Think Differently About RISK Henry Kaestner
In the summer of 2021 , I attended a conference where someone gave a talk on inflation . After about an hour of hearing fellow Christian investors talk about the different ways to hedge against inflation , I discovered that a room full of Christian investors can look a lot like a room full of unbelieving investors . Both groups want to mitigate risk . Both groups want their assets to stay safe and secure . Both groups want to hedge against certain unknowns .
The difference is — or at least should be — that Christian investors have a different understanding of the unknown . Or , to put it another way , Christian investors have a relationship with Someone to whom nothing is unknown . Shouldn ’ t that change the way we invest ? Shouldn ’ t that change the way we live ?
Hedging is a common term in the investing world , but the idea has existed long before there was a stock market . In fact , you may have heard people describe the “ hedge around the law ” that the Pharisees built in Old Testament times .
For example , while the law required that Israelites not work the twenty-four hours of the Sabbath , some Pharisees would teach that people should not work for twenty-five hours , just to be safe . While this mindset may have been well-intentioned , it completely missed the purpose of what God was trying to teach his people . They thought they could retain control . They thought they could do it on their own . But we know that isn ’ t true .
Now , we ’ re seeing that same mindset creep into the hearts of investors . We know what the Bible says about giving , so we obey those verses dutifully , but when it comes to investing , we opt for playing it safe , “ just in case .” Paul instructs us to “ not conform to the pattern of this world , but be transformed by the renewing of [ our ] mind [ s ]” ( Romans 12:2 ). Yet the pattern of this world instructs us to have a large retirement account , diversified investments , and even things like a financial nest egg .
This is a dangerous trap . Rather than renewing our minds , we ’ re falling right into the trap of
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