Many people are using the FaithFi app to help provide the wisdom, community, and money management to stay on track, financially speaking. To date, over 37,000 members are using its digital envelope system, participating in our community forums, and engaging in virtual workshops. And one of the most convenient features is the ability to keep all your accounts in one place for an easy-at-a-glance view.
You can choose from one of three options, depending on your management style, and it's available on desktop or mobile. Go to faithfi.com and click App to get started. So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God. Luke 12 21.
Hi, I'm Rob West. That passage comes from Jesus' challenging parable of the rich fool, which concludes with an invitation to be rich toward God. But what exactly does being rich toward God mean? Chad Clark joins us today to help us explore this challenging yet life-giving parable. Then it's on to your calls at 800-525-7000.
That's 800-525-7000. This is Faith and Finance, biblical wisdom for your financial journey. Well, our guest today is Chad Clark. He's executive director here at FaithFi. And over the last several months, our team has been working on a brand new four-week study on the parable of the rich fool.
It's called Rich Toward God. Chad, great to have you back with us. Yeah, happy to be here. I'm looking forward to this conversation. Tell our listeners a bit about the Rich Toward God study and why we here at FaithFi decided to create it in the first place.
Yeah, that's a great question, Rob. As a ministry here at FaithFi, our mission is to equip Christians with tools and resources to integrate faith and financial decisions for the glory of God with the ultimate vision that all Christians would come to see God as their ultimate treasure. And we really couldn't think of a better parable to start our brand new study series off with than the parable of the rich fool, which really asks us the question, what does it mean to be rich toward God?
Yeah, that's exactly right. All right, here's what I'd like to do. I'm going to read the passage from Luke 12 verses 13 to 21.
And then I want to ask you to pull out some of the big themes that we unpack in this study. Let's dive into God's Word. Someone in the crowd said to him, Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me. But he said to him, Man, who made me a judge or arbiter over you? And he said to them, Take care and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.
And then he told them a parable, saying, The land of a rich man produced plentifully. And he thought to himself, What shall I do? For I have nowhere to store my crops.
And he said, I'll do this. I'll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. And there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years. Relax, eat, drink and be merry. But God said to him, Fool, this night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?
So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God. Now, Chad, in that passage, there are some incredible themes that we all need to explore. So why don't you pull out how the study unpacks those? Yeah, that's great.
Thanks for doing that, Rob. I think when you jump into the rich toward God study, we first start by looking at the historical and the biblical context. We think it's incredibly important for you to understand the context in which this parable was delivered. We then jump into some of the themes that Jesus brings out of this parable. We start by looking at what is true abundance. We then transition into pride and prosperity.
We see the rich fool and his pride. And so we dive a little bit deeper into what that looks like for ourselves personally. We then see that there's this uncertainty of tomorrow. So in week three, we really look at this idea of planning that we are called to plan, but we also don't know what the future holds. So this uncertainty of tomorrow is a powerful week to go through in the study. And then we conclude with this idea of what does it mean to be rich toward God, which Jesus invites us to at the end of this parable. And then there's some specific steps folks can take to continue the journey as well, right? Yeah, so we'll conclude the study with this continue the journey section that gives you some really practical next steps and ways that you can apply this study in your life. I love it. All right, Chad, what are some practical ways people can use this study?
How was it designed? Yeah, it was designed for you to either use individually so you can use this in your quiet time with the Lord. You can use it as a couple or as a family or if you've got a small group at church, we encourage you to go through it as a small group as well.
All right. I know so many of you have a group. You're always looking for good biblical content that has application to your life. We think the rich toward God study could be exactly what you're looking for. All right, Chad, the only question that remains is how do they get a copy? Yeah, you can go to faithfi.com and click the shop button to order your copy of Rich Toward God.
Okay, that's faithfi.com and just click shop. And Chad, I think that as we think about our role as stewards and managing the King of Kings resources, wrestling with this question, what does it mean to live rich toward God is probably at the top of the list. I agree and I look forward to having people go through this study and discover what that means for themselves.
That sounds great. Chad, thanks for stopping by, my friend. Thank you.
That's Chad Clark. He's executive director here at faithfi. If you want to check out this study and order your copy today for yourself, your family or your small group, go to faithfi.com and click shop. That's faithfi.com and click shop. Back with your questions after this 800-525-7000.
Stick around. If you enjoy this radio program, you're going to love all of the many different resources waiting for you at faithfi.com and the Faithfi app. You'll find powerful wisdom, free podcasts, articles, videos, and more from leading voices such as Randy Alcorn, Howard Dayton, Ron Blue, and our own Rob West.
