Every month some money goes to an account in the far off land of retirement plans that is supposed to be waiting for me when it is time for me to quit working full time. I wish it was more. I wish my investments for my future could have been greater. I'm glad I've got as much as I do. It could be far worse. My retirement account has a value based upon what I felt I could afford to invest through the years.
My relational account also has a value. Its value is based upon the effort I have placed in maintaining the relationships that have kept my life from being a solitary existence. Some relationships I have valued over others and my investment in them is a reflection of that, my relationship with my wife for example. Other relationships I consider of great value but have not made the investment that they deserve. I am the loser in those.
Relationships have received the investment that I felt I could afford or they deserved at the time. We all do this based upon interest and time. Family members, friends, acquaintances, business associates, the person who needs to pull in front of me to get into another lane on the highway all reflect various relationships that we categorize by the investments we are willing to make. We give them time, attention, and material support if we believe it is justified for whatever reason. All of these reflect our level of investment in the relationship.
We invest in personal relationships through the way we give of ourselves. Perhaps time is the biggest factor. Gary Chapman, author of The Five Love Languages, considers this one of the primary ways we show our love for another person, particularly our spouse. We use time as an investment by being with the person, talking on the telephone or some other method of communication, or using our time to do something we know will please them. The amount of time we are willing to spend indicates the level of investment we feel we can afford to place in the relationship. Are there relationships in which we wish we could invest more? Generally there is, but I have no answer for adding hours to a day.
We invest in personal relationships by the type of gifts we want to give another. We invest through the words of encouragement we might use. We invest through the acts of kindness we perform. We invest through the ways we are willing to allow another to impose their needs upon us. All of these speak volumes about the importance of the relationship to us.
The investment we are willing to put into our relationship with God reveals his priority in our lives. We talk to God. That's good. It indicates we believe he exists. Sometimes we even listen to God. That indicates we believe he has something to say we ought to hear. We serve others in the name of God. That reveals that we consider important what he considers important. That's letting his priorities shape ours.
A church is no different. A church is a group of relationships focused upon that one most important relationship, the one we have with God through Jesus Christ. A church shows the value of its investments in its members and those outside its membership by how it uses its resources to meet the needs of both those on the inside and those on the outside. The levels of these investments reveal the priorities of the church.
If a church puts the highest priority on the relationships of its members, then peace at all costs while minimizing any possibility of disruption will be the focus of resource investment. Budgets and calendars, committee work and decision making will all point to the importance of keeping members in their comfort zones.
If reaching people on the outside of the church walls is the priority, then time and resources will be invested in cultivating relationships outside the church walls, inviting people to participate in the life of the church both at the facilities and out in the community, and encouraging the nonmembers to get a feel for life within the church family. All of these can be very uncomfortable for many members, but it keeps the investment focused on the priority of the church.
The greater the value one places upon a relationship the greater the investment one is willing to make. We see it in our relationships with family members and friends. We see it in the priorities we set in our churches. The people who are watching our churches from the outside are seeing it as well. I hope they are seeing that our churches are willing to invest well in developing a relationship with them.
