Running the race #36 Alternative investments(24th Mar 09)

'Samuel took a stone…and called its name Ebenezar, saying, "Thus far the Lord has helped us."
1 Samuel 7:3-12

Gratitude is the memory of a glad heart. That was the latest Daily Bread devotion I just read this morning. Indeed, for me and many of the faith, prayerfully our countenance and our daily attitude do reflect the very grace of God working in our lives, even as we are subjected like everyone else to the refining process that our Sovereign God allows us to go through, to be perfected in His likeness.

Magnitude is more the word of relevance for many of the fitfully rich these past few months, as they continue to reel from the implications of their disastrous dalliance with alternative investments in the financial arena. To continue to be obligated, for the next few months, to purchase shares whose values has since halved is not exactly the best thing to look forward to first thing in the morning. How did we arrive at this sorry state of affairs? For alternative investments like hedge funds, private equity(and its percussor, venture capital during the internet bubble), structured products were touted as the next big thing and a must for any private investor worth his salt. But lest we forget, these new fangled concoctions are quite a recent phenomenon, no more than a few decades back.

'Come, my children, listen to me. I will teach you the fear of the Lord.'
Psalm 34:11

Latitude, and here we are not talking about the shorter cousin of longtitude, but rather, the increased leeway that parents in the enlightened Western world has given in bringing up their offsprings these past two generations. The Western world has moved away from the rod to a broad minded approach of giving children space to express their unfettered emotions. There are of course different views to how a child should be brought up but to me, the layman and distant observer, clearly a couple of key parameters were missing in the way a Western child was brought up :

- the extended family unit was no longer in existence in most typical families. The sharing of past experiences and traditional Judeo-Christian values by the older generation was no longer obligatory nor available. And with many family units comprising of both working adults - the school, peers, the media and now the internet has taken over the mentoring role.

God no longer has a place in American schools, in line with the secularism of public places, and much of the media are driven by commercial interests.

- discipline is now less of the popular norm and while not all of society take the UK way of possibly throwing any parents into the lockup for using the cane, the gurus of modern child upbringing truly believe that a child will mature from immaturity overtime. Guess we are all still waiting for that to happen.

- where our treasures is, will be where the heart will be. And it seems a survey conducted in the States came up with a significant majority of American undergraduates aspiring for a materially comforable life, much more than one values character. This is not unique to America, for it is now the norm in most societies, and in the pursuit of such material desires, it is natural that issues of morality and ethics must play second fiddle. And to a large extent, this lowering of ethical standards and moral character continues to explain our present subprime debacle and its continued incomplete solution based upon a lack of courage, deceit and self-interest.

'I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside Me. I girded thee, though thou hast not known Me…'
Isaiah 45:5

Amplitude. It's like the word magnitude, but maybe more electrifying in its impact, for amp is a measure of electricity. So much for my taking liberties with the English language and Science, but clearly, just like it seems teenage girls do like their boys naughty(at least that was what I read recently), the world today has been brought up on the desires of being like the ruler of this sinful world, the devil himself. Pride, greed, selfishness, anger, lusts are attributes that have been very rewarding financially these past couple of decades. To be otherwise would not just go against the norm, but be financially disastrous and bad for one's career.

And an unfair indictment it might be, but from a causal observation, a significant percentage of the movers and shakers of the present Western world no longer fear God, nor do they really know or believe in God. But some might say this applies more to Continental Europe, where centuries of abuse by the clergy and the noble class have put off many from having any respect for the church. This was a conclusion I made from revising with my son his European history lessons recently. But what about the States? There are indeed many God fearing men and women in this wonderful land, but what about the leaders? Lets do pray that the leadership will truly move from flashing frivously the Bible(Clinton style), and away from quoting God to justify all questionable actions(now the whine from the Bush can only be heard from Texas), and truly to following the Lord our God. But recent decisions by the man of great eloquence, Obama does not sound too reassuring.

'Thus saith the Lord, Thy redeemer, and He that formed thee from the womb….That frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh diviners mad, that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish…'

Isaiah 44:24-26

Destitute. This is a word more prevalent in Asia and Africa. But if the tent cities in Sacramento, capital of California are any indication, could this be a harbinger of greater poverty and social unrest in the rich lands of the States. Europe is not much better. They are now rounding up the gypsies, the flogging horse of the civilized Europeans and in such difficult times, one does need a channel for one's frustrations with inept governments. In Italy, more are going back to the church, but less for spiritual reasons, but more for the fact that the Vatican church is willing to provide loans, where banks are not.