Grow in wisdom and knowledge by connecting with a community of thousands of Christians striving to be good and faithful stewards at faithfi.com or by downloading the Faithfi app. What's most important to you when it comes to choosing your financial advisor? Someone who's aligned with your biblical values? How about someone who will take the time to explain your options? Certified Kingdom Advisors are professionals who meet high standards in competence and integrity and have been trained to offer biblical financial advice.
To find a Certified Kingdom Advisor in your area, visit faithfi.com and click find a CKA. We're back. I'm Rob West and this is Faith and Finance. Thanks for listening today. Thanks for taking the time. As we head into our calls and questions, I want to take a moment to ask you if you've downloaded the Faithfi app.
You can use it on your desktop or your mobile device. By the way, if you have a question, just call 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000. And I'm so thankful for each of our listeners. You all are amazing. We love your stories. We love your questions. We're so thankful for your kind remarks that you write in and call in with.
I just hope and pray this show is an encouragement to you every day. Because here's the thing. I realize managing money is not easy. It can be confusing and complex. We want to try to take some of that confusion out of it, make it simple, but also make it rooted in God's Word. Because I believe it's a powerful force for good. You know, when you handle money God's way, what I find is it has a ripple effect throughout your life that will ultimately draw you into a more intimate relationship with the Lord. Because it's one of the clearest indicators, and the late Larry Burkett would say this often, the way we handle money is the clearest indicator into what's going on in our life spiritually. Because it tells so much about what we value and where we've placed our trust and whether we're focused on the life that is to come, the eternal or the temporal, the here and now. And so we just want to help you get that right.
It's not that we have all the answers, but we want to point you back to God's Word because God's Word is always right, it's always relevant, and it will never change. Hey, I've got one line open today. We'll get to as many calls as we can during the remainder of this broadcast.
800-525-7000. Let's go to Mississippi. Hi, Louise. Go right ahead. Good morning. Good morning. I'm ready to get some information.
I'm ready to give it to you. Okay. I'm coming in through an inheritance to a great deal of money, and I want to tithe it, and I'm looking for information about a donor-directed fund. Okay.
Yep. So a donor-directed fund, or what's often referred to as a donor-advised fund, is a charitable giving vehicle that is often underutilized, but I think it's one of the most effective tools in the charitable giving space. Now, Louise, you might think about it like a charitable checking account, and here's why.
After you receive the inheritance, there's undoubtedly a portion of it that you want to give to the Lord, but you may not know today where you want that to go. If you do, well, you could just write that check, but if you want to take your time and distribute it over time, you could instead make that donation to your, you know, the Louise from Mississippi donor-advised fund, and when you do, you get the charitable deduction associated with it immediately because you've given the gift, you've given the money away, and then it sits in that donor-advised fund. It could actually be invested in there if you wanted it to be, but it doesn't have to be, and then whenever you want to grant it out, you would make a recommendation to the donor-advised fund sponsor on where you want it to go, and then they would process the grant and make the gift, and then either in your name or anonymously, a check would show up at your church or favorite charity, and they receive the money. Now, how else can a donor-advised fund be used? Well, the other way it can be used in addition to putting cash in it that you want to give out over time, and you determine how long, it can sit there as long as you want.
The other way to use it is with assets, non-cash assets, so think a business, think a piece of real estate, think stocks, precious metals. You can actually put those in the donor-advised fund prior to selling them, and if they've appreciated in value, you normally would have to pay a capital gain. In the case of putting it in the donor-advised fund before you sell it, you don't have to pay the gain because when it's sold, it's already been given away, and so now you have more money in your charitable checking account to recommend that it be given out to charities and ministries. So anyway, that's kind of a broad brush overview of donor-advised funds, but give me your questions. Okay, well then, if the fund is set up and you said there are certain ways those could be invested too, how does that work? Yeah, so that's going to be up to the donor-advised fund sponsor in terms of what investments they make available to you.
So let me give you an example. Our friends at the National Christian Foundation, so this is a ministry that was founded by, you might know these names, Larry Burkett and Ron Blue and an attorney named Terry Parker, a godly man, they set up NCF, the National Christian Foundation, and they are a donor-advised fund sponsor. So if you went to NCF Giving today, ncfgiving.com, and you clicked on open a giving fund, that's their name for a donor-advised fund, you would set it up in a matter of a few minutes. And then, when you put the money in, because you receive the inheritance, you make a gift to your donor-advised fund that you put your own name on it, it's yours, you would then have choices that NCF makes available to you on how you wanted to invest it while it's sitting there.
You could leave it in the cash, what's like a money market, they also have mutual funds or investment sleeves, if you will, that have a varying degree of risk levels, and you would select the investments, and they can help you if you needed them to, on how you want the money that's in your donor-advised fund to be invested so that it can grow over time, which gives you more money to give away. Does that make sense? It does.
