Investing vs. Gambling: What’s the Difference?

This episode of the Faith and Finance Podcast is brought to you in part by Christian Credit Counselors. If credit card debt is weighing on your heart and you're unsure where to begin, our trusted partner Christian Credit Counselors is here to help. Their debt management program can help you pay off your credit card debt up to 80% faster while ensuring you honor your financial commitments in full. Take the first step toward financial freedom today. Visit christiancreditcounselors.org or call 800-557-1985. In today's world of cryptocurrencies, sports betting apps, and volatile markets, it's common to hear people suggest that investing is just another form of gambling.

Hi, I'm Rob West. While investing and gambling both involve putting money at risk, they're not the same, not financially, not morally, and certainly not biblically. That's up first today and then it's on to your calls at 800-525-7000.

That number to call, 800-525-7000. This is Faith and Finance, biblical wisdom for your financial journey. At a surface level, investing and gambling both involve uncertain outcomes, but the nature and purpose of the risk involved couldn't be more different. Investing involves taking thoughtful, calculated risks to support growth, contribute to the economy, and provide for the future.

Farmers plant seeds without knowing exactly what the harvest will bring. Business owners launch ventures in faith. Ecclesiastes 11-1 encourages this kind of forward-looking activity.

Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days. Investing is similar. It's about patience, planning, and trusting God while using resources wisely.

It's not a shortcut to wealth, but a long-term effort to steward God's provision well. Gambling, however, is a zero-sum game. In order for one person to win, others must lose, and the losses are often devastating. Gambling exploits rather than builds, often targeting the financially vulnerable and preying on their desperation.

Scripture calls us to seek justice and protect the vulnerable. The gambling industry profits by doing the opposite. As Proverbs 10-2 puts it, ill-gotten gains do not profit anyone, but righteousness rescues from death. One of the clearest differences between investing and gambling is the impact each has on the world around us. Wise investing is not only beneficial to the investor, it benefits others, too. When you invest in a company, you're helping to fund its operations, fuel innovation, and provide jobs. Investing helps businesses grow, communities flourish, and economies strengthen.

It's one way we can participate in the broader work of human flourishing. Faithful investing can be an expression of loving your neighbor. It involves allocating resources to support businesses that provide real goods and services, and it has a ripple effect far beyond your personal return.

Like the faithful servants in Jesus' parable of the talents, investors aim to multiply what's been entrusted to them for the good of others and the glory of God. Gambling, however, often thrives at the cost of others' losses. The system is built on imbalance. One person's gain depends on many others' losses. It preys disproportionately on the vulnerable, offering false hope while encouraging addiction, debt, and despair.

Isaiah 1 17 commands, Learn to do right, seek justice, defend the oppressed. Gambling systems do the opposite, profiting off injustice and deepening cycles of poverty. Gambling is often fueled by discontentment, a restless craving for more, a belief that life will finally be better if we just get lucky. It lures us to risk what we have for what we think we need. But the Bible warns us, Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.

Yet discontentment isn't limited to gamblers. It can poison our investing too. Even legitimate investment decisions can be corrupted by greed, fear, or the desire to keep up with others. We can hoard in the name of saving or obsess over returns as if our security depends on them. That's why Christians must always ask, Why am I investing?

Am I trusting in God or in my portfolio? This isn't just about money. It's about discipleship. Jesus taught that we cannot serve both God and money in Matthew 6-24.

Gambling often turns money into a God, feeding our anxiety and covetousness rather than cultivating peace and gratitude. When done in faith, investing is an act of trust in God's provision. It acknowledges that we live in a broken world full of uncertainty, but we still move forward wisely, patiently, and generously. It says, I will use what God has given me to plan for the future, care for others, and grow what He has entrusted to me. When done with the right hard posture, investing can be a part of seeking God's kingdom.

It's a tool, not a treasure. But gambling tempts us to seek fortune without faithfulness, to pursue gain without giving, and to trust luck instead of trusting the Lord. Whether we're investing, saving, or giving, may we always remember that true security is not found in earthly returns, but in the eternal riches of Christ. All right, your calls are next. Stay with us.

We'll be right back. Explore a new way of investing that aligns with your values. More information is available at oneassent.com and by clicking Analyze My Investments. Do you feel like your hands are tied with debt, preventing you from serving God? If you have credit card debt, Christian Credit Counselors can help. Through our debt management program, we can get you out of credit card debt about 80% faster while honoring your debt in full. For more information on how Christian Credit Counselors can help, visit christiancreditcounselors.org. That's christiancreditcounselors.org, or call 800-557-1985, 800-557-1985. Great to have you with us today on Faith and Finance.

