By Os Hillman
December 18
"Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others" (Phil 2:4).
It's rewarding to get a good return on an investment. In business we invest money, time, and people resources into promoting a product and service in hopes of a return. We make financial investments in hopes we can gain a return on our money invested. The apostle Paul understood another kind of investment. It was an investment in the spiritual lives of people.
He invested his life in a man named Epaphras, who was a man deeply impacted by Paul's investment in him. Paul makes reference to Epaphras when writing to the Colossians: "You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, and who also told us of your love in the Spirit" (Col 1:7-8). It can be rewarding to invest in other people's lives.
One day Angie and I received this note from a friend we had made an investment int "The two of you have had a tremendous influence on my life. For that, I will be forever grateful and love you as well." Sometimes we don't realize the difference we can make in another life. For us, it can seem a natural way of operating. We may not even think we are doing anything unusual. Until one day, you receive a note like this one.
In the marketplace we can often get very focused on the projects we are called to promote and gain a return on. However, we each need to be making an investment in other people as well.
Are you investing in lives that may be in your sphere of influence through your workplace call? The returns on this investment are considerable.
Contact Os Hillman at www.marketplaceleaders.org.