In my job, I spend a bit of time browsing through online articles and, along the way, see a lot of ads for other articles -- advertorials really (ads that are written to look like editorial content). One of those I've seen recently is about this guy who broke the Biblical code for how to invest and made a bunch of money. And of course he's selling something to show you how.
The obvious problem here is that the Bible can support just about any perspective you want it to. In one of the more obvious examples, the Old Testament tells us "an eye for an eye" while the New Testament tells us to "turn the other cheek." So what it boils down to is that the message you get from the Bible depends on the consciousness you bring to it. Kind of like life.
That doesn't mean the Bible isn't valuable. It doesn't mean it's not a legitimate holy book and that it wasn't honestly given in some means from God to humankind. It means that "Love thy neighbor" can be taken in vastly different ways by different people. To one person, this means telling a neighbor what they should do to fix their problems; to another, it means simply giving a shoulder to cry on while they tell you about their problems; to another, it might mean serving them in some way while, at the same time, demonstrating (without saying a word) how one can overcome problems.
In regards to investing, one could look at the verse about not storing up treasures on earth as a message not to invest at all. Meanwhile, one investor might look to traditional investments while paying capital gains taxes (render unto Caesar what is Caesar's) while another invests offshore so that nothing is gained which belongs to "Caesar." The first might say this is thwarting Jesus' message about taxes while the second says he gave us a loophole.
One could also say that tithing is necessary before one's investments will be maximized, and another might agree but debate whether tithing should be defined today as it was once upon a time. When described in the Bible, tithing is really a 10% tax that supported the priesthood and charity via however the priesthood cared for the poor. Our taxes today support the government and charity in a similar way. So since we're already giving to charity in that sense by paying taxes, are part of our tithes already given? Or are they partly (or wholly) given by donating to charities beyond the church? And if we give time to our church or other spiritual center (which was once only done by the priesthood), have we tithed in still another way?
At the end of the day, it might be useful to read someone's views on Biblical secrets to investing if only to spend time reflecting on one's own beliefs in regards to faith, money, and doing the right thing morally. But I think it's pretty clear that the Bible (or any other faith's holy book) is not a guide to investing, but more of a guide that reflects your own level of consciousness or your own beliefs. And I suspect (hope) for most of us that this matures over time.
The obvious problem here is that the Bible can support just about any perspective you want it to. In one of the more obvious examples, the Old Testament tells us "an eye for an eye" while the New Testament tells us to "turn the other cheek." So what it boils down to is that the message you get from the Bible depends on the consciousness you bring to it. Kind of like life.
That doesn't mean the Bible isn't valuable. It doesn't mean it's not a legitimate holy book and that it wasn't honestly given in some means from God to humankind. It means that "Love thy neighbor" can be taken in vastly different ways by different people. To one person, this means telling a neighbor what they should do to fix their problems; to another, it means simply giving a shoulder to cry on while they tell you about their problems; to another, it might mean serving them in some way while, at the same time, demonstrating (without saying a word) how one can overcome problems.
In regards to investing, one could look at the verse about not storing up treasures on earth as a message not to invest at all. Meanwhile, one investor might look to traditional investments while paying capital gains taxes (render unto Caesar what is Caesar's) while another invests offshore so that nothing is gained which belongs to "Caesar." The first might say this is thwarting Jesus' message about taxes while the second says he gave us a loophole.
One could also say that tithing is necessary before one's investments will be maximized, and another might agree but debate whether tithing should be defined today as it was once upon a time. When described in the Bible, tithing is really a 10% tax that supported the priesthood and charity via however the priesthood cared for the poor. Our taxes today support the government and charity in a similar way. So since we're already giving to charity in that sense by paying taxes, are part of our tithes already given? Or are they partly (or wholly) given by donating to charities beyond the church? And if we give time to our church or other spiritual center (which was once only done by the priesthood), have we tithed in still another way?
At the end of the day, it might be useful to read someone's views on Biblical secrets to investing if only to spend time reflecting on one's own beliefs in regards to faith, money, and doing the right thing morally. But I think it's pretty clear that the Bible (or any other faith's holy book) is not a guide to investing, but more of a guide that reflects your own level of consciousness or your own beliefs. And I suspect (hope) for most of us that this matures over time.
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