Christian Financial Advice

Trading Discussion
1

Good day to all,

I am a Christian, and I’ve been looking about what the Bible says about investment/trading. Kind of like what people do with the Art of War, but with a Holy twist haha. This is just for information so be nice :wink: I just thought it might be a good resource for people who are looking to invest but haven’t started because of the ‘gambling is not holy’ thing. (yes yes i know trading isnt gambling)

Among the more common biblical references is the parable of the talents (biblical times talents = money, not talents (abilities) as we know it today)

Matthew 25: 14-30
14"Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. 15To one he gave five talents[a] of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. 17So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. 18But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

19"After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’

21"His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

22"The man with the two talents also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.’

23"His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

24"Then the man who had received the one talent came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

26"His master replied, 'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

28" ‘Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. 29For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 30And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

(ok verse 30 was overkill but hey it makes it complete)

Then there’s investment strategy:
Diversification - Ecclesiastes 11:2
Give portions to seven, yes to eight,
for you do not know what disaster may come upon the land.

Counsel - Proverbs 15:22 Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established. (go babypips forums!)

Profit taking??? (i still havent figured out what this means, or maybe i do know what it means but i want my money now!!!)
Leviticus 19:23-25
23 " 'When you enter the land and plant any kind of fruit tree, regard its fruit as forbidden. For three years you are to consider it forbidden ; it must not be eaten. 24 In the fourth year all its fruit will be holy, an offering of praise to the LORD. 25 But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit. In this way your harvest will be increased. I am the LORD your God.

hehe. thoughts anyone?

2

jawnlooi very nice post. I must commend you, it takes alot of guts to talk about God and the bible in this environment. You have a boldness hmmm I wonder where that comes from??

Anyway very nice, I was talking to one of the ministers in my church just yesterday about earning money and we were talking about as long as you don’t seek after money as thee most important thing in your life and as long as you don’t desire money above God then it is not a sin to have money or nice things.

Thanks and God bless you, John

3

Proverbs 21:5 – “Steady plodding brings prosperity; hasty speculation brings poverty”

Luke 12:15 – “A mans life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions”

but then, im more for the seperation of church and my pocketbook !

enjoy and trade well

mp

4

Ezekiel 28:5 (New International Version)

5 By your great skill in trading
you have increased your wealth,
and because of your wealth
your heart has grown proud.

This is in reference to the King of Tyre but any trader that starts making good money has to be very careful to keep humble and not get proud.

5

Are you familiar with the freewill concept? I don�t believe that God cares about our money investments as he does not put his hand into our lives the way people like to believe. He created us and put us in this world for us to make our own lives, if he put his hands in human business there wouldn�t be such a mess.

6

A very thought provoking post and something to take our mind off the relentless studying of pips, charts, candles and signals. Very interesting. Nice to see many people adding to the post with a few thoughts as well. So here’s my little effort, and I would like to firstly say we should all respect a persons religious beliefs and faith as a personal and private thing, whatever faith or God that may be.

I’m going to think in terms of the words of (Matthew 13:31-32,) and the parable about the mustard seed. I personally hope that my small seed investment at present can grow like the seed of the mustard tree into something big, [I][B]“though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches”. [/B][/I] Who knows then, I may fulfill my dream and open my own top class restaurant.

I will also keep in mind, (Matthew 19:24). [B]“It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” [/B]

Personally, I believe money is NOT evil, it is the people who use it in a bad way that cause the evil, and I am sure the good Lord has no problem with us all trying to do better and progress our lives for the better and for the good of mankind in whatever way.

Great Post I thought Jawnlooi, Well done!! Peace to all especially at this time of year.
[B]BARRY[/B] :slight_smile:

7

Evil is completely subjective. If you stop believing in evil, it ceases to exist.

8

Practice giving away to those who need it, if it’s hard start little and give more as you grow more accustomed to it.

Most (if not all) highly successful people (whether religious or not) will tell you the more they give, the more that seems to come back to them.

When it comes to it, we should not be trading for money. Were trading either because we love it or because we are trying to provide a better lives for those around us. When it becomes about greed failure is sure to follow.

9

That’s a pretty powerful, and strange comment. Tell that to someone who has seen there family shot in front of their own eyes, or been sold into the sex slave industry…

But let’s not get into a religious debate, this is babypips.com, not babyfaith.com :slight_smile:

10

hahahaha funny.
anyway yes its very interesting getting other ‘affirmations’ :slight_smile: i was for some time waiting along the sides wondering if i should trade or not (like whether it was right)

strange how i was never thought to grow my money :slight_smile:

11

I think what is meant by the saying it is easire to fit a fat man through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to get into heaven is;

Most people with money in there lives don’t “want” for anything material and don’t face the struggles a poor person faces and becomess content with life never needing anything they never feel a need to call upon God for help or see a need for a personal relationship with God after all they have all there heart desires already.

I feel God does allow us free will but ultimatly everything belongs to Him and we are mearly custodians of what is his already for example wealth. God’s hand is felt in the lives of those of us who believe in Him and call upon Him. Still it rains on the righteous and the unrighteous and the sun shines on the righteous and the unrighteous.

just my 2pips :slight_smile:

12

That comment could be applied to Trading just as well. It’s not a one-trick pony of a statement :wink:

When the market is saturated with fear or greed is when the humble trader can gain the most.

