Investing In Our Future

Nate ~ You know.......I have been thinking today about investing in our futures.  Usually, you think "financial investment", and that does count.  In fact, that is an important way of investing in our future.  I was, however, also thinking of the other investments.  You know.......How did I invest in my future with Pam today?  (Did I remember to tell her I love her this morning or thank her for working on XYZ?)  How did I invest in the future of my children today?  (Did I remember to pray for them?)  How did I invest in the future of my career today?  How did I invest in the future of my (God's) ministries today?


Then it struck me.  The habits we have and the things that we do every day are either investing or making withdrawals on our future.  We are either putting things away, saving them for the future, or we are removing from our "future bank".  An example.  When I spend time on a computer game, I am not in any way investing in my future.  On the contrary, I not only lose the time I could have been investing, but I also am establishing habits for the future that may (if unchecked) take away even more from my future by not allowing me to focus on what IS important to me.  So, do I mean that if I play a game today I will neglect my wife and children tomorrow?  No.  Do I mean that if I play a game today, and tomorrow, and every other day without any checks or balances that I will neglect my wife and children in the future?  Yes.  That means that my actions that are not investing in my future, are taking an active role in withdrawing from the bank of my future.

I don't know about you, but that is both humbling and humiliating.  It shames me to see the sin that is in my life that is actively withdrawing from the futures of my wife and children for a short moment today.  How did we become so selfish that our own personal choices become more important than another person and our relationship with them?

I need to close this off, but I want to add one more thing.  If you are not sure what you "investments" are, here is a working definition from a dictionary.

An Investment: a thing that is worth buying because it will be profitable or useful in the future.

What are the things that will be important to you in 5 years, 10 years, etc?  Those are things that we cannot neglect today, or we risk emptying our account and we will not have the means to purchase them when the time comes.  Will I have that important relationship with my kids in 10 years, or will they not care what I have to say because of XYZ that seems so important today?