110 – A Christian’s Response To Today’s Investment Uncertainty

Christian Financial Perspectives

English - April 27, 2022 21:30 - 19 minutes - 17.6 MB - ★★★★★ - 11 ratings
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Previous Episode: 109 – Investing During Turbulent Times

Next Episode: 111 – Questions For Down Markets

Listen in as Bob and Shawn discuss how a Christian should respond to investment uncertainty. There is always some form of uncertainty and risk when it comes to investing, but how we react to that risk makes a big difference. The last thing we want to do is let pure emotions dictate our decisions. More importantly, looking towards scripture is one way to try and gain peace and confidence when it comes to our investments. It all belongs to God anyways, doesn’t it?

Click below to listen to Episode 110 – A Christian’s Response To Today’s Investment Uncertainty

A Christian’s Response To Today’s Investment Uncertainty

Listen in as we discuss ways a Christian should react to investment uncertainty based on scriptures.

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Understanding the typical cycles of bull and bear markets allows us to better understand trends and have more confidence in our decisions. The last thing we want to do is let pure emotions dictate our decisions. More importantly, looking towards scripture is one way to try and gain peace and confidence when it comes to our investments. It all belongs to God anyways, doesn’t it?

HOSTED BY: Bob Barber, CWS®, CKA®

CO-HOST: Shawn Peters

Mentioned In This Episode

Christian Financial Advisors

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Bob Barber, CWS®, CKA®

Shawn Peters

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EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

[INTRODUCTION]

Welcome to “Christian Financial Perspectives”, where you’re invited to gain insight, wisdom and knowledge about how Christians integrate their faith, life and finances with a Biblical Worldview. Here’s your host Christian Investment Advisor, Financial Planner, and Coach, Bob Barber.

[EPISODE]

Bob:

Hello, Shawn.

Shawn:

Hey Bob. What’s up?

Bob:

Well, I tell you what what’s up is we’re gonna have a very good podcast and video today. This is our second time to do the video. We’re very excited about this, and I just love our media. What do you call this? A video room.

Shawn:

You can call it a media room, video room, whatever.

Bob:

Yeah, it’s so cool. Last time, we talked about how to respond to all this craziness that’s going on in the markets. And today, we’re gonna talk about a Christian’s response to today’s market volatility. I put this together last night, Shawn, probably in 20-25 minutes. That normally doesn’t happen to me.

Shawn:

No, normally you spend a lot more time than that.

Bob:

Exactly. So the Lord has laid this on my heart because there is a way to respond to this volatility that is going on right now for a Christian. And a Christian’s response should be different.

Shawn:

Yep. Absolutely.

Bob:

Then somebody with a secular worldview. So first of all, we’re in this bear market. There’s no doubt we’re heading to a bear market. As we make this, just yesterday, the markets fell nearly 4%. Some blue chip companies yesterday fell 15 and 20% and that can really eat with your emotions and your feelings.

Shawn:

I mean, when you’re four months into the markets not going up after how many years we go, pretty much?

Bob:

Yeah. And you know what, it’s only been two years since we had a bear market. Now for those that you that don’t know, a bear market is a down market, because a bear comes down on you, and a bull kind of goes up. So a bull market is up market, if you don’t know what that means.

Shawn:

As our little models here demonstrate.

Bob:

Exactly. Yeah. We got the, we got the little logo that’s over there. So we got bears and bulls all over this office. Because that’s what we do. We manage investments from a biblically responsible perspective. Shawn, you know that there is a foundation for a Christian’s response to every time when you think about finances. And that foundation, what is that?

Shawn:

God owns it all. You gotta start from there.

Bob:

You gotta start with that foundation. If you don’t start with that foundation, you have cracks in the foundation as a Christian. So, God owns it all. Psalms 24:1 says, “The earth is the Lords and everything in it, the world and all who live in it.” Now, do we believe that?

Shawn:

Amen. Yes, we do.

Bob:

I remember going through the truth project many years ago, Focus on the Family and Dr. Dale Tackett said, do you believe that what you believe is really real? And if we really believe that, then God owns it all. There should be no fretting from a Christian worldview, a biblical worldview.

