Dec. 8th
tl;dr
Work is worship: three truths from Practicing the King’s Economy.
Investing works the same way—slow, faithful, “little by little.”
Start early, start small, start today.
faith
I just wrapped up Practicing the King’s Economy by Rhodes, Holt, and Fikkert. It’s a great book: tight arguments, saturated with Scripture, conservative economic thinking, and practical habits all braided together into a single cord strong enough to pull us out of the rushing waters of hustle culture and self-actualization talk.
Around page 130, the authors lay out three truths about work that really struck me — one line in particular was just beautifully written: “In our work, we unpack the creativity of creation.”
1. Work is how we draw out the world’s hidden potential.
God packed creation with beauty, order, and possibility. Our work is the patient uncovering of what He already placed there — shaping raw material into something useful, orderly, or life-giving.
2. Work is how we reflect God’s character.
He creates, sustains, and brings order out of chaos. We mirror Him when we build, when we fix, when we plan, when we show up with hands eager to bring order and value out of the inputs we’re given. That’s imaging our Maker in the small tasks — unglamorous and often unnoticed.
3. Work is how we serve our neighbor.
Scripture refuses to treat work as a personal enrichment project. Vocation exists so others flourish — through real service, real value, and real help. The paycheck matters — sure, but the purpose is always love of neighbor.
Together, these three truths pull our eyes away from self-expression and back toward Christ — the One who dignifies our labor and the One for whom all work is ultimately done. It means every product, provision of service, client meeting, and customer engagement are seen as ordinary acts of faithfulness — true worship.
finance
This same pattern—slow, faithful, hidden work—is exactly how investing operates.
I’m about to publish a longer article on this, but here’s the heart of it: people rarely ask “When should I start investing?” because they don’t know the markets. They ask because they’re afraid of starting small, starting imperfectly, or starting late.
But investing rewards one thing above all: time.
You’ve heard the proverb: “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is today.” When it comes to investing, that’s not motivational fluff—it’s math.
Here are two fictional illustrations of the mathematics of compounding:
Ava invests $250/month for 10 years — from ages 20 to 30 — and then stops, never investing another dollar. But her 10 years of savings continue to grow until age 65.
Ben, however, waits until 35, then invests for 30 years at a rate of $400/month until 65.
Who has more at age 65?
Ava invested far less money. Ben invested for far longer. Assuming they both earn the exact same fixed rate of return, Ava still ends up with more, simply because she gave time room to work. (She also didn’t have to work nearly as hard!)
That’s the heart behind my podcast, One Degree: small, steady decisions over a long stretch of obedience, compound over time into a lifetime of faithfulness and fruit.
“Whoever gathers little by little will increase it.” — Proverbs 13:11
Most people wait to invest until life feels calmer—higher income, less debt, more margin. And I get it! But those windows often don’t open the way we imagine. Start with $50, $100, anything. Automate it. Make it invisible.
Business owners—this applies even more to you. If everything you have is tied up in the business, then your future depends entirely on something you may not be able to sell. A SEP IRA, Solo 401(k), or brokerage account builds strength outside the business and cushions the unknowns.
And yes, the market always feels uncertain. But uncertainty is normal. It’s the climate of investing. The only people who benefit are those willing to walk through it.
Start today—however small. It’s better to participate early than to perpetually postpone.
your turn
If you want to go deeper into the theology of work and stewardship, here’s the book I mentioned:
If you want help getting your financial “tree planting” started, reply to this email and we’ll talk next steps.