As a Christian business owner, you’re already incorporating biblical principles into many aspects of your business, but what about your company retirement plan? Is it possible to honor God through your 401(k) plan, and if it is, what would that look like?
Your 401(k) fund line-up is an important aspect of the plan; after all, these are the investments that you and your employees will be using to invest for retirement.
You may know the names of many of the funds in your plan, but you might not have a deep understanding of what those funds are actually investing in. It’s possible you’ve selected funds that include business practices in the abortion and pornography industries and companies that prey on human addiction.
Companies that profit from these industries are included in many of the funds we commonly find in 401(k) plans. It’s hard to avoid these business practices unless you are intentional about implementing a faith-based investing approach. As a fellow Christian business owner, I’m guessing that avoiding profiting from harmful or nonbiblical things is important to you.
I believe that God owns it all and we are stewarding the resources he’s given us. What we invest in makes a big difference to God. It’s possible to invest in companies and funds that promote human flourishing instead of causing the suffering and destruction of our brothers and sisters. Many Christian business owners don’t realize that it’s possible to offer faith-based fund options within their 401(k) plan.
You can honor God through your 401(k) by offering investment options that are aligned with your faith values. If you’re not certain that you and your employees have faith-based options in your plan, you can have your fund line-up screened for business practices that don’t align with your values. If you’re not currently offering them, add faith-based investments to your fund line-up.
As a Christian business owner, honoring God with your business is a sacred privilege. You can provide your employees a God-honoring 401(k)—what we call the Kingdom(k).
But first you need to answer this question: Does your 401(k) plan reflect your faith values?