Shawn:

And that’s where that idea of the stewardship comes into play. The assets that we are investing, managing our home, anything really that we have, it doesn’t belong to us. It belongs to God, but he’s entrusted that to us. And we will ultimately be held accountable for how we manage that, which is why that’s important to be number one, God owns it all.

Bob:

The next thing is there is a time for everything. And we’ve mentioned this many times in the podcast. There’s a time for economic booms and bust and booms again. Because there’s a time. Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, “There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens.” I believe that. I’ve lived it. The older you get, the more you’re gonna realize there’s good and bad times. And when you’re into good times, you better get ready for the bad. But even when you’re in bad times, you gotta look at the good.

Shawn:

Ecclesiastes – we won’t read the entire section because there’s a lot of “time for this, time for that”, but the one that always sticks out to me, especially when you’re talking about markets, is there’s a time to plant and there’s a time to reap. There’s a time for joy and there’s a time for sorrow. So right now, people are feeling a little sorrowful a little bit like, “Maybe I should have pulled some money out sooner. I don’t know. Like what do I do now?”

Bob:

But you could consider that gambling in a way, trying to time it. And that is my third point today is that it’s time – not gambling and trying to time the markets that creates long term wealth. And we went over the traits of wealthy people. You remember that? That’s a podcast that was four or five podcasts ago that we would invite you to go back and listen to. There were 21 traits of wealthy people and one was “they do not gamble”.

Shawn:

Now, Bob, just wanna make sure to clarify for our listeners or viewers. Timing the markets does not mean that like, especially for us as professional money managers, it does not mean that we don’t ever take take capital aside.

Bob:

Some off the table, put some back.

Shawn:

Exactly. So we stay, like even now, we’ve been invested, but we obviously made a very pointed decision towards the fourth quarter of 2021 to actually pull some back. Some of that capital after two years of plenty, which kind of reminds me of the famine in Egypt and Joseph, like there was gonna be 7 years of plenty and 7 years of famine. So like, Hey, we’ve had two years of really great returns. There’s not a lot of good things on horizon. Let’s pull a little bit back, but that’s not timing the markets from day to day and week to week.

Bob:

Yeah. I’m talking about the day traders and trying to time that. It just doesn’t work.

Shawn:

Doesn’t work very long. It might work for a month or two.

Bob:

Yeah. There’s a great scripture I have for that.

Shawn:

Proverbs 13:11, “Dishonest money dwindles away. But whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow.”

Bob:

It’s not hitting it all at once. It’s little by little and growing over time.

Shawn:

So consistency, maybe, is another way to say that.

Bob:

Yeah. You gotta realize, too, that your portfolio, if you have an investment portfolio, it’s gonna go up and down month to month. And right now, while we’re in this bear market, it could go down a lot. I’ve seen people get depressed over this. I’ve seen my Christian brothers and sisters get depressed over it.

Shawn:

Just the value of their account changing?

Bob:

Exactly. Over the value. I’m thinking, this concerns me because is the value of your portfolio tied to your self worth?

Shawn:

It shouldn’t be. I mean, hey, going back to number one, God owns it all. We wanna be good stewards. But ultimately the value of the portfolio should not determine your self worth. That comes from God.

Bob:

And contentment comes from that relationship with God. Philippians 4:11-13. Would you read that for us?

Shawn:

Sure. “I am not saying I need anything. I have learned to be happy with whatever I have. I know how to get along with little and how to live when I have much. I have learned the secret of being happy at all times. If I am full of food and have all I need, I am happy. If I’m hungry and need more, I’m happy. I can do all things because Christ gives me the strength.”

Bob:

That contentment comes through Christ. The contentment doesn’t come from the value of your portfolio, whether it’s up today or down tomorrow. And the Christian’s response to this should be that of contentment, not your self worth based on what the portfolio says today.

Shawn:

Yep. And number five definitely jumps out to me because we hear it all the time with people calling in or emailing or texting and talking to us in person about like, well, I saw this on Facebook or Instagram or whatever. Just something on social media, or I was listening to so, and so (I’m not gonna name any names), somebody talking about how this time it’s different, the world’s ending. So to that end, number five, I will not allow social media or professional doomsayers with conspiracy theories, deceptions, lies and alternative motives to influence me.

