Few of us aspire to become a billionaire. If it happens, let it be; but it is not a compelling vision in life for most of us. We don’t lay awake at night scheming how to make our next move to inch us closer to such a goal. Nor do we have nightmares of losing billions. If we don’t have it, we can’t lose it. But Jesus warned of a loss that far outweighs a financial loss of billions.
For Bill Hwang, March 2021 was a bad month. More specifically, Wednesday, March 24th and Thursday, March 25th were devastating days. It’s difficult to imagine what the mood must have been like on the 38th floor of 888 Seventh Avenue in Manhattan. If Mr. Hwang drove his modest Hyundai SUV to work, his heart must have been very heavy that week, leaving the driveway of his suburban home in New Jersey.
People have amassed more wealth than Mr. Hwang, but mostly their money is not liquid. It is tied up in complex investments, real estate, other businesses, artwork, etc. But for 57-year-old Hwang, his $20B was as accessible and as immediate as swiping a banking card at an ATM. Perhaps that is slightly exaggerated, but you get the point. His accumulated wealth was very liquid.
In 1982 Sung Kook Hwang moved to the USA and took the name of Bill. After attending the University of California and completing his MBA at Carnegie Mellon University, he relocated to New York City. He worked at security investment firms in sales and analytics. Eventually, his savviness as a shrewd investor gave way to an insatiable appetite for risk-taking in playing the stock market.
By 2013, Hwang started his own company. His Archegos portfolio included Amazon.com, Facebook, LinkedIn and Netflix. By 2017 his company had about $4B in capital. Around this time, it seems he shifted to a more eclectic mix of investments. His breath-taking risky strategies continued and paid off handsomely in 2020. Archegos built a staggering $100B portfolio.
Borrowing massive amounts to fund his investments seemed to be working. His personal wealth briefly eclipsed $30B – yes, briefly. Then, in late March 2021, when the value of some of Archegos’ stocks tanked, Hwang’s bets fell apart. As his major bank lenders called in his loans, his impressive house-of-cards collapsed within 48 hours. The industry employed verbs like cratered and imploded to describe the sudden collapse of Archegos.
Bloomberg put it this way: “The sudden implosion of Hwang’s Archegos Capital Management in late March is one of the most spectacular failures in modern financial history: No individual has lost so much money so quickly.” (1)
Jesus spoke of a loss of far greater significance. Conceivably, Bill Hwang could pick up the shattered pieces and restart, rebuild, restore, recover from his massive loss. But Jesus warned against an irrecoverable loss – from which there is no chance of making a come-back. Mr. Hwang wouldn’t be the first person to bounce back after a financial disaster. But think of the question Jesus asked:
For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? Mark 8:36-37
A material loss in this life could be devastating, but a spiritual loss for eternity is of a different magnitude.
The complexities of playing the stock market, hedging your bets, realizing gains and growing your portfolio require a great deal of expertise and demand your constant attention. How it all unravelled for Mr. Hwang is also very complicated and difficult to understand for someone unfamiliar with the world of high finance.
But how a far greater loss can occur is much less difficult to understand. A person loses their soul for eternity either by simple neglect or by a willful choice to not embrace the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour. It’s not the result of series of personal failures or an inability to successfully negotiate all the twists and turns of a religion. It happens by neglect or refusal. And the point of no-return is reached the moment one takes their last breath and their pulse beats for the last time. There is no come-back or chance for recovery after that.
Whether one dies financially rich or poor is of little consequence. What makes the difference for eternity is whether one dies in Christ or without Christ.
To live for gains in this life only is a miserable existence even if one enjoys a few scattered celebrations along the way. To only live life horizontally is a tragic loss but the consequence of reaching the terminus of life in the same condition is a loss of eternal proportions.
The chances of you amassing billions at this stage of your life are slim. But definitely within your reach – even today – is Jesus Christ. You could be enjoying an abundant life in Christ right now – a life of liberty, fulfillment, acceptance, and vertical peace with an anchored confidence about your future. He is available to you right now. Consider these verses of invitation, hope and light:
Jesus said:
I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. John 10:10
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Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. John 5:24
I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. John 6:35
I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. John 8:12
If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:36
I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this? John 11:25-26
I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6
The Bible is clear – God does not want you to lose your soul. You can conclude even from the brief selection of verses above that an abundant life is available to you through Jesus Christ. The riches available in Christ far outweigh anything one can experience through financial gains. And these gains and riches are eternal in nature. They will never implode, crater or crash. They will never spectacularly fail. Jesus Christ offers you security in this life and forever.
Sources:
- https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-04-08/how-bill-hwang-of-archegos-capital-lost-20-billion-in-two-days
