When stock markets crash

If
you’re lucky enough to own a stock or mutual fund, I hope you got out
of it a month or two ago. Today is likely going to be a terrible day on
Wall St. Don’t be surprised if the markets crash.

It doesn’t take any special brilliance to forecast this – all you have to know are two facts:

1. Our economy is inextricably linked to the global economy – if China catches a cold, we start coughing.
2. International markets crashed yesterday, which probably means ours will today.

I
remember when the Twin Towers collapsed on 9/11, I called my financial
wizardo friend, Kevin Means. “What does this mean?” I asked. He
answered, “You know what they used to say when some country in Europe
would go thru a revolution – ‘Buy when there’s blood in the streets.'”
In other words, when people are panicking and the herd is moving for
the exits, that’s a good time to buy stock.

As the herd
scrambles for the exits today and people lose great chunks of their
life savings, it’s helpful to remember the upside. We humans
perpetually give the wrong answer to the question, “How much is
enough?” Our answer is “A little bit more.” And in the process, we get
our life priorities out of whack.

After 9/11, there was a
great upsurge in spiritual matters as we were reminded of our
mortality. Like the children of Israel in the desert, our neediness
caused us to remember God and his place in our lives. Yes, we’re fine
as long as we’re self-sufficient, but remove the comforts we’ve packed
into our lives and we begin wondering, “God, are you still there?”

So,
as you see thousands of dollars flushed down the financial toilet today
and start obsessing about whether to sell or maybe to see it as a
buying opportunity, I encourage you to recalibrate your life with these
scriptures from 1 Timothy 6:

“If we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.”

“Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

“But
you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness,
godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight
of the faith.”

“Command those who are rich not to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God.”