What You Copy Can Make or Break You

Be careful what cat you copy.

When it comes to every part of life, what you copy or imitate can either help you, hurt you, and even destroy you. That is one reason my parents were concerned with who we had as friends. You tend to become like the friends you make. There are some things about my father that I also copy, and it would appear that our son is a copy of me in more than one way. So is our daughter.

I am great at the copy process. I copy good recipes and look to copy good investment practices.

God desires for us to be good copiers. One of the evidences of this is found in the book of Genesis: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” – Genesis 1:27

We have failed miserably as images or copy-cats in character, thoughts, and behaviors. That is why God sent his Son. God desires godly offspring and Jesus makes this possible. When God talks about marriage in Malachi, he says this: “Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union? And what was the one God seeking? Godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit and let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth.” – Malachi 2:15

Why does God desire good image bearers or copies? There are at least two reasons. God is perfect, and when we copy perfection or image perfection, we are at our best and life is very good. In fact, that is what God said about his creation in Genesis before the fall of Adam and Eve.

There is another equally important piece. When we image God properly, he receives the glory he is due.

So What About Investing?

There are clever fraudsters who claim they have found a way to make a lot of money in a short timeframe. They want you to copy their practices. Be forewarned: it isn’t for your good. This makes them an investor’s enemy. One of their schemes is called “pump and dump.” They pump (market or advertise) a poor investment and recommend buying a large quantity of shares. Because far to many investors are gullible, the increase in the demand for the shares causes the price of the shares to go up. Unfortunately, the pumper fraudster knows this upward price motion will be short-lived. Therefore, they sell their shares quickly and bank a profit.

Other investors who copied the fraudster don’t know that he has sold, and by the time they realize it, the share price has plummeted. Their copy routine was financially disastrous.

Be Wary of Copying Pump and Dump Investments

Fools buy into the hype of the purveyors of clever and deceptive investment “advice.” They are your enemy in more than one way. Don’t copy anyone who claims a special “inside” scoop about any investment. Here are some helpful reminders from two sources:

“Pump and dump is a form of securities fraud that involves artificially inflating the price of an owned stock through false and misleading positive statements, in order to sell the cheaply purchased stock at a higher price. Once the operators of the scheme “dump” their overvalued shares, the price falls and investors lose their money.” Source: Wikipedia

Be careful. Don’t copy the pump and dumpers of this life.

“Pump-and-dump schemes were traditionally conducted through cold calling. The advent of the Internet has shifted most of this activity online; fraudsters can now blast hundreds of thousands of email messages to unsuspecting targets or post messages online enticing investors to buy a stock quickly.” Investopedia

Choosing the wrong person to follow can not only ruin you financially, but it can also lead to everlasting ruin. The Apostle Paul made it his aim to imitate Christ. He then could say, “Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.” – Philippians 3:17

How to Identify a Follower of Jesus

They seek to create copycats in the things that reflect the image of Christ. “Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.” – 1 Timothy 4:12

Five Minute Friday

This post is part of the weekly Five-Minute Friday link-up.

All scripture passages are from the English Standard Version except as otherwise noted.