Introduction

Recently, I read ‘The Money Code’ a book by H.W. Charles. He reported a ground-breaking study carried out by Professor Lisa A. Keister, who is a professor of Sociology.

Among the conclusions reached by Keister is that people draw on the tools they learn from religion to develop consistent strategies for dealing with problems and for making decisions such as savings, investment, and consumption.

According to the study, wealth is found to be highest among the Jews. This is followed by mainline Protestants and the Roman Catholics. The least wealthy and successful as reported are the conservative Protestants.

There is no doubt, the fact that the above conclusions are true to a very great extent. But the above conclusions are functions of a couple of things which includes the following among others.

❖The fundamental principles of the scriptures on the subject of money, money making and money management.

❖How these principles of the scriptures are interpreted and understood by both the clergy and laities of these Christian sects, which determines the financial orientations of their adherents.

❖The inherent expectations from these adherents not to deny their faith, but rather bring its tenets to bear while earning, saving, spending or investing money, as a way to proving themselves to be faithful to their sects, failure to which they might be seen as unworthy ambassadors of their faith.

❖The inherent expectation that these adherents should contribute to the financial involvements of their sects in order to promote their principles and programs and thereby attract blessings upon themselves.

These inform my decision to explore briefly 5 Biblical principles in relation to money and investing in particular, along the lines of the Christian faith and its principles.

This does not suggest that investors other than Christians cannot benefit from this book. In fact, the principles explored in this book are timeless principles that go beyond the boundaries of religion, location and time.

I do not claim a special revelation. But I intend to explore some investing ideas in connection to scriptures. To me, the Bible does not just teach prosperity, but God is the author of prosperity whether material or spiritual. He is also interested in a legacy of prosperity with a touch of positive influence.

The truth is that many, who would have become wealthy, even in the Christian community, ended in chains of poverty. They were not poor on account of laziness, but because they were not properly guided on how to invest. They failed to build wealth when they ought to.

Some others failed because they did not have access to the blue print that ensures successful wealth building without compromising their highly esteemed spiritual values and convictions. But this blue print is prominently displayed in the Bible. Someone said that there are two options to making money and building wealth for believers. It is either the kingdom way or the Babylon way. Either ways, there are implications.

But what I found staggeringly shocking is the fact that while the Bible explicitly reveals the way to building kingdom wealth, most Christians still struggles with poverty. Again, what I discovered is that many who go to church have not harnessed the real message of the scriptures to their advantage in the area of wealth creation and building.

Just recently, a Christian leader approached me after a program in their church. It was a yearly revival program. We had a heart-to-heart discussion. One of the things he shared with me was the need for me to make the best of my resources.

He narrated how he had nobody to advise him on the importance of investing when much money was flowing into his hands. In other words, he failed to make the best out of his season of abundance. Although he is a good Christian leader, he looks back to those days in regret, almost in tears.

Building wealth sustains money and guarantees financial freedom. Those who fail to build wealth, ends up regretting in poverty.

Among them are those who won lotteries. Some who inherited large estates. Others made much money in their chosen businesses and careers but suddenly went broke and bankrupt.

As you would notice, this book is not meant to be a preachment of the scriptures. But a contemporary squeeze of it and a contemporary refining of the juice it contain, to provide a tonic of dynamo to the Christian wealth builder or investor.

In my opinion,

Investing is an act of wealth building. But for a Christian to be counted as successful, he must be willing to make impact while investing.

Yet, one outstanding expectation from every Christian investor, no matter their sect is that they must stand out with Christian principles. In other words, they are expected to be guided by their faith as much as practicable. As much as they desire to succeed, it must never be at the expense of their faith, spiritual lives, moral convictions and values.

My passion is to make a contribution to the field of investing in my generation as a Christian minister, investor and author. The truth is, I want to get whoever reads this book to cut the bug of investing. But for Christians, the purpose as well as the principles must be underlined and outstandingly colored for its importance.

I discovered that there are too many information confronting the modern man on how to make money. But there is a great confusion when it comes to investing.

There is the challenge of scammers. There is also the concern of what is suitable to achieve certain investment and financial needs. There is also the problem of risk and investing. And the struggle with mindset, which is a serious fundamental factor in building wealth. Christians need answers to all these as they engage in wealth building.

Even those who make an attempt to solve some of these problems like bloggers provide only tips. But trust me, tips do not provide lasting solutions. If you follow the instructions of this book you would not end up with tips, but with the right tools that guarantee successful wealth building.

Remember, that the wealthy people of today may not be the wealthy people of tomorrow. But also remember, that the financial journey of tomorrow starts today. If you wish to be among the wealthy men and women of tomorrow, this book provides the basis for your success.

My purpose for writing this book is to explore Proven investing Principles in relation to the scriptures. The goal is to inspire you, especially as Christians, to think wealth building through investing while you practice your faith and think your faith in the course of wealth building through investing.

Here’s to the success of whoever reads this book.

Linus Samuel.