Trading futures is really dangerous. When I first started out, I traded live after a couple weeks on demo. I wasn't profitable yet, but I had some things that looked like they should work, so I traded live. I blew my account and called my broker and found that the guy that answered seemed to know some things about trading so I asked a couple questions and I remember he suggested that I trade in demo for a while. I didn't listen to his advice because I thought trading in demo would be wasting my time. So I blew my account pretty soon after that phone call too, but thankfully I had put less money in, in case trading wasn't as easy as it looked. Shortly after that I was again awakened to the fact that the market can really take your money fast, and then it's gone.
Since that time, I've continued to develop more of a respect for the market's ability to take my money.
This morning I reflected on the similarity between the harshness of the market and the harshness of God's anger at sin. When I first became a Christian, I did so primarily because I understood that it is my sin that separates me from God and I believed God's promise that Jesus was the remedy that God has provided for cleansing from sin. It wasn't any sin in particular that prompted me to realize my need for forgiveness, it was the fact that I knew that I was separated from a right relationship with God because of my sin. What led me to understand my sin problem was an understanding of how God views sin.
There are many instances in the Bible where God reveals how He views sin. Most of these times God judges in ways that seem very harsh to us and there is an honest question that can be asked of how God can be loving and yet so terrifying in His judgments. His anger is only against sin, He doesn't get angry with people for anything else. Yet, since I am a sinner, that doesn't leave me in a very good place, unless I have Jesus. After becoming a Christian I have learned to recognize more and more that God is offended by my wrongful behavior. Just as the market can deliver harsh consequences and learning to recognize that is, I think, part of developing into a good trader, in a similar way, learning to recognize that God does deal harshly with sin is part of coming to know who God is.
It is sometimes hard for me to wrap my mind around the two extremes: the harshness of God against sin and the love of God that would prompt Him to sacrifice Himself, in second person of the Trinity, by suffering on my behalf just so that I do not have to endure the wrath of God against sin.
On Friday I was taken out of a good trade (not excellent, but good) by moving my stoploss to where I thought was a likely place of support, minus 1 tick. Price only came to my stoploss, didn't go beyond it, took it, then turned around and made the move I thought it would make.
This reminds me of the times in my life where I thought a little sin wouldn't hurt. I think one thing that may be very different for believers as compared to unbelievers, is that God seems to want to work in our lives to make us hate the sins we love and He does it by not delivering us out of those consequences. There are some things that I look back on and think I never, ever want to do that again because those consequences were painful. One time I won an award, but there was a fine line that I didn't think mattered and I figured I would clarify the matter at the next step. However, the next step I actually received the award, when I thought there was one more step to go, so I didn't explain it, but accepted it. After a period of time God seemed to be reminding me of it and there wasn't really anything I could do to make it right, but I finally wrote and apologized that I wasn't more honest in the details of the "fine line." They were gracious and I wonder if they wondered why I even bothered to apologize...but I have felt better about it ever since. Even aside from Christianity, it is a good principle to own your mistakes and apologize when those mistakes have affected others negatively. I guess that example didn't bring about any consequences except that I struggled with my conscience. It was a very minor detail...yet it was a detail, and maybe it wasn't so minor....I wrestled with those types of thoughts for a long time before writing the apology.
God really hates sin.
God really loves people, but will not overlook their sin.
God provided a remedy, but very few people on these threads want God's remedy. In fact, they seem bent on mocking it and show that they despise God's attempts to win them back from their rebellious ways.
If it is unacceptable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
Joshua 24:15 Amplified