EDIT:

Wait a second, are you saying that believing in evil helps relieve grief and that by saying that evil doesn’t exist that I’m causing grief?! Equally powerful and strange I would say!

15

You DO answer my question!! So according to the bible, we need to study at least 3 years before engaging in the real account. Man, God Bless You!!!
I was overconfident with my demo account (after studying forex for 3 month) and planning to open a real account this January. thx for making me humble again…

16

haha actually i’m not sure, but i saw it as a ‘let your account grow’ for the first 3 years. like the ‘compound interest’ effect? BUT if you do feel that you need to stay out of the market for 3 years then do so :smiley:

17

That’s the way I took it too…as in don’t keep withdrawing from it and spending it.

:slight_smile:

18

Is a man deserving of such a gift simply because he is poor?

If a man has no knowledge of money should it be given to him?

Should the heart of a man be taken into consideration or should
we simply meet their needs?

[B] I have two sisters let us call them Jen and Kim.[/B]

Jen borrows $1,200 and I hear no word from her for 2 years until finally she walks up to me and hands me $20.
"I’ll pay you $20 a week that is all I can do."
It was then that I realized that that is all a creditor wants to hear; that you will pay him what is owed :slight_smile:
I forgave Jen for her delinquency and sent her on her way.

Kim borrows $800 and I hear no word from her for 5 years until I finally see her again. Her car is filled with: Jesus tapes, bibles, devotionals, & Christian music. She walks up to me with that canned “Christian” smile and says."Hi brother I missed you."
Oh, I missed you too…(:mad:)
Seeing that she had no intention of ever paying me back I was considering forgiving her for her debt until Jen walks up to me and says,"Did you hear that your sister gave a $1,000 offering to Jesus believing that he would bless her with increase."
She gave God MY $800? Shouldn’t I get 80% of God’s blessing?
Or maybe she thinks that she can receive the increase and blessing
by offering to God what is stolen and then pay me back as God pays
her back?

Lending searches for those who are worthy of the gift.
If they make it a priority to pay you back and then struggle to
survive would you not then forgive their debt and meet their needs?

Kim now has Fibromyalgia, lost her job, is under the threat of being kicked to the streets to live out the rest of her days as a hobo.
It is within my power to save her, but I cannot.

Do not give to God what is not yours to give; pay your creditors first.

Deuteronomy 28:13 (New International Version)

13 The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom.

19

I’m sure this thread will degenerate into heated argument soon… but before it does I thought I’d throw in my interpretation of this.

When talking about rich and poor, in biblical terms, realize that the rich often hoarded their wealth and let the poor freeze and starve. They may also work them hard, paying very little, making fantastic profits.

In any case, in biblical terms it is all about treating your fellows well. If you are rich, you would do well to look to the benefit of your fellows. This doesn’t mean you have to give all your money away… or donate some token amount to charity. It means you need to be concerned about and care for the well being of others in a concrete fashion. There are many ways you can do this. In biblical terms you could ensure that people had clothes or blankets. Offer decent work and payment to those that you can afford to hire… etc.

In particular, what often happens to those that are successful is that they start to feel that they are better than others. They look down on those that aren’t well off as stupid and deserving of their fate. Instead of striving to help others succeed as well they flaunt their wealth.

20

Being a spiritual creature myself, but never having been in your situation concerning your sisters as I haven’t any siblings, I have a few questions.

First, what is the age of the sister you seem to have decided to turn your back on?

Second, are her ailments a direct result of her lifestyle?

Third, doesn’t your bible also tell you, “Judge yee not, lest yee be judged.”

No disrespect intended to you or your religious views, nor to anyone’s for that matter, but you looked at the situation through her eyes, (“through a glass, darkly”). How will you feel if she passes without you taking the opportunity to be the hand that finally brings her to true salvation??? She, in your religious opinion, would be dammed to hell for all eternity because you were unwilling to turn the other cheek… a sibling that…

I don’t understand your thinking at all and, sadly, am a bit disappointed if this is truely a Christian viewpoint you are taking. Especially where blood is concerned… hmmm

suffice it to say that this is the main reason I claim no religion as my own. It is obvious to me that religion is what separates us, as human beings, from one another and apparently also from God.

I wish you well sir, but I believe you will need a great deal more than that in explaining your choice to your Creator on your day of judgement.

Peace be with you.

Chubs

21

#7 (permalink)
12-19-2008, 03:45 AM

akeakamai
Senior Member

Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Oil country, Canada
Posts: 274

“Evil is completely subjective. If you stop believing in evil, it ceases to exist.”

My personal view on the subject is… There is no good or bad, wrong or right… just different. Everything, at some level, is subjective. Perception is 9/10ths of reality, meaning that how an individual perceives a thing defines how real that thing is to that person, whatever that thing is.

Not sure where to go from there, so…

All my best and good pippin,

Chubs

22

hmmmmmm – no RIGHT or WRONG, only subjective differences ?

hmmmmmmmm

gonna have some problems with religious beings and also those who have a law book handy !

but while i can agree with your “subjective” relationships, that may also be why we have so many peeps in prison — what THEY happen to perceive as GOOD doesnt have mass agreement !

LOL

mp