Because we had previously selected our coin investments on their quality rather than quantity we had the chance to “trade” a handful of world class coins to get the coin of coins, the nickel. Any smart art investor will tell you that you are better off investing in one Picasso rather than 200 lesser known works. Why? Return, return, return. So, if you want to live a life worth living, you must invest your heart, mind, soul, and entire being in those things that yield a quality life: integrity, truth, faithfulness, sobriety, devotion to family, love. It is not true that he who has the most toys wins. At the end of your life, just like in the game of Monopoly, it all goes back in the box. When the game is over all the houses, cars, money, and other trinkets must be left behind. If you spend your life chasing things you will miss out on the quality of life offered to you by Jesus, who said, He would give us life and life abundantly. The psalmist writes in Psalm 27, “This one thing I seek…that I may dwell in the house of the Lord forever, to gaze upon His beauty and seek Him in His temple”. The quality of that one thing beats all the rest the world has to offer.
2. Search out the Blue Chips—Invest in those things that have historically produced returns over a long period of time. How has faithfulness outperformed adultery? How has truthfulness outperformed lying? How has self-sacrifice outperformed greed? How has giving outperformed taking? Those ideals that we all agree have compelling and life giving force are the things we ought to pursue in this life. All the other stuff loses its appeal when reality sets in, and it always does at some point. Just read the headlines everyday to see how unfulfilled all the Hollywood stars really are despite “having all the fun”. Sin may be fun for a season, but once the season is over the pain sets in. The pain of broken families, lost opportunities, broken hearts, diseased bodies, and the loss of hope.
What makes a work of art worth tens of millions of dollars? What makes a record breaking homerun ball worth six figures? What makes a nickel worth three million bucks? The answer to all of these comes down to RARITY. It is a rare thing to see an artist with the skills of a Picasso or a baseball player hit the ball as far as A-Rod. And it is rare to see a coin like only four others in the world and though stamped with a face value of five cents it actually has a value in the millions.
This does not happen every day and when it does it draws the attention of many. A life of courageous character, a life built on principles of honesty, integrity, loyalty, devotion, and faith are equally as rare. Such a life, a life worth living, honors God and draws others. The question then is this, “How do we build a life worth living?” And also, “How do we trade lesser ideals for those traits which build us as people that leave a legacy behind?”
In evaluating your life you must ask yourself if the current path you are on is one that over time will make you or break you. Will it strengthen families or weaken them? Will the current path enlarge your heart for others and for God or will it shrink you as a person? Essentially, you must ask, “If I continue on this path what are the risks?” You must go on to ask, “If I were to embrace God’s plan what would the reward be?” Mr. Buffett tells us that when your potential reward far outweighs your risk then you can, with great confidence, lay down a big bet. To the extent that your reward is assured and your risks minimized you can “go in big”. Life apart from God is an enormous risk. If Jesus was who He said He was (and there is overwhelming evidence He is) then the rewards of following Him surpass anything this world has to offer, anything. This is exactly what the woman at the well found in John 4. The unfulfilled hungers brought on by a life in pursuit of pleasure had left her empty and relationally broken. One encounter with The Man brought her into the glorious reality of new life. Further, if He, Jesus, was who He said He was, the risks of turning away from Him are enormous and ominous. Can you afford that kind of risk?
He was so sure the trading price was undervalued and so assured that the future pointed to a much higher price, that he leveraged over 40% of the entire holdings of his company and placed it on that one stock! That would be an enormous risk if he was not right. The outcome? He made about a billion dollars in a fairly short period of time. Jesus told us He was the way, the truth and the life. He told us that no one comes to God without going through the person of Christ. He told us that He offers us abundant life. The biggest trade you will ever make is trading your agenda for His. The most important investment you will ever make is the decision to invest the time and effort to seek Him and find that He is who He said He was. You do not know what the next year will bring, the next month, week, day or even the next hour. Do not put this trade off. The opportunity is there, it may or may not come again. Take Him up on this deal. Sign on the dotted line. Place your life in His hands. The rewards, in this life and in the life to come are beyond compare. Just do it.
Finally, I would encourage you to evaluate your life and see if it has a defining strategy. Any good investment plan does. You cannot accomplish anything of value without knowing what you are aiming for. Does your strategy make sense? Is it sustainable? Is it self-centered or does it seek the good of others? Is your game plan worth risking eternity for?
1. Quality over Quantity—Mr. Buffett would rather own a handful of quality companies over against a huge portfolio with a slew of companies. Why? Because quality rather than quantity is what produces return. When I placed the famous 1913 V Nickel for $3 million it made headlines all over the world. What you did not read in the headlines is the hard work put into the strategy long before we got to that historic achievement.
3. Risk v. Reward—you must ask yourself, “Is the current path sustainable for the long run?” Every good investor and especially Mr. Buffett, seeks to know whether or not the current “pricing” is sustainable. They seek to know just how likely a given stock is to rise or fall in light of the “fundamentals”.
4. The Big Trade/Seize the Day -- Carpe Diem
Occasionally, there comes a time when we are presented with huge opportunities. These opportunities, if taken, can put us on a track we could never have imagined. These open doors, if missed, may never open to us again. Warren Buffett once had the opportunity to buy Coke on the cheap.
This life offers us many “fakes”. The mantra, “If it feels good do it” rings in our ears daily. Does that strategy ultimately make sense? Check the headlines for your answer. When it feels good to strike out in rage and grade school students slaughter their peers, does this strategy work? When grown adults “feel” like misusing their place of power to abuse children does this strategy work? When husband and wives “feel” like having a fling or two, how does this impact the family? When your son or daughter “feel” like exploring the drug scene and wind up hooked, how does the strategy look then? When you have cheated and cheated and finally stepped on enough people in business that no one trusts you, how does the strategy look then? When you say absolutely that there is no such thing as absolute truth, how silly does your strategy look at that point? Evaluate your strategy. If you find it lacking it might just be time to make a trade and find another “advisor”. Jesus said, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock”. Let Him in. In doing so, you may just find the life you were meant to live.
