The investing experience can stir a flurry of emotions; most common are fear and greed.
There are also many traps that investors fall into. Christians are not exempt from these traps.
Proverbs 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
Being anxious to increase wealth
God warns us of the dangers of desiring to get rich quick. In Proverbs 28 verse 20, we are made aware that, "A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent." And in verse 22, "He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him."
Pleasure and pain
We look at our statement and half of our portfolio is down (US Large stocks)—**Pain**
The other half is up (Bonds)—**Pleasure**
The temptation is to flee pain by dumping the one that went down and put that money into the one that went up. That is common investor (bad) behavior. Doing that breaks ALL the investing rules!
False bravado
We can feel euphoric because the markets continue going up. We think that we should be making a higher rate of return and are tempted to increase our risk level.
Stick with the written plan.
Greed
Greed can creep into our hearts. What Christian wants to readily admit that they are greedy?
Trusting money
Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; 1 Timothy 6:17
Pride (self-sufficiency)
We can be easily impressed with what "we" have done; based on impressive sums in our financial statements.
Proverbs 30:8-9 Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.
Covetousness
Compared to others, we are not content with where we are in life financially.
Approach investing with the heart of a servant who is managing God's resources. Trust Him and guard your heart daily from worldly wisdom.
If you have a question or comment about today's topic, we invite you to share your thoughts.