'…he maketh a god, and worshippeth it, he maketh it a graven image, and falleth down thereto…..'
Isaiah 44:15-17

Platitude. I guess, much as I am good intentioned, the many years of penning what I truly believed are the thoughts as led by the Lord our God, have not achieved much for some, for like the word platitude, there is nothing fresh about what I have said. It is banal because the world likes to hear what they I like to hear. And much of the world like to hear tidings of good news, never the truth. And what appeals better than to tell all that God will bless you materially, just ask for it. God will indeed bless all, but not just materially, but in all ways. But the form and timing is God's call, not ours, and would we be prepared to not just wait patiently for God's response, but be willing to honour Him while we wait, and to remember that it is the Provider Who matters, not the provisions.

Would it not be silly to limit God's grace to our own imperfect and finite wants when the joy of walking with our Lord is to enter into that realm of relationship that only God can brings us to?

'Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things, hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil. And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly, and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.'

1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

Beatitudes. These are the series of teaching and blessings that our Lord Jesus Christ shared in his time on Earth. Always more than a good read(Matthew 5-7, and Luke 6), but truly, it will bring one into perspective relative to what blessings really mean. It is not the material blessings that many in today's church flocked to, for why seek the riches of the temporal sinful world, when God is Whom we must look to.

For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground. I will pour My spirit upon thy seed, and My blessing upon thine offspring…'

Isaiah 44:3

Servitude. We are all slaves. It is a question of being in bondage to sin and the devil, which will gives us temporal joy, permanent pain and eternal damnation. Or will it not be better to be a slave to the Lord our God, Whose only desire for us is for our good to eternity? It is time to stop looking at alternatives, for not just the best, but rather, the only correct investment of our time, our life and all that God has given us, is to truly respond as God wants us all to, which is

'…ye are bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's'
1 Corinthians 6:20

'I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.'

Romans 12:1

God Blesses

Eng Hieang
(24 Mar 2009)

An afterthought
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Now that I have made a futile attempt to stretch the English vocabulary a little more than an Indian rubber man could stretch himself. I realize I am not alone. The world today, more specifically, the politicians/corporate leaders are still stretching the language and the solutions to the present subprime issue. Simplistic as it might seem, a straight honest admission of the exact extent of the real damage would no doubt frighten the world, but healing can then truly begin, for it will ensure that the world will have less distrust of what is at present, an ambiguos and floating uncertain number that no one seems to or rather not have a fixed on. Is it a US$1trillion or US$15 trillion problem?

A repentful and selfless attitude will also help, commiserate with the need to account for past dismeanours is gainful. But it is highly unlikely the Western world will even consider taking a 50% drop in living standards, and be willing to now be the sweat shops, and reverse roles with the rest of the world, for those with the surpluses to be the consumers.

God speaks to those who are quiet before Him(Luke 2:9), this was my reading in the Daily Bread this morning. And I just had a chance to listen to a prophetic pastor who believes that God has given him a word on the second half of the year being one of greater intense shaking.

I have always been careful about ascribing my or the thoughts of others to our Lord. But the Lord did remind me last nite to listen to prophets. Hence my sharing of this, but do let God speak to you directly rather than depend upon hearsay.

Looking at matters logically from my flawed understanding. All lies built into a web will eventually come to grief, and it is my belief that healing has not started, for men are still generally unrepentant and deceitful as far as this matter of toxic debts are concerned. If so, much as men might want to defer the inevitable pain of their past and present actions, it is a matter of when not whether, when things have to blow up.

And even blowing up does not mean the end and be all. There is still the matter of stagflation to ponder upon, when the inevitable galvanizing of the printing presses of the world to float us all out of this present debt overlay, will solve matters temporarily, even leading to a possible very strong bout of optimism in the stockmarkets, only to come to grief a couple of years after that.

That was what happened in the 1970s(the last time we had stagflation) and while history might not repeat itself exactly, the sinful human does make the same old mistakes. And in closing, when we truly repent, God has already forgiven our sins even before that happens. But our act of repentance is the first step towards our transformation. It often does not mean that we will not have to pay for our past actions, much as most of us hope for. For without pain, we can never truly gain the promise that God has given to all who believe. A renewed mind and a transformed heart.

Do prayerfully be desirous of coming unto the presence of the Lord our God before that happens

'Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire, and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is'

1 Corinthians 3:13