We are all given choices in our every-day existence that allow us opportunities not only to succeed , but also to receive the greatest possible return from the decisions we make. In the adventure of life that we have all been chosen to participate in, we find ourselves in situations filed with these opportunities to succeed. Every day we are given multiple opportunities to invest our lives in hopes of gaining a return from our “LifeVesting.” LifeVesting are the investment we makes in the personal, social, and spiritual aspects of our lives in hope of gaining some form of profit. The idea behind LifeVesting is that we have to make our life investments in wise opportunities, or the “Wall-Street-market” of the world will beat us. How, then, does one make the investments in life that can yield the greatest return? In order to gain the greatest benefits from LifeVesting, three different types of investment are necessary: SelfVesting, OtherVesting, and GodVesting. These three areas, if invested properly, not only affect, but also benefit each other. Each has its own unique dimensions, its own risks, and its own benefits or consequences.
One of the greatest “SelfVesters” I have ever known is my grandfather. He has taken care of himself physically, financially, mentally, and emotionally. In the physical sense, almost every morning of his adult life he has gotten up early and gone jogging, no matter what the weather conditions. Financially, he has never invested in something he hasn’t researched and is confident about. Mentally, he began his college education at the age of nineteen and continued until he received his M.D. degree. But in my opinion, his greatest SelfVesting achievement was his emotional investment in marrying my grandmother. The two have now been happily married for fifty-two years. As easily seen from my grandfather’s life, the investments of a SelfVester are those that attempt to add value to one’s self. We are born with an innate desire to seek self-perfection. We want our lives to be better today than they were yesterday. But the unfortunate reality of the situation is that many times we are our own harshest critics when our investments turn out to be unwise.
There are two risks with SelfVesting. The first is in not investing at all. This results in an apathetic lifestyle causes our lives at best not to change at all, or, at worst, to turn out worse because we didn’t invest. For example, how many people who can’t get jobs wish that after high school they would have gone on to college instead of pursuing their instant self gratification? The consequences of having no self investments can be dire, resulting in an unsatisfactory life that is rapidly wasted.
SelfVesting also carries the risk of over-investing in self, which leads towards a life of vanity. The unfortunate fact about our own desire to gain perfection is that many times we get wrapped up in our self-improvement to the point that it can actually damage us. For example, girls who have eating disorders feel like the size of their bodies doesn’t meet the standards of the world that so harshly portrays the image of the “perfect” woman on the cover of Cosmopolitan This demonstrates that the end result of over-investing in self matters can actually turn the tables on us, and instead of helping us improve, it can actually end up hurting us in our vain attempts.
But what about the possibilities of a return from our SelfVesting? My grandfather has stayed in shape, his education produced a successful career in the medical field, and financial success through his wise investing have produced a secure retirement. But the greatest self- return from his investments have come from his investment in his family, having had four children and eight grandchildren. When a person is successful in investing in himself, it in turn affects those around him and opens doors for the next type of LifeVesting.
“OtherVesting” is a type of investment in which both we and others gain and benefit by our investment in their lives. My father has spent a large portion of his life OtherVesting. He has spent countless hours pouring his life into others so that they may be better off for it. The results of his OtherVesting can be seen every day when he leaves the house. I don’t believe I have ever gone with him to the grocery store, mall, or any other place open to the public where he doesn’t see someone he knows. He has spent countless hours investing in others’ lives. Socially, he is well-liked and respected. Relationally, people trust him. Personally, people feel respected by him.
OtherVesting helps us relate to the world and improves the way the world relates to us. Investment in others is the basis by which our world gets along; it can also be the cause of why it doesn’t. When looking at the investments themselves, what is it that we are actually investing? The most significant investment one can make toward others is simply time. Of course, the needs of others are many, and time is not the only investment we can make. Regardless of what is invested, however, the hardest part about othervesting is learning how to “get over ourselves.” We have to do things for other people, putting ourselves aside, to receive the greatest benefit.
The greatest risk of under-investing in others is isolation. In the book Silas Marner, by George Elliot, the main character, Silas, had a bad experience with investing in others. As a result, he became a miser never - leaving his house and making no outside contact with others. His lack of OtherVesting caused him to live a sad, gray, miserable life. But looking at the other end of the scale, if one over-invests in other people, the end result will be one in which they care too much about what others think and do too much to please others. As a result, they lose their sense of self.
The investment return of OtherVesting, though, can be one the greatest rewards experienced in this life. If we invest in other people, they, in turn, will invest in us. We will receive what we need and more from others, forming true bonds that can help us in every aspect of life. If we look at two best friends, they are two people who over time invest in each other’s lives. Each also receives the benefit of the other’s investment. But to truly understand the potential value of the return from our LiveVesting, we must examine the third type - “Godvesting.”
Each one of us has a longing for answers to the innate spiritual questions that arise in our lives. We all have a desire to invest in something dealing with the spiritual. GodVesting is most certainly the most important venture that LifeVesting brings. Godvesting has the potential to yield a greater benefit than the other two. The reason that Godvesting offers so much to those of us who truly don’t deserve its gracious dividends is because of the investment that was first made in us. God saw humanity and invested Himself into it so that we may in turn invest in a Savior to become closer to him.
The only risk in this eternal investment is not investing at all. The consequences are not only the worst, when speaking of severity, but also the most assuredly dire. As for over-investing, the only risk we run is becoming closer to the Being that loves us more than we can possibly fathom. The benefits we receive from GodVesting are those of the eternal, that make the suffering we could experience on the earth minimal. GodVesting is also the most significant type of LifeVesting because it encompasses the others. When our relationship with God is in the right place, our relationships with others fall into place as well, and we are better.
Our life investments determine the type of life we will live. The results of wise investing can produce the profit not only of a successful life, but a happy one as well. The return of our wise life investments can be seen in our personal lives, our relationships with others, and our relationship with God. The greatest part is that we have new opportunities daily to make investments and to change our returns from losses to profits. Life provides all of us the opportunities to have success. LifeVesting is the greatest determinant for how successful that life will be.
To learn more about LifeVesting check out LifeVesting.com
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