A Caution Against "Investing"

I hope the title captured your attention. That was my hope. The other day, we were having breakfast with a new friend. His name is David Hain. David has spent years of his life ministering to inmates. He shared something that really captured my attention. In a nutshell, he said this:

Stop "investing" in people. The Bible never asks us to invest in people. An investment is when you pay something out expecting a return on what you gave. We do not give looking for a return. Instead, Scripture is chock full of mandates to spend our lives and to give our time, talent and treasure expecting nothing in return. Instead of investing, try loving. Instead of investing, try giving. Instead of investing, try spending. This line of thought really served to humble me as I have thought and prayed through it the last few days. Too often, I have looked at myself as an investor into people. I'm reminded that I'm not in charge of the increase or return. So, let me just plant and water and leave the rest to God.
"I planted the seed, Apollos watered the plants, but God made you grow." I Corinthians 3:6