Dangerous Behaviors: Investing and Life

Five-Minute Friday: REVERSE

Many years ago I was on a business trip to Boston Massachusetts. A taxi was taking me to Logan International Airport for my return to Milwaukee. We were on the freeway, and I noticed that the driver missed the exit for the airline I was using for the return. He immediately stopped the taxi, put it in reverse, and backed up. Thankfully, there was little traffic, but this is always a reminder to me of the folly of going in reverse into potential danger.

Investing in Reverse

Far too many investors invest like a passenger being driven by a “professional” taxi driver known as a stockbroker. When the stock market goes in reverse, the investor has a sense of foreboding about long-term risk. They tell their broker to sell their investments. This is a jump out of the investment taxi to sit on the side of the road. Sadly, this reaction often puts a huge dent in their retirement accounts that cannot be repaired without decades of better choices. Good advisors usually tell their clients to avoid jumping out of the moving market.

A hasty exit from the stock market is the reverse of what investors should do. When investments are going down in price, assuming they are quality investments, wise investors load up on more shares using the dividends they receive every month or at least every quarter.

A More Dangerous Reverse

As foolhardy as the previous way of living can be, there is an even more dangerous reverse. It has to do with our souls for all of eternity. The church in Galatia was plagued with a bad reversal after they had received the gospel from the Apostle Paul. Here are some excerpts from Paul’s letter to them.

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.” Galatians 1:6-9

“We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.” Galatians 2:15-16

“Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? You observe days and months and seasons and years! I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain.” Galatians 4:8-11

How to Identify a Follower of Jesus

My Hope is Built

Followers of Jesus sing this song: My Hope Is Built

My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;

I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

Refrain: On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand: all other ground is sinking sand; all other ground is sinking sand.

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.