It does. All right, so the advantages of this, from what I'm hearing you say, is that you can go ahead and designate this money and then, of course, continue to use as you need. Or it might even grow if you choose to put it in something other than just cash and, you know, invest. Also, but I guess I'm wanting to know the advantage, because I support a lot of things, I have some charitable annuities, and I'm not going to need any of this money. So do you think this is a wise thing to do, or should I just continue to support the things I support? Because it's only going to be, quote, a charitable gift until I take it and direct it somewhere, right? Well, you get the charitable contribution as soon as you put it in the donor-advised fund, even if you leave it. So let's say you were to put $100,000 in a donor-advised fund today, and you decide you want to give $10,000 of it this year and $50,000 of it next year. You're going to go ahead and get the $100,000 charitable deduction in 2024, because you've given the money away, and then it's up to you how quickly you disperse it. The second opportunity you have with the donor-advised fund is it just creates a little more simplicity, because let's say you're given to 15 different ministries. When you give direct, you've got 15 different charitable contribution statements coming back to you in the mail to give to your CPA.
In the case of the donor-advised fund, you get one charitable contribution statement, because you made the gift to your donor-advised fund. And then as you grant it out to 15 ministries, you're not going to get any contribution receipts, so it just really simplifies things. Does that make sense? It does. It does. So in other words, using your $100,000 amount, what is the maximum you can give in a charitable year? I mean, would that have to... Go ahead.
Yeah, no. So that's going to be up to the IRS in terms of the maximum contribution. So right now, the limit on charitable cash contributions is 60% of your adjusted gross income for this year. So that would be where you might want to talk to your CPA about that, just to see if you get up above 60%. Maybe you could carry it forward to another year. I would talk to your CPA about that, but that's where a donor-advised fund can really shine is when you're making a significant contribution, and he or she should be able to tell you how to take full advantage of it.
I'm going to take a break, Louise. God bless you for your generosity and your giving spirit. We'll be right back on Faith and Finance. Are you a financial advisor or CPA seeking to build your practice on biblical wisdom? Not only does the Certified Kingdom Advisor Education provide you with deep biblical insights, the CKA designation sets you apart. Each year, almost 50,000 people search for a Christian financial advisor. Join our community and share your insights with us.
The CKA designation sets you apart. Each year, almost 50,000 people search for a Christian financial advisor. Join our community and share your expertise with clients looking for someone who shares their faith and values.
Find more information at kingdomadvisors.com. What if your everyday purchases could support biblical causes? With the all-new Cash Rewards Visa Card from Christian Community Credit Union, a portion of every purchase goes to ministries that spread the gospel, combat human trafficking, and protect vulnerable children. Plus, earn unlimited 1.5% cash back.
Visit joinchristiancommunity.com. Membership eligibility required. Each account is insured up to $250,000.
This institution is not federally insured. Welcome back to Faith and Finance. I'm your host, Rob West.
The number to call is 800-525-7000. All right, let's head back to the phones to Lincoln, Nebraska. Hi, David. Go ahead, sir. Thank you, Rob, for taking my call.
I have a neighbor who wants to buy 20 feet of a property I own, which I'm willing to do, but I have no concept of how to determine fair market value for the property and how to determine if I made an income and what income tax implications that has. Yeah, yeah, interesting. So, a couple of thoughts here. Number one is, do you have a mortgage on this property? No.
Okay, that's good. So, it would need to be mortgage free in order to do that. I think the next step is to consult a real estate attorney and really follow all the legal steps to properly sever and then ultimately sell a parcel of land, even a small one, because you're going to need to investigate local zoning laws and land use restrictions before subdividing it. And then, you know, there is tax implications, you need to check with your CPA, but that portion that you sell that doesn't involve your home would now probably no longer be able to be counted toward the residence, primary residence exemption, and therefore it would be subject to capital gains. So, for that portion, you'd establish a cost basis and then determine how much is the gain, and then you'd pay capital gains tax on that. So, you'd want to get your land appraised by an independent appraiser, and then, you know, the county would have to be involved in subdividing it, because you're gonna have to make sure that you ensure that, you know, you have clear property boundaries through a professional survey. And then you want to just factor in any implications long term of, you know, the effects on your remaining property after the sale, just making sure it's not creating any ingress and egress issues, things like that.
