Sound investment strategies. Diversification 102

I posted this before (that was 101) but have been thinking of this again lately. Money, finances, investing is an important topic. As with many things in life we can learn a lot about someone by watching how they handle money. This is also true of use of spare time, eating, TV watching etc. Though money is a fascinating one. It was probably one of the biggest topics that Jesus covered in his time on earth. And of course the Bible itself spends (sorry for the pun) a lot of time on this topic. Do you consider it strange that the God of the universe would send his Son to earth and one of the key messages is the proper attitude and use of money? I want to talk about one aspect of this topic, albeit a very important one.

Anyone who has listened to investment gurus has heard that one of the most important principles of investing for the future is “diversification.” By this is meant that with so many unpredictable elements in the economy in good times and bad you want to avoid investing in just one area. This spreads out your risk, so that if interest rates in one area go bad but in other areas improve you hopefully will have a net gain. Also if everything tanks you want to do your best to have some of your investment in areas with some sort of guaranteed return or at least you can’t lose your principal. I think you get the idea.

It is clear that our economy is on the precipice of complete collapse. Many, including yours truly, believe this is eminent. It is just a matter of time. Look around and you will see some with their heads in the sand. Others in outright panic mode. At the same time there is still lots of uncertainty and lots of people and groups out to fleece you. And as a Christian I always watch the Church to see how this institution handles this. As I said earlier you can learn a lot about a person, or a Church, by how they handle their money!

I’ve been thinking and praying about ways to avoid the certain collapse of our economy having such a big impact on me and my family. I’ve already seen this in a major way in my 401k and CDs etc. God must be able to give me insight into where I can invest some money as a hedge against our future economic woes.

He does. He did. Jesus very pointedly stated, "’Don't store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.’”

Sounds simplistic doesn’t it? Sounds too good to be true.

BUT, is this not more reliable advice than any stock market analyst, or investment counselor can give? Or at least it is worth considering. After all THIS IS FROM THE LORD OF THE UNIVERSE. THE ONE WHO HOLDS THE WORLDS TOGETHER.

So as you look at your investment portfolio consider his words. Whether you only have money under a mattress or in a Savings and Loan, or some stocks, or CDs or 401k, Roth or whatever why not consider a percentage going into “Futures”!

What does, “Store your treasures in heaven” mean. One aspect to ponder is this. Jesus is the One Who holds the future in His hands. Could it mean that “Store your treasures” is synonymous with “investing”?

Investing in heaven means, in part, supporting Missions. Support missions organizations that both provide services to help people help themselves AND help them get their spiritual lives on track with their maker. Consider Teams for Medical Missions . They do this very thing among the poor and needy in Jamaica. Support Inner City Ministries such as Helping up Mission in Baltimore that both help physical and spiritual needs of inner city men who are caught in a death spiral. Help prison ministries such as Prison Fellowship International that helps prisoners so that when they get out of prison they won’t go back. The recidivism rate is under 10%. Vis a vis they have tools to make it in society and they have an anchor for their souls.

You get the idea. Support your local church, though personally I think as in all giving to organizations, don’t give blindly. Make sure the organization is sound and that their philosophy of filthy lucre is sound and that they are not spending too much on administrative fees and non-ministry priorities. We want our money to really go into investing in the Kingdom of God.

Recently I was praying about my investing, with this concept in mind. I was impressed with a particular ministry need. This is a ministry that I was also contributing to on a regular basis. But it seemed to me that the needs were greater, and that I did have more money that I could give. BUT I was worried about giving such a large amount. I won’t say how much this was but suffice it to say, I had never given this amount of money, except to pay a bill. Well I wrote the check. I decided to believe Jesus’ promise.

Curiously about this same time I was praying for how I would get the funds to pay for my upcoming medical missions trip to Jamaica (Feb 6, 2010). I needed to raise the money myself. I assumed I’d be paying from my own savings account. A long story short, out of the blue someone donated, on my behalf, the exact large amount that I had just given to this other Christian ministry.

How cool is that!! How big is our God!!!!!!

But don’t give with the attitude that God will give you back some identical dollar amount. The return on your investment may be in futures. If you know what I mean…

Rudy the investment guru