The Bull & Bear Times of a Follower of Christ

Lately I’ve been following the financial news with a great deal of interest.  With the instability of Europe and the shenanigans in the US political arena the markets have responded accordingly with extreme volatility.  As a newbie DIY investor, this poses as a challenge as to where to start and how to begin.

As I have consulted with those much more experienced than I and visit blog sites (CanadianCapitalist, YoungandThrifty, DividendNinja to name a few), I’ve become more & more convinced that ETF’s are the way to go at this point.  The concept of an ETF is actually quite simple – buy an ETF and you get a bunch of stocks that matches a specified index (like the S&P 500) for a much lower MER.

The reasons why ETF’s are arguably ‘better’ than say your traditional actively managed mutual funds are twofold:

1. Lower MER (fees)

2. Better return (long term)

Studies have shown that the majority of the actively managed funds out there usually do not beat the market (especially after the higher fees).  Moreover, the market usually tends to trend upwards over a long term perspective (10+ years).  This of course does not negate the fact that in the short term there will be very nervous and sometimes extreme times.  Actually about once a decade you can expect a huge market crash.  But even in the extreme uncertainty & volatility of the day-to-day emotion driven market, if one invests wisely, diversifies, and take a disciplined approach, knowing full well of the underlying fundamentals of what you’re investing in, you will usually end up successful.  Take away the noise (European news, political gander, etc) and things should become more clear.

As I think more and more about the markets, I can’t help but relate this with the Christian walk and the life that Christ called his followers to be a part of.  Jesus said that as believers to take up one’s cross and follow Him.  He never promised his followers a life of abundance, comfort and unending happiness in the here and now.  Not unlike the markets, on the micro scale, life is laden with poor decisions, emotionally driven temperaments, lows & highs, even despair and moments of hopelessness.  Despite the melancholic view of life, as believers, we have assurance that in the ‘big picture’, or the ‘long-term outlook’ the ‘market’ will ‘correct itself’ (for the sake of the analogy).  It’s during the downtimes when we know that our markets are in fact driven by an all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-loving `Invisible Hand`.

Unfortunately these once in a decade  (sometimes more often than not) crashes will happen.  The pain, anguish, and grieving are real-life, tangible emotions that inevitably comes with broken people and a broken system.  One must not trivialize this reality, or the here-and-now.  At the same time, we must not forget that one day He will come back and make right all things.

 I am thankful that there is a fundamental truth in which hope is provided through the One who gives us strength.

love’s three entailments

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.

Heart, soul, mind.  Must not divorce the three.

Is relationship with God enough?

Sometimes I feel the focus is honed way too much on the ‘relationship’ aspect rather than the ‘God’ aspect.  Sometimes I feel like we try to love God without knowing who God really is.  Sometimes I feel like we say/do things in the name of God without realizing the significance and power of His holy name.

A relationship with a trivialized, culturally-conditioned, convenient concept of God may just as well be idolatry.