Bob:

You like that?

Shawn:

Yeah. It’s weird, too, because I’ve noticed, and maybe you’ve seen this, Bob, all of the guys and ladies, I guess, who are talking about how this is all gonna end and here’s what’s going on. They almost always seem to have this plug for a book that they just so happened to have released.

Bob:

Exactly.

Shawn:

Or this how to guide about, “But by the way, I talk about all these things in my new book. Buy it now.”

Bob:

Or maybe go buy gold, high commission products.

Shawn:

No incentive there, right?

Bob:

It’s amazing to me how they have these alternative motives. It’s a conflict of interest to try to influence us. So be very careful of that social media, the internet, all the doomsayers. I mean, they’re out there and they’re out there everywhere.

Shawn:

Just because it’s online doesn’t mean it’s true.

Bob:

Oh, no kidding.

Shawn:

It’s a platform. It used to be if you had, no offense to anybody, but if you had the village idiot, they could only talk to the people in the village. But now with social media and everything else, they can talk to somebody across the world. So, it’s not that really anything’s changed. It’s just more people have a voice and can say things without having to provide any basis or facts.

Bob:

You’re gonna really love the scripture I picked for this. Go ahead.

Shawn:

1 Peter 5:8, “Be alert and of sober mind, your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

Bob:

Does that fit?

Shawn:

Yeah. That’s pretty straightforward.

Bob:

That really fits. A response to this. The next one is believe in biblical guidelines. Biblical guidelines are not going to lead you astray. And one of the biblical guidelines that we’ve talked about over and over is diversification. And if you have good diversification and it’s not all in real estate, or it’s not all in stocks or it’s not all in bonds or it’s not all international, it’s not all in one sector, but you had diversification and it tells us to do that.

Shawn:

There’s a scripture for that.

Bob:

Ecclesiastes 11:2.

Shawn:

“Invest in seven ventures. Yes, in eight. You do not know what disaster may come upon the land.” It’s just amazing how many scriptures there are for just about everything in life. I mean, especially when we’re talking about stewardship. Our mindset and stewardship and money it all belongs to God and what do you do with it? And how do you prepare?

Bob:

Well, remember biblical scholars say that there’s over 1500 scriptures that have to do with stewardship. So we’re just sharing a few. It’s a lot of scriptures. There’s nothing new under the sun. When the markets drop like this and causes all this emotional turmoil, this is nothing new. This is the kind of stuff that’s happened over and over. It’s not different this time. Okay. It’s not different this time.

Shawn:

But when it’s been dropping for awhile, it always feels like it’s different this time.

Bob:

We may be in for a lot longer. How do we know? We don’t know. A day is like a thousand years to the Lord. I hope we’re not in for that long, but the average bear market is around 3 to 11 months and we’re maybe three or four months into this, and this may go another year. We don’t know. It may go another couple of months. I can tell you this. The economy seems to be doing pretty well right now. And it’s very different than some of the other times it’s dropped. And there seems to be a lot of panic over just two or three things. And one is the federal reserve raising interest rates.

Shawn:

We’ll share that on the podcast episode online, but we might be able to show it on the screen. I’m getting used to that part, but there’s that chart for the last 73 years of the markets and showing how the average duration was 11 months. And the only reason why it was 11 months is because there was a few outliers at like 15, 18, 25 months, but like you said, most of them, if you took the total number, were in that 3 to 11 month range.

Bob:

We’ll get him to put that chart up so y’all can see that chart. And you’ll notice in that chart the majority of the time, the markets are up, but when the markets are down is always so emotional. You gotta keep your emotions out of that. Number seven, I will pray and seek God’s word over social media, the news, the internet, and TV. That really is driven by fear. The TV likes to use fear in all those areas, kinda like the doomsayers that we talked about in the other episode.

Shawn:

Well, it gets viewership numbers up. Tune in after this break on how the world’s about to end. Okay. I guess I need to tune in cuz that sounds important.

