Investing or Spending?

I have had some thoughts rolling around in my head over the past few weeks.  (I know that will surprise many of you who think I never have a thought in my head.)  These thoughts even leaked out during my sermon in Santa Margarita last weekend.  They have to do with the term we use when describing our relationship with others, especially as it relates to the ministry of disciple-making.

How often have you or I or some other Christian referred to how we are “investing” in another person?  By that we mean we are meeting with them on quite a regular basis to both teach and to learn.  It could be one-on-one or in small gatherings, but we are investing in followers of Jesus.  The question at the end of some sermons is, “Who are you investing in?”

But it struck me the other day that subtly this view of these relationships can skew the relationship because of what we expect from an investment.  What we expect is ROI.  Return on investment.  In our culture one only invests if one thinks there is a good possibility that one will receive back more than one invests.  That, in our culture, is a good investment.  It began to dawn on me that more times than I would care to admit, I was looking for an ROI even if I was not the beneficiary of the return.  In other words, as long as the person went on to be an “above average Christian” I could feel good about my investment of time and energy in their walk with Jesus.

But maybe what God actually calls us to is spending ourselves for others.  When you spend something like money or time, you only get to spend it once.  Spending may or may not bring you some return.  “I spent the day at Disneyland.”  It may or may not have given you the pleasure you had hoped for but certainly you didn’t say, “I invested a day at Disneyland.”  The experience itself was enough of a payoff for you to spend the money and time.  You didn’t need to receive back more than you spent.  “I spent the morning with my wife.”  Maybe you hope that there will be some return on the time spent, but being together for that time is enough for you to spend the time.

What if we began “spending” our time with others instead of always trying to discern if we should invest our time in others?  What if the time spent was, by itself, enough?

Now I’ve infected your head with these thoughts and you can figure it out.  Let me know what you decide. Think of it as investing in my life.