Biblical Wisdom for Better Investing: Managing Emotions and Risk with Mark Biller | FaithFi
October 15, 2026
Biblical Wisdom for Better Investing: Managing Emotions and Risk with Mark Biller
Faith & Finance with Rob West
We like to think we make rational decisions with our money, but what if our emotions influence our financial choices far more than we realize?
That’s one of behavioral economics' central findings: human psychology shapes financial decisions. While these discoveries have challenged traditional economic thinking, they reinforce what Scripture has taught for thousands of years: human wisdom is limited, our hearts can deceive us, and our emotions don't always lead us in the right direction.
Mark Biller, Executive Editor and Senior Portfolio Manager at Sound Mind Investing (SMI), believes understanding these tendencies can help Christians become wiser, more disciplined investors.
We like to think we make rational decisions with our money, but what if our emotions influence our financial choices far more than we realize?
That’s one of behavioral economics' central findings: human psychology shapes financial decisions. While these discoveries have challenged traditional economic thinking, they reinforce what Scripture has taught for thousands of years: human wisdom is limited, our hearts can deceive us, and our emotions don't always lead us in the right direction.
Mark Biller, Executive Editor and Senior Portfolio Manager at Sound Mind Investing (SMI), believes understanding these tendencies can help Christians become wiser, more disciplined investors.
What Behavioral Economics Reveals About Human Nature
For decades, traditional economic theory largely assumed people make rational financial decisions based on available information and their own economic interests.
But behavioral economists have shown that emotions, cognitive biases, and psychological tendencies often shape our decisions in ways that can undermine our financial well-being.
While these findings have transformed modern economic thinking, they shouldn't surprise Christians familiar with Scripture. Consider what the Bible reveals about human nature:
Our wisdom is flawed. 1 Corinthians 3:18–19 reminds us that human wisdom doesn't always align with God's wisdom. What seems reasonable from our limited perspective may not be wise at all.
Our hearts can deceive us. Jeremiah 17:9 warns that the human heart is deceitful. We may believe we're making objective financial decisions when fear, pride, or greed actually shapes our motivations.
Our emotions can overpower our intentions. In Romans 7:18, Paul acknowledges the struggle between knowing what is right and actually doing it. Investors experience a similar tension when they understand sound financial principles but struggle to follow them during market volatility.
Our ability to predict the future is limited. James 4:13–14 cautions against assuming we know what tomorrow will bring. That principle matters especially in investing, where even the most experienced professionals cannot consistently predict market movements.
Recognizing these limitations should encourage humility, not fear. We don't have to understand everything about the future to make wise financial decisions today. And according to Biller, there are practical ways to account for these human weaknesses when managing investments.
Three Ways to Overcome Emotional Investing
At Sound Mind Investing, Biller and his team encourage investors to recognize their behavioral tendencies and establish disciplined practices to counteract them. Here are three strategies they recommend.
One of the most difficult investment decisions is knowing when to sell.
Behavioral economists have identified two common tendencies that make selling particularly challenging.
The first is the Endowment Effect, our tendency to value something more simply because we own it.
An investor might become emotionally attached to a particular stock, especially after it has performed well, making it difficult to recognize when selling might be appropriate.
The second is the Sunk Cost Effect, which makes it difficult to walk away from something we've already invested in.
For example, someone holding a declining investment might refuse to sell because they're determined to recover their original investment, even when the investment's future prospects no longer justify holding it.
Both tendencies can lead investors to make decisions based on emotional attachment rather than sound judgment.
Establishing clear selling guidelines in advance helps reduce that temptation. Rather than deciding what to do in the middle of an emotional market environment, investors can follow a predetermined process.
2. Exercise Restraint With Higher-Risk Investments
Another common behavioral tendency is allowing recent market performance to influence how much risk we're willing to take.
When markets rise, and aggressive investments perform well, investors may feel increasingly comfortable taking on more risk. But that confidence can disappear quickly when markets decline.
Biller points to a behavioral tendency known as loss aversion, which describes how people generally experience the pain of financial losses more intensely than the pleasure of comparable gains.
That emotional imbalance can make volatile investments especially difficult to hold through challenging markets.
Even when a higher-risk strategy can produce attractive long-term returns, investors must consider whether they can emotionally withstand the downturns that may come along the way. That's why SMI encourages investors to limit exposure to more aggressive strategies, especially after periods of unusually strong performance.
The goal isn't to eliminate risk. It's to ensure that the risk we're taking remains appropriate for our financial circumstances and long-term goals.
3. Diversify Your Investment Strategies
Diversification is a familiar investing principle, but Biller emphasizes that it can also provide psychological benefits.
Different investment strategies tend to perform better under different market conditions. By combining approaches that respond differently to market movements, investors may find it easier to remain disciplined through both rising and falling markets.
Consider two common situations.
An investor following an aggressive strategy may experience significant anxiety when markets decline. Meanwhile, someone using a conservative strategy may feel frustrated during a strong bull market because their investments aren't keeping pace.
Both investors face emotional pressures that could tempt them to abandon their plans.
A diversified approach can help moderate those pressures by reducing dependence on any single strategy.
Diversification can't eliminate losses or guarantee returns, but it can make the investing experience more manageable and help investors maintain a long-term perspective.
Investing Is Simple, But That Doesn't Make It Easy
Biller often reminds investors that investing can be simple, but not easy.
The basic principles of successful long-term investing aren't necessarily complicated. But applying those principles consistently requires patience, restraint, and emotional discipline.
Markets will remain unpredictable. Investments will experience periods of growth and decline. And our natural tendencies toward fear, overconfidence, and comparison won't simply disappear.
That's why a rules-based investment approach can be so valuable.
Instead of constantly reacting to market headlines or deciding based on how we feel in the moment, we can establish a thoughtful investment process and follow it consistently.
Doing so doesn't eliminate uncertainty, but it can reduce the temptation to make impulsive decisions that undermine long-term financial goals.
Developing a Biblical Stewardship Mindset
Ultimately, investing isn't simply about accumulating as much wealth as possible. For Christians, investing is one aspect of a much larger responsibility: faithfully managing what God has entrusted to us.
That perspective should shape not only the investments we choose but also the attitudes we bring to the process.
A stewardship mindset encourages patience over impatience, humility over overconfidence, and contentment over constant comparison. It also reminds us that our financial security ultimately doesn't depend on our ability to anticipate every market move.
We can make thoughtful decisions, exercise appropriate restraint, and prepare responsibly for the future while recognizing that the outcomes remain beyond our control.
The goal isn't to become an investor who never experiences fear or uncertainty. It's to become a faithful steward who doesn't allow those emotions to dictate every financial decision.
By recognizing our limitations and applying time-tested financial principles, we can approach investing with greater discipline and a healthier perspective on wealth.
To learn more about rules-based investing strategies and biblical financial wisdom, visitSoundMindInvesting.org.
On Today’s Program, Rob Answers Listener Questions:
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