I'm Rob West. Looking forward to taking your calls and questions today. That number to call, 800-525-7000. Again, that number 800-525-7000. We're looking forward to diving into your questions today as you think about managing God's money in light of biblical wisdom.

We want to be helpful to that end, try to be an encouragement to you, be hopeful, be reverent as we approach God's Word. Also, wise as we give you wise counsel. Now, I realize there's lots of things going on in your financial life, and those will span the topics from debt repayment to living within your means. Perhaps you're trying to pay down some debt, or maybe you just want to give wisely. Whatever it is in your financial life today, we'd love to tackle that question. So give us a call right now while we have some lines open.

They won't stay open for long. Again, that number 800-525-7000 you can call right now. All right, let's dive into your questions today. We're going to begin in Missouri. Hi Stacey, go right ahead. Hi, thanks for taking my call. I have a question about what I actually need to do as far as whether we look at an estate attorney, whether we look at a CPA, whether we look at a financial planner. We have several homes and investments, and we're wanting to create a trust. And we just don't know which direction to go with it.

Okay, yeah, very good. You know, this is a question a lot of people struggle with. And, you know, there is, you know, no right or wrong answer. I think it's just important to look at the benefits of each and then decide which is the best fit for you. When it comes to a trust, I mean, the real upside there is that you're going to bypass probate, you will be able to name your beneficiaries that the trustee would ultimately distribute the assets to. But as opposed to a will with a trust, it can go into effect prior to death if you're incapacitated, or the assets can be distributed well beyond your death, based on certain triggering factors. So for instance, if you had minor children, and you said, we only want this money distributed at our passing, when they reach a certain age, or, you know, every decade from, you know, 20 to age 40, or something like that, you would have that control with a trust, you would not at a will, it also would allow you to keep everything private. Because when you go through a will and probate, it's all a part of the public record. So there are certain benefits, you know, that you have with a trust that you do not with a will, with a will, everything happens at death. And it does all go through the probate process, which does involve some expenses, usually somewhere between one and 3% of the estate, and it takes a little bit of time. Now, the upside of the will is a lot simpler to create, you don't have to retitle assets in the name of the trust, and it's less expensive, you might spend, you know, four or $500 for a will, whereas you know, with a trust, it's going to often run often run you several thousand dollars, you know, perhaps two or $3,000. So, you know, those are the positives and negatives of a will versus a trust in terms of who to use, I do recommend that you get in the state attorney to draw up either one, just because the online solutions, although they can be effective, and they'd be better than nothing, you know, with this kind of decision making and making sure that you're complying with the laws of your state, I'd rather you have that professional counsel, even though it's going to cost you a bit more. Does that make sense, though?

It does. We're trying to avoid the tax implications to for children who are grown, and we have grandchildren. So okay, yeah, now keep in mind, unless you have a pretty massive estate, there really is no estate tax until you get above an estate of 13.99 million. So for most people, at least based on the tax laws today, there really isn't any estate tax or inheritance tax.

So not a whole lot to consider there other than the efficient transfer of the assets at the time and place of your choosing. Hope that helps. Thanks for your call. Let's go to Kentucky. Hi, Ann.

Go ahead. Hi, I have a question about our overall portfolio, whether it is conservative enough. My husband 66.

I'm 64. We own our own business, which is kind of winding down. And we have between 900,000 and $1 million in property between our house and the building that we own for our business and another piece of property. And I was wondering in the overall portfolio, is property considered aggressive or conservative?

Like how would that work into our mix up? Yeah, I would say it's on the conservative end, depending on the property and assuming it's a residential property, it's certainly more conservative. When you get into commercial, you know, there's just been a little bit more pressure on the commercial market just because the change post pandemic on how people are working.

And so depending on what part of the country it is, and the locale, it certainly can be a bit more aggressive. But, you know, given that they tend to have a pretty steady appreciation real estate does over time and their income generating, I would say I'd put it in the more conservative end, that the two things that raise the risk apart from just the changes in the commercial real estate market are number one, the illiquidity, just meaning that, you know, with stocks and bonds, you can sell them as long as the markets open and, and get your cash. It's not that way with real estate, it's more time consuming and costly. I would say the other thing is just the lack of diversification is one of the challenges that slightly raises the risk because typically, when we own stocks and bonds, we might own hundreds of companies through an ETF or a mutual fund. Whereas with real estate, you know, you have three holdings.

