Investing And Everyday Spending Both Communicate Our Values
Money in our investments and money moving through our hands at the checkout counter have something in common. Every dollar that passes through our hands, about $78,535 per year for the average American household, is entering the marketplace and helping support companies, products, priorities and systems.
With personal spending up 4.2% and more working-class Americans investing in the stock market, investing and patronage should be understood as parallel stewardship decisions.
Investing asks, “What am I owning?”
Patronage asks, “What am I supporting?”
They are not exactly the same, but both matter.
Investing: What am I owning?
When we invest, we become owners. Even if we own only a small number of shares, we are still connected to a company through ownership. That ownership ties us to the company’s profits, products, practices and priorities.
This is why Biblically Responsible Investing is important. Faithful stewardship calls us to test all things, embrace that which is good and abstain from evil (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22). We are to use the best information we can find and avoid owning companies that clearly profit from activities that violate biblical values.
“Moreover, it is required in stewards that one be found faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2 NKJV).
The issue is… are we willing to be faithful with what we can know and what we can do?
Patronage: What am I supporting?
Patronage is the money we spend as customers. It includes where we shop, what we subscribe to, what we buy, and which companies we help grow through our everyday choices.
A purchase is not the same as owning stock in a company. Buying a cup of coffee, a phone or a monthly subscription does not make us owners the same way stock ownership does. But it still directs consumer dollars toward a business, which helps support those businesses, reward behavior and help companies expand.
If investing is long-term ownership alignment, patronage is daily spending alignment.
Why both matter
A Christian can be careful with investments but careless with spending. Another person may boycott certain companies as a consumer while still owning those same companies indirectly through a mutual fund or ETF.
That is why stewardship should be viewed as a larger pattern of financial discipleship. It includes what we own, what we buy, what we avoid, what we support, and how we make decisions over time.
Life is busy and sometimes overwhelming. Stewardship is not meant to become another crushing burden. It is meant to draw us into a deeper and more rewarding relationship with God as we learn to be faithful where we can, when we can, with what we know. A wise man once told me, “The best plan is to do the most we can do, as often as we can, and trust in God’s grace for the rest.”
A practical stewardship filter
When thinking about investing or patronage, consider these questions:
- Is this company profiting from something clearly harmful?
- Am I directly supporting something I would not want to advance?
- Do I have a reasonable alternative?
- Is this a conviction issue, a preference issue or a practical limitation?
- Am I acting out of wisdom rather than fear or performance?
These questions help us make thoughtful decisions without turning every purchase into a crisis.
Where to start
Start with the largest and clearest issues.
In investing, that means using Biblically Responsible Investing screening and avoiding ownership in companies with clear violations.
In patronage, that means looking first at recurring spending, subscriptions, major purchases and obvious alternatives.
The bottom line
Investing and patronage both matter because both are ways God’s money moves through our hands.
Investing shapes what we own.
Patronage shapes what we support.
The calling is not a burden; it is a blessing of entrustment.
Financial Issues Stewardship Ministries (FISM) host Mark Minnella brings 35 years of experience helping individuals invest with biblical integrity. He was the founder and president of one of the first investment advisories dedicated to biblically responsible investing principles. A co-founder of the National Association of Christian Financial Consultants and creator of the CFCA designation, Mark has been a voice for biblical stewardship through radio, writing and speaking for over 30 years. He hosted “More Than Money” on Bott Radio Network for 17 years and is the author of “The Wall Street Awakening.” Mark and his wife, Cindy, live in St. Louis, MO, and have three grown children.
