9. Finding God's Purpose in the Financial Trading Marketplace 1 - Protect Those He Loves

"And we know that all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose"...Romans 8:28

 

We have now come to the core of our whole discussion on God in Financial Trading Marketplace, which is the God's purpose in the financial trading marketplace. I am sure everyone of us have a reason why we have taken up financial trading or financial investor as a career or why we took up hours in a week analyzing technical charts, keeping updated with economic trends and news or investigating companies fundamentals. Some of us,like myself ,may be doing this to earn a living,  some may be doing it to earn a passive income while having a full time job, some may be doing it because you are doing what you like to do, some may be doing it thinking you can have a good life and have a early retirement. Whatever the reasons, have you ever thought of God's purpose in the financial trading marketplace? 

 

Like most of us, the life of a financial trader consists of many ups and downs just like the stock market. It was one of those series of consecutive downs that strike me thinking God's will for me in financial trading. I asked myself if earning money the main reason? Is there a divine purpose other then earning a living? It was when I was studying "Experiencing God" by Henry & Richard Blackaby that I noticed that asking for God's will for me was not the right question. The proper question should be, "What is God's will?". Using God's gift of logical thinking, I started off searching for an answer if financial trading is something God approved in the first place. The answer was explained in my first few post on "Role of a Trader", "Is Trading Sin?" and went to some extend trying to answer the question "Is Trading Gambling?". The research clarify my thoughts and opinion on financial trading. There is perfectly nothing wrong or sinful in financial trading. Just like money which is not a sin by itself, it is the love of money that is evil as stated in 1 Timothy 6:10. In fact God has instructed us to invest in Luke 19:13-27..."Actively invest or trade until I come". 

 

God has approved financial trading and investment, but He also knew that the financial marketplace must function fairly so that those who obeyed God to invest their money in the financial market like stock market are protected from the monopoly control of price. The same reason why God gave Moses the 10 Commandments to the Israelites that is to protect His people knowing the Israelites would fall short in their walk with God. However Romans 8:28 says..."And we know that all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose". Thus, I can concluded that one of the God's purpose in financial trading is protect the retail investors like most of us so that there is a fare market where investors are able to purchase stocks or currencies at fair price not manipulated by a single or a handful of big dealers in the market. Knowing the sinful nature of man, He placed people in the financial marketplace to create a financial system that is fair and manage it so that it is stable for the global economy to function effectively. The most fundamental purpose of financial trading is to protect those He loves and the reason is because He loves us. 

 

The next obvious question that most of us would ask is .."Then why are there so many financial crises caused by men's greed in the financial marketplace?" The most recent in 2008 which wiped out billions of dollars from the financial market, causing many to loose their life savings and retirement funds. The first answer to the question of God's purpose in financial trading will not be complete if do not attempt to answer this doubt.

 

It all started with God's gift of freedom of choice to man.  He did not create robots. He created human beings not only with emotions and feelings, but God also gives human the power of logical thinking and the freedom of choice. Every suffering that we experience in our life, all started from the Fall of man.  Man were given the choice to obey or disobey. Obedience leads to life and disobedience leads to death. Those men and women that God placed in the financial marketplace chose to disobey because of the sin of greed and the love of money.  They have turned something that God designed to be good into something evil for their selfish desire.  It is very easy to blame God whenever something bad happens in our life. But it is in such time that God is able to separate the goats from the sheep. It is in crises that our faith is tested and polished. It is through bad times that we are made small and Christ made big. These are God's purpose in the financial trading marketplace. The only way to overcome this endless war with sin is through the great commission of Jesus Christ. 

 

8. Where is God When Our Trading Fails?

...I Cried Out to the Lord...

"Staring at the monitor, looking at the charts and the value of your portfolio sinking every second...This can't get any worst. I called out to God...Why?"

 

 

For traders who are Christians and makes their living by trading, does this looks familiar to you? I am very sure at one point of your trading life, you might have wondered if God was ever there whenever you trade. Especially, for those who walked with God closely, serve the Lord as much as they could, tithing and giving offerings with his earnings from the profits of his winning trades. Like most entrepreneur, one of the most trying moments are when everything seems to be pointing south and the strain of looking at the value of your portfolio shrank by half in a matter of seconds and the concerns of providing for your family in the coming days. This toll can cause us into grief and self-doubt.  Many times, testing our faith to the limit. 

 

Although my initial experience in financial trading started off with occasional success, but there are probably more failures then success. There comes to a point when I asked myself, should I give it all up. 

 

Psalms 18:6 says "In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.". 

 

- I called out to God. But nothing change, in fact it got worst. 

 

Jeremiah 29:11 says “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future". 

 

- But my funds were reduced by more then half of my initial capital. Where is God? Is He for real? 

 

It may sound familiar to some of you. These are the questions and doubts that circles around in our mind during the time of panic and fear. If we fail, not only will we have real worldly consequences, we sometimes feel that we are not able to glorify God in our trading business as the world do not see God in our work.  However, there is this fundamental error in seeing the logic that God sees success the same way we do. Does being an obedient and committed Christian guarantee success in our trading or in everything we do in our life? I do not see any evidence in it but see otherwise instead. We probably experienced more failure then success in life. That does not make God any lesser in our strive to be a successful trader. God need to test our faith occasionally in our walk with Him. What better way to test us then using failures in our life. 

 

As Henry Ford said "Failure is the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently". The reason why God allows failure in our lives is not to break us down, but to provide us opportunities to be broken down and then built us up again into what God intended us to be. Moses did not succeed at the first try in asking Pharaoh to set the Israelites free. He failed nine times before finally Pharaoh agreed to set the Israelites free. 

 

Isaiah 55:8-9 : “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

 

As Christians, we are very often guilty of judging ourselves and others by results rather then by actions. Or at least, most of us are more concern with the results instead of the effort we put in to glorify God. But our definition of failure is probably different from God's. God is more concern about the relationship with Him, our character development, our trust and obedience to Him then the outcome of our effort or the work that He called us to do. The question we should be asking is "Are we wiser after the failure?" For being wise, It has to be in God's perspective. Are we a step closer to what God want us to be? 

 

I know it is hard to embrace failure for I will be lying if I say I can rejoice in every failing trade. But it is through these failures that I became a better trader and through these tests, my faith became stronger. 

 

It is through those failures in my financial trading that I understand God's plan for me. The plan to develop my patience and wait for His timing to enter and exit the market, the plan to teach me the sin of greed through effective money management, the plan to show me His wisdom in understanding through education of the tools I required to learn in order to equip myself in the financial trading battle ground, and most importantly, the plan to build up my faith and trust in Him in every trade I made believing His plans are to prosper me, not to harm me even if the trade is not profitable. His plan is to make me rich, yes, rich in character. His plans to give me hope and a future, a future far beyond my time on earth so that I am ready and developed into someone according to His will. 

Jeremiah 29:11- “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future".