THE ART OF INVESTING

The End Game

“storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.” 1 Timothy 6:19 (NASB)

A simple search of google for the term “End Game” will produce pages of results dealing with everything from a chess game to the bonus round of a game show. When I stop to think, it is fairly accurate to use the terminology with games. I am reminded of the popular philosophy, most can be found on bumper stickers, which reads “He who dies with the most toys wins!” However, if your goal in the game of life, your “End Game”, is to collect as many material possessions as you can, you will be sorely disappointed!

If the “End Game” is not toys, what is it? In Luke 12:16-21, Jesus tells a parable to the crowds about the “End Game”. There was this farmer that had a great year. He had bumper crops, so much so that he tore down his barns and built bigger ones to hold everything he had. This kind of reminds me of all the storage facilities that dot our landscapes today. He said to himself, I have finally made it! I can now live the life that I have always wanted. I can sleep in, play golf whenever I want, eat the best of everything, and drink the best wines. I can finally take life easy. I will even have more than enough to leave a nice inheritance for my children. The parable ends with God saying “You Fool! This very night your soul is required of you” Luke 12:20a (NASB).

All of us want to be successful. However, we dare not place the material possessions of this world as our greatest treasure. The bible says in Isaiah 33:6b (IBC) that “Respect for the Lord is the greatest treasure.” What is your greatest treasure? Could our success lead us to live lives of intoxication where we play the fool? Will our success be our downfall? Our destruction? This is a struggle that every generation must face “so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.” 1 Timothy 6:19b (NASB)

In a speech made in 1863, Abraham Lincoln said, “We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us.”

Today’s Prayer

Dear Lord,

Forgive me where my pride has elevated me to feel self-sufficient. Forgive me where I have place acquiring stuff over You. I thank You for the material possessions I have and the opportunities in this life to work at my chosen profession. However, You, above all else, are my greatest treasure! Help me to use all that I am and all that I have for Your glory. In Jesus Name, Amen.