So, I think you got a little homework to do, starting with a real estate attorney about the proper steps legally to sell off that parcel with local zoning with regard to use restrictions, and then ultimately, you know, with a getting a survey and an appraisal to establish the value and the clear property boundaries, and then ultimately with your CPA. So, you're gonna have to be the quarterback on a number of folks that will be involved in this, just to make sure you've got all the I's dotted and the T's crossed. Does that make sense? Yeah, so to figure out the value, the appraiser will be able to do that. Oh, absolutely. Yeah.
So, they'll be able to give you a land appraisal and then, you know, be able to separate that out for the parcel that you want to sell. Alright, thank you. Okay, absolutely. We appreciate your call today. Let's go to Georgia. Hi, Chris. Go ahead.
Yes, I got a question for you. I'm in the market for buying a new car for my wife, and I just know the interest rates are through the roof, and it kind of scared me a little bit about financing a car. But we do have some savings, some money that we've been trying to max out our Roth IRAs, and I was just curious, could I pull out the money that I put into my Roth and just it's not getting as much interest there than what I'd be paying in a finance car? Yeah, you know, I hear you on that, and yet I would love for you to leave that money there, and here's why.
I mean, you're limited in what you can get into that Roth every year, number one. And that tax-free growth is just so powerful over time that, you know, given the short-term nature typically of that car loan that you'd pay off usually in no more than five years, hopefully less if you have the ability to accelerate those payments. Despite those higher interest rates, you know, you're going to be able to pay that off a good bit quicker. Are you talking about a new car or a used car? Whatever we can afford.
Okay, yeah. So, I mean, you're looking at, unless there's some sort of dealer-manufacturer incentive, I mean, you're looking between somewhere between 7 and 10 percent. You know, if you've got a great credit score, you know, above 661, hopefully you're in the 700s.
So, you know, that's, you know, the opportunity that you have there. I agree that's a high interest rate, perhaps more than you're getting. Now, you could get that money out of the Roth, you know, without any penalty or taxes, as long as you don't take more than your original contributions. So, you know, there's no penalty there to factor in, but what you have to factor in is all of those years of compounded tax-free growth that you're giving up.
So, let's talk about that for a second. What is your age? 48.
Okay. So, I mean, you know, you've got, let's call it 20 years until retirement, and even then, you know, if you're, you know, American 65 right now, I mean, you're going to live into your 80s if the Lord tarries and you're in good health. You certainly could live even into your 90s. So, we're talking about potentially five decades of growth on this money, you know, before you need it or before you use it up, if at all. And the idea would be that you don't, you live on the income.
I mean, that's really compelling. And as soon as you take it out, you lose the opportunity for that free tax-free compounded growth forever. Do you have the ability, Chris, if you all were to, you know, really look at this and, you know, buy a car that, you know, fits your budget? Do you have some margin where beyond a fully funded emergency fund, you could try to accelerate the payoff of this thing, maybe even beyond the scheduled 60-month payment? We could.
I probably wouldn't be able to continue maxing out our Roth or continue putting into savings. That would just transfer the money that I'm using for that to pay for that car, though. Yeah, yeah. Would you be able to at least cover the monthly payment, though, on the 60-month payback without sending extra? Sure, yes. Okay, yeah.
So, I mean, I would go that route. Again, I don't love paying 7 to 10 percent interest. And again, if you, I mean, we're still kind of on that bubble where, you know, the used car inventories are building.
You know, we're beyond the chip shortage. More manufacturers are now at least offering some incentives. A lot of times if you're willing to finance it, you're going to get some extra potential rebates because they're making money on that as well. So hopefully you could buy it less expensive, which is going to help offset that interest. And then if you can just focus on getting that paid back, maybe instead of three, five years, you're trying to do it in three or maybe four. You know, I still think even with that high interest rate, I'd like for you to try to keep that money in the Roth and continue contributing to the Roth.
Just because the long-term benefit of that outweighs that short-term pain of the interest. Okay. I don't know that I can do both.
It's probably one or the other. All right. So what I do is just, yeah, keep maxing out that Roth and then just try to get no more than a 60-month payback on the car loan. Okay, I got you.
Yeah. And perhaps what you're doing is you're looking to maybe lower that total spend. You know, maybe you were looking at one car that's going to cost you X and you pivot to another car that's maybe a year or two older. And, you know, we're going to try to spend a little bit less because we know we want to prioritize keeping the money in the Roth. And in order to do that, we've got to maybe pull back a little bit on what that total outlay is, even though we're financing it. Thanks for your call, Chris.
I hope that gives you some other things to think about. Hey, we're almost out of time, but I wanted to let you know that you don't ever have to miss a program. Just download our Faithfi app for your mobile device and take us with you anywhere. Thanks for joining us today. I look forward to talking with you again next time on Faith and Finance. Faith and Finance is provided by Faithfi and listeners like you.
