People are worried about their investments. Many are watching the value of their portfolio drop day after day by huge amounts, and they don’t know what to do about it. Sell everything? Bail out of the market? Wait? Suffer more? Stop the pain? They’re confused, worried and uncertain about the future.
When I start worrying about financial conditions, I know it’s a sign to get a more spiritual view. I look to Jesus Christ for inspiration and guidance, for I see him as the most successful investor ever.
Jesus did not put his trust and faith in things that could be taken from him. He did not invest time and energy in the temporal or fleeting. And because of his sound investment strategy he never worried about the stock market, the interest rate, credit flows or policies made in Washington DC. Jesus knew the substance of life was spiritual, and invested accordingly. And he was rewarded immensely with the ultimate reward, Life in Spirit, where there is no debt, no lack and no financial fears. He made the ultimate investment and reaped the ultimate reward.
His investment philosophy was simple. He instructed,
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. Matthew
I see evidence of Jesus’ philosophy leavening human consciousness in the wisdom shared by some of the great financial investors of our times. They frequently teach their listeners to invest in value and to invest for the long run. They explain that if you buy a good investment it will stay a good investment even if it temporarily drops in value during bad times.
Of course, any temporal investment eventually, some day, will fizzle. That’s the nature of temporal things. Look at Lehmans, a firm that had been around for 158 years. Now it’s bankrupt. But the spirit of the wisdom to invest for the long run is closer to spiritual truth than fear-investing that is swayed by the emotional swings of the moment.
We glimpse Truth in degrees, and many human conceptions of Truth are much better than others. Human judgments based on spiritual reality and long run investing are going to be better and sounder than decisions spawned by short term fear, panic and ignorance.
No matter what happens financially in the short run, God has us covered for all of eternity. God’s underlying channels of supply are always open and flowing freely. Divine Love watches over us, provides for us, and ensures our safety. We will always have what we need to get to the most desirable place of all—heaven. And this will happen with or without money.
I receive a short newsletter each month from the Edward Jones investment house, and a word of wisdom they shared this month on making quality investments caught my attention.
An adviser wrote: “Quality investments are like tennis balls: They are more likely to bounce back after a correction. Speculative investments are like eggs: When they drop, they just make a mess.” I certainly can relate to making an investment that drops like an egg! Haven’t made too many of those over the years, for I’m generally a fast learner on that score! But have had one or two purchases in the past I wished I’d never made.
I extended the warning above to “metaphysical investments” we make everyday. Whenever we commit our thought to a certain pattern of thinking or round of logic, according to the soundness of the wisdom we adhere to will be the outcome of our mental investment.
If we put our hopes in temporal things, someday, those things are going to disappear. The mental investment we made over the years in that temporal thing is going to drop like an egg. Splat! All gone!
If we put our hopes in Spirit, then we make mental investments that never fail us. The power we trust, God, will always be there for us no matter what. Even when faced with severe trial, the trial will eventually pass, and God is ever the same—still present. The “ball of life” bounces back and stays in play.
So, if you’re into making investments that endure for the long haul, make quality investments—spiritual investments you can count on retaining their value forever! And there’s no better time to build your portfolio than now.
I am a practitioner and teacher of Christian Science. From an early age I wanted to help others find spiritual healing for the problems they faced. After graduating from Stanford University and working with my dad in the family farming business for five years, I decided my heart was elsewhere. I left the business and went into the full time practice of Christian Science Mind-healing. For over 22 years I have been healing people of pain, suffering and disease through my prayers. I have written dozens of articles on spiritual healing that have been published in magazines and on the Internet. I teach a two week class annually on how to heal through Christian Science, and have a wonderful wife and two teenage children. I hope you stick around and enjoy this blog.