And so if there was something that adversely affected one of these properties, you know, you're just more highly concentrated. So that would be the other risk that you have. But a lot of people have built a lot of wealth in real estate. And I think, you know, the idea that you would continue to let these properties appreciate and then when you're ready to exit this business and or liquidate some of these other properties that perhaps have been income generators, then taking that and deploying that in a fairly conservative, you know, largely bond, but with some stock exposure portfolio, that's a little more liquid can generate some income, get you more properly diversified, I think can be a very effective strategy for you as you head toward retirement.

Is that helpful, though? It is we do have, I don't know, probably about 700,000 stocks. So okay, how should that stock be allocated?

Like, how aggressive how? Yeah, you know, well, you know, there's not a right or wrong there. I mean, it ultimately comes down to what has got entrusted to you? What lifestyle do you feel like he's called you to how much income do you need? And how much risk do you need to take to achieve your goals?

You know, we don't want to take unnecessary risk, especially in this season of life. And it sounds like you've got a good bit in the way of assets. How would you break down the mix of that? What you call the stock portfolio between stocks and bonds? Is it all stocks? Or is there some fixed income in there? There are some bonds, I've just heard you say like 6040 when you're in your 60s or something like that. And yeah, so the bonds and there are some stocks. I'm not clear on all that we do have an advisor. Okay. So I think this would be a good conversation to have with your advisor. I mean, I will tell you just a rule of thumb.

And that's all it is. We used to use the number 100 minus your age. And that would be the amount that you would typically have in stocks and then the rest in bonds. Because people are living longer, a lot of times we'll use 110 minus your age. So for instance, what is your age right now? I'm 64.

And my husband is 66. Okay, so let's call it 65. So that would be essentially we took 110 minus 65. That'd be 45% in stocks, 55% in bonds. Let's say we were to pull 5% from either side for maybe some gold allocation. That'd be a 6040 portfolio bonds to stocks. And then as you all age, you would move more from stocks to bonds.

The stocks gives you the growth component, the bonds gives you the income and overall it's a more stable portfolio. So it might be good to have that conversation with your advisor to check your current allocation against that rule of thumb. Stay on the line. We'll finish off the air.

We'll be right back. We are grateful for support from Praxis Investment Management. Since 1994, Praxis has offered investment products designed to meet practical needs for everyday investors seeking to steward their assets consistent with their desire to promote positive social and environmental impact. Praxis aims to bring a faith-based approach to ETFs, mutual funds, multi-fund portfolio solutions, and money market accounts reflecting their 500-year-old Anabaptist Christian faith tradition. More information is available at praxisinvest.com. Great to have you with us today on Faith and Finance.

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In fact, I just saw the final proof. It's off to the printer here in the next week. And boy, it is chock full of some great articles on things like, is it okay to leave differing amounts to my kids and creating an intentional inheritance, crafting a faithful legacy for future generations, how a Christian should respond when someone owes them money, a whole different perspective on a retirement, an article called Finding an Uncommon Retirement from Jeff Hainan, and so much more. We'd love to send you a copy of that along with our brand new study that comes out in May as well. And it's called Wisdom Over Wealth. It's a deep dive into the book of Ecclesiastes on money. Partners get two studies or devotionals a year plus four issues of Faithful Steward. And if you go ahead and become a partner right now, we'll be sure you get issue two of Faithful Steward and our new study Wisdom Over Wealth when they release.

Just head to faithfi.com and click give right there at the top of the page. All right, we're going to head back to the phones. We still have some lines open. So if you have a financial question, go ahead and call right now 800-525-7000. Let's go to Cleveland, Ohio. Hi, Robin. Go ahead. Hi, Rob.