Bob:

Sometimes, we need to get away from that and go into God’s word and read God’s word and pray and just turn off the noise, because there’s so much noise. I’ve got Psalms 91:1 here, Psalms 91 is a chapter I prayed over my family for forever. It’s the protection chapter, but the first verse is one I really like, “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the most high will rest in the shadow of the almighty.” See, the key to that word is rest in there. God does not want us living in a spirit of fear and chaos. It’s not about that, but the media can sure do that to you. And all the fear mongers out there, which takes us to the next one.

Shawn:

Number eight, we have, I refuse to live in a spirit of fear over what the markets are doing from day to day. So, don’t look at it every day.

Bob:

You might wanna just check out and look at it next year. 2 Timothy 1:7 says, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of sound mind.”

Shawn:

Amen.

Bob:

And number nine.

Shawn:

I choose not to go it alone. And we’ve got Proverbs 15:22. Actually, we have two scriptures here.

Shawn:

Proverbs 15:22, “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisors they succeed.” I think that might be one of the top three verses that we quote here.

Bob:

Oh, it is. And the time one is one we quote here a lot, too. And then we have Ecclesiastes 4:11-13, “If two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?” Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” And that third strand is the Holy Spirit guiding you and leading you and God did not call for us to go it alone.

Shawn:

We have the church.

Bob:

But the advertisements, the big online brokerage firms, they call you to go it alone. You can do this. You don’t need anyone to help you. Just use our tool. Use this app. And that has really hurt a lot of people. And in a bull market, when the market’s just up, up, up the day traders, they really push that. Day traders get caught up in it. It broke my heart yesterday, talking to someone I knew that loves the Lord that got caught up in that. And now they owe tremendous – over six figures many times over – in income tax and in capital gains tax, short term capital gains tax from last year. And then they got caught and they were trying to make their money back. And now, they have less than what they started with.

Shawn:

And owe the taxes.

Bob:

And owe the taxes. Exactly. So yeah, it’s very, very sad. I hope we’ve given you something today about what you should be. What should the Christians response be to the markets when they’re falling and these bear markets, not to get caught up in that, but look to God’s word. He has the answer and our next episode, we’re gonna cover seven questions everybody should be asking themselves when the markets are down. Now, this is something I’ve shared in some articles. And actually, you can go to our website, to Christianfinancialadvisors.com under the articles area and find that. But we’re gonna share that in a video.

Shawn:

Yeah. Well actually in the video, unless you’re listening right now, but if you’re currently watching this video, we’ll have it in the video description with a link to some of the things we referenced, like the bear market, bear market and bull market cycles, as well as the seven questions Bob was alluding to, and then we’ll cover that in a future video.

Bob:

And we are here for you. We want you to know that. We love you, our brothers and sisters in Christ out there. We don’t want you going through this alone. You can always give us a call at 830-609-6986 during business hours. Don’t go it alone. We’re here to help walk together through this.

Shawn:

And if you like this video, we would definitely encourage you to please like, share, and subscribe. If you subscribe, it should help you with getting that notification bell and find out as soon as we post a new video. Thank you. God. Bless.

[CONCLUSION]

That’s all for now.

We invite you to listen to all of our past episodes covering many financial topics from a Christian Perspective. To make sure you don’t miss any of Bob’s upcoming episodes you can subscribe to Christian Financial Perspectives on iTunes, Google Play Music, Spotify, or Stitcher. To learn more about integrating your faith with your finances, visit ciswealth.com or call 830-609-6986.

[DISCLOSURES]

Investment advisory services offered through Christian Investment Advisors Inc dba Christian Financial Advisors, also known as Christian Financial Advisors, a registered investment advisor. Comments from today’s show are for informational purposes only and not to be considered investment advice or recommendations to buy or sell any company that may have been mentioned or discussed. The opinions expressed are solely those of the host, Bob Barber and his guests. Bob does not provide tax advice and encourages you to seek guidance from a tax professional. While Christian Investment Advisors believes the information to be accurate and reliable, we do not claim or have responsibility for its completeness, accuracy, or reliability.

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