Blog

Buy Low

Posted by Eric Farmer on

One of the most famous adages about investing is to “buy low, and sell high.” It communicates that the wise investor is the person who has a long-term outlook and doesn’t let the emotion and anxiety of the day spark unwise choices. As we’ve seen markets dip lately, many advisors are urging people to stay calm and look beyond this anxious season. And you know what? Over thousands of years, not much has changed regarding the human heart and its response to uncertainty.

This is true in many spheres that go way beyond the financial realm, such as the relational, emotional and spiritual realm we all deal with. This frail, human condition that has unwaveringly superseded time and culture speaks to the fact that we weren’t designed to carry the weight of life ourselves. It teaches that, if nothing earthly can truly be an anchor, maybe something or someone beyond earth was meant to be. And so as it turns out, the wisest man who ever lived (Solomon), echoed the same advice we hear from investors today. Yet he is speaking to the whole of life… Proverbs 23:23 Buy the truth and do not sell it-- wisdom, instruction and insight as well. Solomon knew, from God’s gift of wisdom, that it’s easy to sell what we previously knew as true when circumstances get tough and we feel low.

It’s not difficult to see that this is a “low” season all around the world. Optimism is low. Security is low. Clarity is low. Maybe energy and resilience are running low as well. And it’s ok to be low. But what I want to encourage you to do in this season of uncertainty is to resolve to buy the truth. That now, more than ever, we need to set our eyes on a timeline beyond this month and a God who is not anxiously overseeing it.

That especially because things are shaky, we should be investing in spiritual practices that ground us in God’s truth. We need it now more than we did three months ago because the messages we’re inundated with aren’t helping to usher into the peace of God.

So in this low time, don’t give up praying, in fact, pray more. Don’t give up reading Scripture, read more. Don’t give up singing, sharing, meditating, trusting, listening. Double down on God’s truth, it’s the best investment you’ll make.

 

© 2024 Island ECC - A Dynamic English Speaking International Church in Hong Kong