Investing: Recent Episodes
Copland Financial Ministries
The best investment today depends on future events, and because no human can consistently predict the direction of any market, it’s critical to acknowledge our dependence upon God.
The best investment today depends on future events, and because no human can consistently predict the direction of any market, it’s critical to acknowledge our dependence upon God.
Prayerfully allow God through his Spirit and his Word to determine where you invest "God's Money".
Before making any major financial decision, through prayer and the study of God's Word, determine God's financial plan.
God wants us to invest His money according to His investment principles, but unfortunately most Christians have little or no knowledge of what the Bible says on investing.
Develop and implement a biblically based investment strategy that reflects God’s will regarding the investments that God has entrusted to you.
God recommends biblical diversification of the investments that God has entrusted to you.
Unless God specifically directs you otherwise [John 10:3, 4], diversify your investments in accordance with Ecclesiastes 11:1, 2.
Biblical diversification is obtained by allocating one's assets into different types of investments that will probably react differently to any particular market condition.
If you have no peace in investing in equities because of the risks, then perhaps God is directing you to invest in safer categories, such as short- term high quality bonds or guaranteed investment certificates.
Borrowing to invest increases the risk and volatility of your portfolio, and if the market drops, you could lose a lot of money.
do not borrow to invest but rather invest whatever cash God provides and trust God to meet your needs.
It can be tempting to borrow money for investing. When the market goes up, additional returns can be obtained through the use of debt. However, when the market goes down, I’ve seen many cases where the results were disastrous.
He who works his land will have abundant food, but the one who chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty.”
we must pray and depend on God for his wisdom and his direction in investing the money that God has entrusted to us.
it is biblical to assume some investment risk but be sure to diversify your investments because we do not know what will happen to any particular market sector or the economy. Biblical diversification should reduce the volatility and risk of your portfolio resulting in reasonable long- term returns.
Depending on God’s wisdom, assess your tolerance for risk and invest according to God’s principles and God’s specific will.
God’s approach is different - the emphasis in scripture is to save and invest a little at a time over a long period and not to try to make a lot of money quickly.
When it comes to investing, hasty decisions are usually bad decisions. Proverbs 21:5 says: “The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.”
seek several sources of godly investment counsel, review the biblical investment principles yourself and then prayerfully discern what God wants you to do.
Motives are important to God. Proverbs 16:2 says: “All a man’s ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the LORD.”
Therefore, when you hear bad financial news or if the markets have decreased significantly, before you make any investment decisions, spend quality time with the Lord in prayer, seeking God’s wisdom [James 1:5] and God’s specific direction [Psalms 32:8].
Human tendency is to make hasty investment decisions in response to “hot tips” or “once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.”
It is easy to become focused on building an investment portfolio, but never forget - financial investments are temporary.
As Christians we should be content with God’s provision [1 Timothy 6:6-8] remember that God promised to meet our needs [Matthew 6:31-33] as we put him first.
Any investment that promises an unusually high rate of return means that it’s a risky investment [Proverbs 23:4, 5].
Many people believe the “financial deception” that “smart people use other people’s money” -i.e. smart people borrow to invest in order to increase their returns.