I enjoy your program very much. My question is what are the pros and cons of changing a house title to a transfer upon death and adding your kids names versus leaving it to them in a will? Yeah, great question. So a transfer on death deed allows you to pass your home on to one or more beneficiaries without having to go through probate. It's not available in every state, but it is available in Ohio. So you do have that option. And if that's really all you're looking to do, there really is no downside here, just because you know, it does create that efficient transfer without the time and the expense of going through the probate process, which means it has to run through the probate court. There are expenses involved, it does slow it down a bit. And so with that transfer on death deed, it's kind of like you having an IRA and you have a beneficiary designation. Well, that IRA is going to go straight to that beneficiary or life insurance proceeds straight to the beneficiary. It's not going to run through the probate process. And the transfer on death deed allows that same thing to happen with the house. Will it eventually get there with a basic will? Absolutely. It's just going to take, you know, to be a part of the public record and it will be a little bit slower than if you were to have that transfer on death deed in place. Does that make sense?

Yes, it does. Is there any tax implications? There really are not any tax implications because, you know, unless you have a pretty massive estate in north of $13 million, there's not going to be any estate taxes. And there's no inheritance tax at the federal level. So it's really just about the efficient transfer where you keep control until you die, you skip probate, goes directly to your named beneficiary. And they're pretty simple and cheap to do. I mean, you file a form with your county recorder might cost you somewhere between 50 and maybe as much as $200, you know, way less than a trust.

And it's private. Unlike a will, it doesn't go through the the the public probate. And the only downside is doesn't avoid any creditors. So it's not like it's going to shield it, you know, your your estate is going to settle debts first, you know, it, you know, other than that, it's not available everywhere, but it is in the state of Ohio, so you should be fine there. And then if you decide, you know, for instance, if it was a duplex, and you wanted to rent run one side, you may have an issue there. But other than that, it's it's a fairly simple and straightforward process.

Very good. So if they sell it, there's no capital gains or anything like that? No, so they would get the step up in basis as of the date of death. So the market value as of the date of death would be the new cost basis. So as long as they turn around and sold it pretty quickly, there would be no capital gains.

The only case where there'd be capital gains is if they held on to it for a period of time, and it appreciated beyond the market value as of the date of death. Good. Thank you so much. I appreciate your help.

Absolutely. Thanks for your call, Robin. Call anytime. 800-525-7000. We've got some lines open. We'd love to hear from you today with your financial questions.

Again, call right now the team is standing by 800-525-7000. Let's go to Illinois. Hi, Pat. Go ahead. Well, hi. Thanks for taking my call.

Two part question. This is in regards to insurance premiums that are just skyrocketing. Is it advisable to contact an insurance broker? And if so, how do I find a reputable one?

Yeah, it is absolutely possible. You know, you can go out there just into the marketplace. But you also can, you know, start online. So you could go to healthcare.gov. That would be the marketplace plans, which are a part of the Affordable Care Act, and then just click on the button that says find local help and enter your zip code. You could also look for a health insurance broker. And so you would, you know, you could again use an internet search to find local firms or independent brokers or even some of the big names like ehealth or some of the others.

And then I would just encourage you to use, you know, Google or Yelp to gauge reliability based on reviews. There are some national players like ehealthinsurance.com or healthmarkets.com, where you could, you know, use their agent locators. You could also ask for referrals, you know, to find somebody who knows of someone in your area who's an independent health insurance agent.

You know, for instance, I know several here and in my area, and that might be true of others, especially those in the financial services industry. You could also reach out to a certified kingdom advisor in your area and ask for a referral there as well. How would I do that? You'd find a CKA on our website, Pat, you just go to faithfi.com. And right there at the top of the page, it'll say find a professional. And if you just do a zip code search for the certified kingdom advisors there in Illinois, any of those that you call, you could just say, listen, I wanted to see if you knew of any health and independent health insurance brokers.

Let me also just throw out one other option. And that would be our friends at Christian Healthcare Ministries. Have you ever considered one of the medical cost sharing ministries as an alternative? No, no, I haven't.

Okay. That might be worth looking into alongside traditional healthcare. You know, it is something that many of our team members use here at FaithFi. They've used it with great success. It's less expensive, especially if you're relatively healthy and you could take what you would have been spending with traditional healthcare and set it aside. You're essentially a cash payer, but then, you know, once you get above the per incident amount, they would then share back with you. In the case of chministries.org, Christian Healthcare Ministries, they're the oldest and largest. They've shared over $10 billion with believers like you. So I might check that out as well, chministries.org.

And then obviously you could reach out to some others that might connect you with an independent conventional health insurance broker. Hope that helps, Pat. Thanks for your call. Big thanks to my team today, Devin, Robert, and Taylor. We'll see you next time. Bye-bye. Faith and Finance is provided by FaithFi and listeners like you.