Prudent Investing

We are told that, since the 2008 general election, three trillion dollars have evaporated from investment portfolios across the country. Retirement accounts have been decimated, causing no small degree of consternation among those concerned about preparing for the future. The pattern continues.

What should a prudent investor do in these turbulent and distressing times? Which investments are likely to pay off in the long term? Which are most likely to appreciate or at least maintain their buying power in the face of a severe recession or worse? If you investigate these matters you will find a spectrum of responses proposed by financial gurus and money managers. Whom should you trust? Which advice is worth risking your future financial solvency by following its prescription? There are no easy answers.

The fact is, however, there is a capital depletion of far greater consequence than the precipitous decline on Wall Street. If we desire America to prosper in the long term, it is vital that we rebuild her spiritual capital. For, without such a foundation, we are headed for crises that will dwarf the current economic turbulence.

During the Great Depression times were economically tough, but the moral fabric of the nation prevented widespread chaos. Today, we have lost much of the spiritual foundation that once held communities together. Weekly church attendance, as one indicator, has been steadily declining. In 1990, 20.4 percent worshipped weekly in church. In 2007 the figure dropped to 17 percent. And it is projected to be just 10 percent by 2050. Our society has become secularized and relativized to the point that many no longer believe in objective truth.

While the importance of a free market, sound money, and a government that fulfills only its God-given mandate are important, they pale in significance to the spiritual values of our civilization. Christians must be busy recapitalizing true faith and character. From the right spiritual capital will eventually flow the economic stability we all desire.