Are you Proactive, Inactive, or Living on Blind Assumptions?

I have had a lot of interesting conversations over the past few days. The same theme kept coming up over and over again. I would catch myself talking about the same subject in each conversation. It wasn’t about bear markets. It wasn’t about the economy. It wasn’t about investment gains or losses. It was about state of mind, which is critically important today when it comes to stewardship of your money.

At any given time in your life, you could be proactive, inactive, or living on blind assumptions when it comes to your money. I was talking with a client who was just about to turn 74. She stressed the importance of making good decisions with money and being informed, of being pro-active rather than inactive with money.

I then had the pleasure of having a conversation with another client who really values education. She reads all of the time and asks a lot of questions. From the first day that I met her, she has always put a priority on education and just cannot get enough. She is the definition of proactive.

The key to being a successful steward of what God has given to you is to be proactive. A proactive person values being informed and strives to learn as much as possible. A proactive person knows the pros and cons behind the decisions that are being made. A proactive person doesn’t just take advice or recommendations blindly. They understand the significance of a full understanding of the basis for the advice that is being given.

During my second conversation, my proactive client then told me the story of a woman who just lost her husband. This couple lived in an expensive home and lived a pretty expensive lifestyle. To the world outside, they had everything. In reality, her husband died, leaving them with nothing but a stack of debt. He was living on blind assumptions that he would live for a long time and had plenty of time to make things up. Unfortunately, life was not so fortunate for him. The reality is that no one is promised tomorrow. It is always important to prepare today for tomorrow’s unknowns.

Being inactive is managing God’s money with your eyes closed. You check in every once in a while and make sure that all is working well. You rely on the advice of others, never fully understanding why it is that you believe that way.

Basically, inactive people create a lot of risk. For example, with investments, there is always the possibility that you working with a financial advisor who is a sales person that is disguised as a qualified investment advisor. I see this type of situation often. The problem is that it is often too late and the damage is done when you realize that what seemed like a qualified recommendation was nothing more than a mere sales pitch designed to benefit only one person. Time is a precious commodity when it comes to investing.

Living on blind assumptions is just assuming everything will work out without a basis for that belief. When managing God’s money that way, there is a huge risk that these assumptions without merit are a mere gamble and your chances of failure are greater.

There is only one way to live when it comes to stewardship. It is about being proactive. It is about being and staying informed. It is a commitment to education. It is an understanding of risk and how it works, which is critical when making any financial decisions. The wrong risk can set you back for a long time.

I bring this up today because there are a lot of investors who are inactive and living on blind assumptions. We just don’t have the luxury of driving blind when it comes to stewardship of God’s money. This is a tough investment environment. The decisions that you make today concerning risk will either be a home run or a disaster.

Check and double check what you are doing with God’s money today. Understand the reason behind the investment strategy that is being presented to you. Invest the time to learn. Pray for understanding and seek confirmation of that feeling of peace that you are on the right track. If you don’t get that feeling of peace, it is probably a sign that you are on the wrong track.

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