I make for my clients" to "how do I honor God by investing in companies that don't dishonor Him"

The book promises to guide the reader through the process of choosing what values are important, why God cares about how we invest our money and about the connection between your investments, God’s glory, and your joy.

Chapter 4 is titled, "Does Your Conscience Have a Price?"

consider:

If you asked the average Christian investor whether they would consider buying into the porn business, they would probably (hopefully!) say no. However, if a financial advisor asked the average Christian investor whether they would consider buying stock in Netflix or Amazon or some other company that dabbles in pornography but, in the opinion of the advisor’s research department, seems poised to double in value . . . well . . .

Netzly, Robert. Biblically Responsible Investing: On Wall Street as It Is In Heaven (p. 50). Canon Press. Kindle Edition.  

 

 Even if a person doesn't invest directly, they can often direct their 401Ks to specific funds. If they rely on a financial advisor, they can request that certain companies be avoided.

The book did change the way I invest - for instance, we refuse to give Netflix any money because of their values - if I don't want to buy into a company that "dabbles in pornography" - why would I want to profit from it? 

My verdict is:

Read this book if you want an overview of why God cares how you invest your money, if you want to learn how to invest responsibly, and (in our investing) to glorify God in all we do, to shine the light of Christ brightly so that the world “may see our good works and give glory to our Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 5:16).