When gathering information on a new client, most financial firms are interested in your goals and aspirations for the future. They are also eager to learn about your successes and your shortcomings, all in an effort to help you pursue your future with confidence.
But alongside the usual questions about accounts and beneficiaries, reflecting on scripture can help you evaluate something bigger: how you are living?
Are you a diligent worker or a grateful giver? Are you a disciplined investor? Are you driven by being a steward of His Church?
As part of the onboarding packet at cfc Advisers, clients are asked a series of questions and invited to score themselves on a scale of one to five. The goal isn’t just to help pursue financial goals. It’s to continue the process of being a steward of His gifts.
Proverbs 15:22 tells us that plans fail for lack of counsel but succeed with many advisers. When creating a comprehensive financial strategy, there may be legal issues that need to be addressed. Or tax management tools that can help. Good counsel isn’t just about numbers; it is about being able to draw on resources and professionals who can help you pursue your goals.
“If you thought you might die today or Christ might return tonight, how would your passions or daily activities change?” writes Mick Owens, author of the book Diamond of Life: The Five P’s of Success and Significance.
Are you a generous giver? A reluctant debtor? It’s important to realize these aren’t questions with a right answer. They’re questions that help describe the type of person behind the account balances. Philippians 4:12 challenges us by saying, “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation.”
Honesty matters, because being a Generous Giver or a Reluctant Debtor isn’t a sign of success or failure. It’s simply where you are right now, and it tells us something that a risk-tolerance questionnaire may overlook.
Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12 both describe a body made of many parts, each with different gifts, each serving a different function. A stewardship evaluation can work the same way. It’s an honest assessment of the gifts you’ve been given and how you’re using them, offered up to something larger than a quarterly statement.
Our relationship is about more than performance. It’s about accountability. A stewardship evaluation doesn’t change what’s in a portfolio. But it helps guide the conversation that shapes it.
