You might be inclined to think that investment decisions are only made by financial professionals or “want to be” financial professionals. But, in fact, we are all investors. Every moment of every day, we invest. Every thought and action is an investment decision about how to utilize our time, talent, and/or treasure.

How do we make wise investment choices?

Commonly, investment choices are made based on perceived opportunities that we see in the tangible realm. For example, a person might invest time with a potential marriage partner or invest talent in developing a skill to further a career or invest treasure (money or the equivalent) to buy an interest in an appreciating asset. These are investment decisions. And these decisions are mostly made based on what we see in the tangible realm.

Is there more than the tangible to consider in an investment decision? In a universe created by a God who is a spirit being, the intangible preceded the tangible and the tangible emanates from the intangible. Given that physical reality came from spiritual reality, then spiritual reality must be the fundamental and driving reality of the tangible world. Therefore tangible reality is a manifestation of underlying spiritual reality.

This means that to be wise we must look beyond the tangible to the intangible. We must ask the question “What will God bless?” The answer is simple yet profound: God blesses alignment with his will.

King Solomon performed a variety of experiments regarding the meaning of life (see the book of Ecclesiastes). Having an abundance of resources, his scope of activities was immense. King Solomon’s conclusion is in the above text. He said that the only meaningful activity in life—the only activity that will produce eternal value and genuine success—is to obey God. Obedience to God means to do his will according to his ways.

This truth means that to live wisely we must seek to base all investment decisions on the will and ways of God.

Here is your business tip: The process of building an organization is an investment process. To deliver an excellent value proposition, management must seek to align the organization with the will and ways of God. Management must find the right people (C4 people) and then train the people in the will and ways of God. Each person in the organization must be truly committed to the Lord and doing what God created him or her to do. Both organizational and individual success must be defined as obedience to God—alignment with his will and ways. Because God blesses that which is aligned with him, organizations that make alignment with the will and ways of God a priority will deliver excellent value propositions.