Losing investment

A certain Josh Akers seemed to have been the person who wrote this article entitled: “The Best Laid Scheme.” I could not ascertain it nor verify it but nevertheless this article teaches us a very important lesson.

Andre-Francois Raffray thought he had closed a great deal back in 1965. He would pay a 90-year-old woman $500 a month until she died, then move into her grand apartment in Arles, France.

Buying apartments in this fashion, called “en viager,” or “for life,” is common in France. The elderly owner enjoys a monthly income from the buyer, who in turn gets a real estate bargain -- provided the owner dies sooner rather than later. 

But it was Raffray who died first, in 1994, having paid more than $184,000 for an apartment in which he never had the opportunity to live. Raffray, 77 when he passed away, had the misfortune of arranging the deal with Jeanne Louise Calment. Ms. Calment passed away in 1997, and is listed in The Guinness Book of Records as the world’s oldest person. She lived 122 years. 

In my own lifetime I have seen investments of many forms that come and go. There are those that offer tremendous returns and then the company suddenly disappears and many the unfortunate victims who have sold their properties and staked their entire savings on it ended not the wiser. Then there are those sophisticated investment schemes from other countries using on-line facilities that have sucked up the retirement funds of intelligent and highly educated retired executives almost emptying their nest egg because they placed their bets in it.

Many have made money with their investments. They have been cautious, they learn the ropes and they do not just “play” the stocks market but actually made it their career to understand it and to invest carefully in it.

Many are now excited with investing their money in crypto-currency. As of this moment the excitement is still there. To many this is very unfamiliar territory so they would rather stay away from it while others wary of FOMO (Fear of missing out) are currently into it, made a considerable sum of money and are now evangelists for such investments.

What do our main story and all the other observations have in common? They are all excitedly presuming on the future. Some are excited with the prospect of making quick money with minimal efforts, others are excited because they think this would give them the future they want so they try to control it. And then this brings me to a very familiar text in Scriptures that say: (James 4:13-15) “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit’ - yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.’” (ESV) 

James reminds us of the futility of presumption regarding the future. His admonition does not negate planning, but it does underscore the brevity and uncertainty of life.

In the Standard English translation, 18th century Scottish poet Robert Burns wrote, “The best laid schemes of mice and men oft go awry; and leave us nothing but grief and pain, for promised joy.” Life can be unpredictable, but James does not stop with that theme. Instead, he focuses on the essentiality of supplanting our will for our future with God’s will for our future. God is never surprised by the future. We may not know what tomorrow holds, but we can know who holds tomorrow. Therefore by fully trusting Him with our life’s direction, we will never be thwarted in navigating the path that He has set before us, for this and each new day. 

Meanwhile, make sure you invest in the right things and that you make it your business to study investments. Do not put your money in schemes that promises quick riches or returns. These are usually scams but study the companies offering the investment products first. Do they have a proven track record? Are they legal entities? Are they being ran by professional people and are they ethical in their business practices?

Some other forms of investments may not yield you the money you want but they certainly provide you with the value you need that would enable you to earn more or do your business better. Investing in education; personal growth, training and development.

When it comes to investments, understand two crucial things. You don’t let your emotions think for you and at the end of the day, God still has the final say.

(Mark your calendar, as Francis Kong runs his highly acclaimed Level Up Leadership seminar-workshop on Jan. 16-17, 2018 at SEDA Hotel, BGC. For registration and inquiries contact April at +63928-559-1798 or register online at www.levelupleadership.ph)