A Wise Investment

2 Timothy 2:22 “The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, ENTRUST these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”

We all know the importance of saving money. In fact, just about everyone in the United States has a checking or savings account with some form of bank or financial institution. It is also wise to begin investing towards retirement, whether through IRA’s, 401k’s, annuity shelters, or mutual funds. We “deposit” money into bank accounts or investment plans in order to see a return on our investment. If there were no opportunity for our money to grow, then there would be no reason to “deposit” or “invest”.

The verse above is from the second letter of Paul written to Timothy. Paul recruited Timothy on his second missionary journey. From the things that Paul had seen and heard about Timothy (Acts 16:2-3), Paul decided to take Timothy under his wing and make a Spiritual "investment" in him. During his journeys with Paul and Silas, Timothy learned sound doctrine from, in my opinion, the best teacher of the word of God since the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. Paul is now telling Timothy to make the same “investment” in other men, because he understands the eternal return on Spiritual investment. Paul uses the Greek word paratithemi, which is translated in this passage of Scripture, “entrust”. It means to place a “deposit” for safekeeping, a "deposit" that returns a profit. Paul uses the same word in 2 Timothy 1:12 to explain that he had placed his soul in safekeeping with the Lord. He used it again in 2 Timothy 1:14 when he told Timothy to “guard, through the Holy Spirit, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.” Paul “deposited” the treasure of the Word into Timothy not only for safekeeping, but also for profit. The profit gained off of Paul’s Spiritual investment was Spiritual growth and maturity in the life of Timothy. Now, Paul is making it clear that Timothy is to make the same investment in other men.

The question for you and me is, “How do we, as believers in the gospel of Jesus Christ, apply this passage of Scripture to our Spiritual walk?” The only way to keep truth safe for future generations is to deposit or make an investment of “sound doctrine” in the lives of others. A serious student of the word of God will progress into Spiritual maturity and should become a teacher. (Hebrews 5:12) It is our responsibility to teach other students to become teachers in order for them to teach others to also become teachers. The reason that you and I are able to study the word of God today is because faithful believers made Spiritual investments in the lives of others. It is our responsibility to keep this cycle going for another 2000 years. Paul and Timothy stepped up to the plate and accepted the challenge. Can you? We need to take our Spiritual walk seriously, so that we can deposit “sound doctrine” into the lives of others. Spiritual investments of the word of God into the lives of others will always return a profit. The investments that we make into our banks and retirement plans only have a temporal return, but the investments that we make in people with the word of God have eternal returns in this life and the next. "Study to show yourself approved", and then make a Spiritual investment by teaching others what you have learned . The return is Spiritual growth maturity for you and the ones in which you invest.