Investing in True Securities

“‘Wall Street’ No Longer Exists” read one headline earlier this week. There is no end to the superlatives thrown at the current financial shakedown. Some are calling it the worst crisis since the Great Depression. Others are calling it simply the greatest financial crisis in our nation’s history—ever. We are used to media-generated crises in our country, but this time the hysteria is grounded in grim reality.

Credit markets froze last week. Banks weren’t lending to each other, and loans to companies and consumers were in danger of drying up, effectively stalling the economic engine of our nation. Now that the feds are proposing nearly one trillion dollars to take bad debt off the banks’ books, the dollar is in a freefall, causing oil and gold to go haywire.

One could point a lot of fingers in this time of crisis. Some have argued that the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 forced banks to make loans to those who really couldn’t repay them. Others have argued that the feds’ policy of easy money and low interest rates in recent years allowed people to take on debt upon debt—until the whole scheme started to crumble with failing mortgages.

It’s easy to fix blame in times of crisis. But for those who think about life from of a Christian worldview, these recent events shouldn’t come as a complete surprise. The Apostle Paul warned us about money, saying not to put our “hope in wealth, which is so uncertain.” (1 Tim 6:17) Likewise Jesus told his disciples, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy.” (Matt 6:19) The bible warns us that money is fleeting. It can be here one minute and gone the next. It is not the proper place to look for stability and security.

This observation is not meant to be a “gotcha.” Many Christians (including myself) will have lost some money in their investments over recent weeks. To point out the bible’s warning about money’s slippery quality is meant to draw us to the path of wisdom. After Paul’s warning, he immediately follows it up by saying, Christians should “put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” Jesus follows up his warning by saying, “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy.”

There is a place to invest. By all means, invest in your retirement plans and stock funds. But keep in mind that these investments aren’t your first or primary line of hope. The world’s financial institutions will never tell you that in their advertising. Instead, your primary line of hope & investment must be in God, whose spiritual riches and delights are far superior and permanent than anything money can buy. David praised God in the Psalms writing, “You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” (Psalm 16:11) MasterCard can’t touch this priceless security.