Are You Depending on GOLD? Or Should You Take Away the "L" In Gold?

Is investing in gold important? Central banks around the world seem to think so. Should you?

If you had invested $1,000 in ExxonMobil a decade ago, your investment would have doubled. If you bought technology giant Microsoft, your investment would still be worth about $1,000. An investment in General Electric stock would be worth only $660 today. Bank of America, even less at $400. But you could have done worse. Had you invested in Pets.com, Lehman Brothers, Enron and a host of other big-name companies, you would have nothing.

What would your investment be if you had invested in gold? $6,800.

Why would a shiny metal with few industrial uses, and that doesn’t earn interest or generate income, almost septuple in such a short time?

First a little background. In case you didn’t notice, the global financial system is in danger of collapse. The dollar, yen and euros backing it could fall with it. Governments are cracking. The world is at risk of a new Greater Depression.

The problem behind it all is TOO MUCH DEBT. In the United States, federal debt is now $16.4 trillion – but America’s whole economy only generates $15.5 trillion. Europe, Japan and the UK have the same problem: Debts are growing – economies, not nearly so much. According to the World Economic Forum, TOTAL global debt, including local governments, corporations and individuals, reached a whopping $190 trillion at the end of 2011 – more than 3.3 times the size of the total global economy. And even that does not describe the full problem. Governments owe tens if not hundreds of trillions more in promised retirement benefits that people are relying on. There is no way these debts can be paid.

Central banks around th world are responding by doing what all the fashionable textbooks say should be done: They are printing money like crazy to pay debts.

The trouble is, this “solution” comes with side effects: devalued currencies, trade war, and a risk of America being reduced to a barter economy. That is why the world’s biggest banks are ALSO buying up a whole lot of an asset that can’t be created or willed into existence by politicians seeking to cheat economic realities.

That asset is GOLD! They’re buying it. Should you?

In late 2009, Cheng Siwei, a former vice chairman of the Chinese Communist Party Standing Committee, said China was alarmed by U.S. money printing. He stated that China had lost confidence in the U.S. dollar and was moving toward a partial gold standard through reserve accumulation. “If they keep printing money to buy bonds it will lead to inflation, and after a few years the dollar will fall hard,” he said.

The next year, Hong Kong announced that it would repatriate all its gold that was stored in London. The central bank of India also announced that it had secretly purchased 220 tons of gold from the International Monetary Fund. In 2012, Venezuela ordered the return of all 220 tons of gold it stored in London and New York. Reports emerged of Russian and Middle East central banks buying gold.

For the first time in many years, central banks became net buyers of gold in 2011. Since then, bank gold-buying has accelerated. In 2012, central banks will purchase an estimated 550 tons of gold – up from 85 tons in 2011. Forbes reported that China imported 76 tons through its new gold center in Hong King – up 22 percent from a year earlier. In November, the Bank of Korea announced it had increased its gold supply by 20 percent. Also in November, it was reported  that Brazil’s central bank had purchased 19 tons.

Now golden heavyweight Germany is also bringing its gold home from New York. After German authorities were not allowed to inspect their gold deposits, Berlin has asked for 165 tons – about 10% of its holdings in America – to be returned. Germany repatriated two thirds of its gold from London years ago.

Analyst John Mauldin calls gold “central bank insurance.” He says history shows that “monetary stability yields to political expediency.”

If central banks, which have shunned gold for the past 40 years, are now turning to it as an insurance policy, something must be wrong. The scramble for gold is heating up.

What about you? Is gold a safe investment for you? As long as the global economy is functioning and people are worried that paper money is being destroyed, there will be a growing demand for gold. In the short term, gold has potential as a good investment.

Gold is in a bull market. Since 2002, it has increased from $300 per ounce to around $1,700 per ounce. That’s more than a 500% return. The Dow Jones rose only about 30 percent during that time.

Yet much of America seems oblivious to gold’s record. Outside of conservative talk radio and TV, just about the only mention of gold you hear is from companies that want you to pawn or sell your gold jewelry. This is the opposite of the 1970’s and 80’s when coin stores across the country popped up to sell investment-grade gold to people. Most Americans missed one of the best investments of the past 40 years.

Today the economic situation has no solution in sight. As economic reality eventually dawns on the collective mind of the public, gold prices could easily head for unknown heights.

But by then, buying gold will be an exercise in futility. Certainly having some portion of your assets in gold at this time makes sense. But if you are looking to gold to save you from looking economic collapse, you’re in for a shock.

When the economic system collapses and there is no food to eat, no one will care how much gold you have. Deep down, many investors realize this. That is why some financial advisers recommend becoming self-sufficient and even learning to raise your own food.

But even growing your own food, having your own water well and knitting your own clothes won’t provide security.

There is, however, another safe investment guaranteed to produce an absolutely massive return – but you have to be willing to invest.

INVEST IN GOD. DEPEND ON GOD. Invest in your relationship with Him. Put your heart into a dependent relationship with Jesus Christ. The Father invested in your future by sending His Son to die for your sins. Now you can invest in your future by accepting Jesus as your Savior and the Lord of your life.

I keep a little plaque on a shelf in my bathroom to remind me in the morning of a very important FACT. The plaque says:

Romans 8:28

“All things work for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”

Jesus comes to live in you and He “will never leave you or forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)

So, folks, even when things get really rough and desperate, Jesus will give you peace in the storm. God is concerned about your priorities – where you are spending your time and energy. God wants to make sure you know what is important to you. What do you put first in your life?

Invest in gold if you wish. But don’t DEPEND on gold! If you really care about your future, depend on the one true source of protection. INVEST IN JESUS CHRIST!