The Continuing Stock Story

So, as I’ve already told you, I bought stock, and shocked myself by doing very well on it. I sold and bought again a couple of times and increased my holdings by about 10%, and then I shoveled a little more money into my account, bought once more at an excellent price, and again saw the price go up to the "doing very well" point. For the most part, I had no time to mess with it, but when I again had more money to put into the account, I started watching stock prices a little bit. That is where the story begins.

I watched the stock start the day sixteen cents higher than it had ended the day before, and then continue to rise, so I decided that when it started to drop, I would sell the whole shebang. I then set my buy-in price at three different levels, with the idea that with each drop I’d increase my profits, but knowing there was the risk of not being able to buy in at all.

I bought back a third of what I’d sold (at, admittedly, a profit) and then watched prices rise another twenty-five cents higher than what I’d sold for earlier in the day.

I’d sold at the wrong time.

Now, I realize that most of you have probably not played much with the stock market that way, but you have, at some point—perhaps even frequently—done something that brought on the attitude that resulted. It was vague, to the point that ten years ago I may not even have been aware of it, and maybe one could call it guilt. It was a sense of uneasiness, of nebulous fear. I found that I was having trouble concentrating on my work.

Assisted by a new video I watched—which just happened to be on the subject of the brain as it related to attitude—I recognized what was going on, and had a talk with myself about trusting the Lord, about not depending on the stock market, and so on. It was not until later, however, that I connected this with one of my favorite passages in the Bible … you know, that one about seeking first the kingdom of God.

If we allow anything to come between us and our awareness of our right standing with God, our peace, and our joy, we are slamming the door on the supernatural intervention of God. When Jesus said to seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, he did not mean that if we attain to perfect behavior and consistently wise choices, all these things would be added to us. Rather, he meant that we have a continual choice—in our priorities, our actions, and our response to our own failures—between our natural inclinations, and God’s righteousness (which comes by faith) and all the supernatural blessings that go along with it.

What is more valuable? God’s righteousness? Or more Ford stock?

Hmmm. Tough question.

(Not!)

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