Wisdom With Wealth News

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal,” Matthew 6:20. This investment strategy is repeated as Jesus said, “Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near, and no moth destroys,” Luke 12:33. His advice is not given for God’s benefit, but for the benefit of the investor. Jesus tells his followers to keep their treasures super safe.

Money is strange. It disappears faster than it appears. As humorous, American poet, Ogden Nash, once said, “O, money, money, money, I’m not necessarily one of those who think thee holy, but I often stop to wonder how thou canst go out so fast when thou comest in so slowly.” It’s just plain hard to preserve wealth. Stock market “corrections,” inflation, and financial fees all destroy our wealth. What to do? Jesus tells us to “store our treasures in heaven.” I plan to deal with this in a future article, but what do we do with our vulnerable earthly treasures? Let’s take an indirect lesson from Abraham, whom God made “very rich in livestock, in silver and in gold,” Genesis 13:2. Note Abraham’s three categories of wealth: Livestock, silver, and gold. This is the first biblical mention of a diversified asset portfolio to safeguard earthly blessings. I see livestock representing dividend-paying stocks with growing dividends, plus the ability to reproduce via stock splits. Livestock falls within the asset sector of consumer staples, and might even be viewed as utilities/infrastructure. On the other end of this investment spectrum we have gold. It’s dead. It does nothing. It just sits there and looks pretty. Yet gold is internationally recognized as a primary store of value. It’s used as pavement in heaven, but on earth it will never lose all its value. Silver represents cash and highly-liquid, short-term bonds. Some of you may remember when silver was cash. Before 1967, Canadian dimes and quarters were mostly silver. It’s good to keep some of your portfolio as cash so that you can act fast. Why diversify your holdings? Ecclesiastes 11:2, as expressed in the God’s Word Translation, says it best. “Divide what you have into seven parts, or even into eight, because you don't know what disaster may happen on earth.”