Where Is Your Treasure?

We chase money, thinking it'll bring security. We seek success, hoping it'll satisfy.

But Ecclesiastes exposes the truth. Wealth alone never delivers. Lasting contentment isn't found in what we own, but in a personal relationship with Wisdom himself, Jesus. Faith-Fi study Wisdom Over Wealth will help you break free from empty pursuits and discover what truly lasts.

Get your copy when you become a Faith-Fi partner with a gift of $35 a month or $400 a year at faithfi.com slash partner. What if I told you that giving money to good causes won't necessarily change your heart? Hi, I'm Rob West. Many assume that if they invest their finances in the right places, their affections will follow. But what if the real issue isn't where our money goes, but what we treasure most? We'll talk about that today, and 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 decisions. Well, in his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus offers one of the most profound insights into money and the human heart. Even generous giving can leave our hearts tied to wealth rather than to God. What if Jesus wasn't just telling us to redirect our money, but inviting us to reexamine what we treasure most?

The real challenge isn't simply choosing better causes. It's choosing a better treasure. If our hearts cling to money, even when giving it away, we remain captive. But if we treasure God above all, our money will naturally reflect that devotion. Consider Jesus' observation at the widow's offering in Mark 12. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you tithe ment and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law, justice and mercy and faithfulness. The Pharisees gave meticulously, yet their hearts were enslaved to pride and status. Their giving wasn't born from a love for God, but from a desire to maintain religious appearances. In contrast, the widow's tiny offering flowed from deep trust and surrender to God. She gave not to be seen, but because her greatest treasure was the one standing before her.

Jesus praised her, not for the amount she gave, but because her heart fully belonged to him. If giving alone could free us from money's hold, the Pharisees would have been the most spiritually free people of their day, but they weren't. True freedom comes not from giving more, but from treasuring God most.

As Pastor John Piper puts it, God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him. So if the issue isn't where we put our money, but what we treasure, how do we shift our hearts? First, recognize God as your greatest treasure. Until God is your highest joy, we will always cling to lesser things.

Second, seek first his kingdom. When God's kingdom is our priority, everything else, including money, falls into place. Next, view money as a tool, not a treasure. If we treasure God, we will steward it wisely without being controlled by it.

And finally, store up treasures in heaven. This means prioritizing what truly lasts, growing in Christ, loving others, and living generously. When our treasure is in God, our relationship with money changes. We give not to force our hearts to care, but because our desires are already aligned with what God cares about. We are freed from the financial anxiety because our security is in God, not wealth. If money is our treasure, our hearts will forever remain enslaved to it, no matter how generously we give. But if we treasure God, our hearts will be free, and our relationship with money will reflect that reality.

The real question isn't where is my money going, but what do I treasure most? Because where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. That's the heart behind everything we do at Faithfi. We're here to help people not just manage money wisely, but treasure God above all else.

Because when He's our greatest treasure, everything changes. If you believe in that mission, I'd like to invite you to become a Faithfi partner. With a gift of $35 a month or more, or $400 a year, you'll help more Christians find freedom in Christ through Biblical financial wisdom. And as a thank you, you'll receive early access to all of our studies and devotionals, a subscription to our quarterly Faithful Steward magazine, and access to the pro version of the Faithfi app. You can learn more and become a Faithfi partner today at faithfi.com slash partner. That's faithfi.com slash partner. Your calls are next, 800-525-7000.

We'll be right back. Faith and finance is grateful for support from Soundmind Investing. If you have money in an investment account, you know sometimes the stock market can seem like a roller coaster, but it's possible to enjoy both profit and peace of mind as a do-it-yourself investor, no matter what's happening in the market. A short video webinar about that is available at soundmindinvesting.org. Financial wisdom for living well.

Soundmindinvesting.org. Great to have you with us today on faith and finance. We're taking your calls and questions today. 800-525-7000 is the number to call. We'd love to hear from you today. Let's go to Ohio. Hi, Larry.

How can I help? Hey, Rob. How are you doing?

Doing great. Thanks for your call. Hey, I want you to know I'm still working on coming down to buy you a Mexican meal. I remember that, Larry, and I'm going to take you up on that. So you just let me know when you're coming, all right? It may not be tomorrow, but we're still working on it. All right.

Very good. And my question would be, if I cashed in a CD, can I gift that to a family member without penalty? Yeah, so there's two different things going on here. One would be how you get the money out of the CD, which has nothing to do with what you're going to do with it after you get it. So that would be based on, the penalty would be based on, are you taking it early? So if it's a one year CD and you ask for your money back after six months, you're likely going to be hit with a penalty. And that has no bearing on whether or not after you get the money out, you spend it or you give it away. So that's just really between you and the bank as to what that penalty will be. Now, once you get it and you may or may not have the penalty, depending on whether you're accessing the money early, then absolutely you could turn around, you know, and give that away. And the annual gift exclusion for 2025 is 19,000, which means you can give 19,000 to as many individuals as you want and not let the IRS know about it. It's not taxable to you, not taxable to them. If you're married, you and your wife together could give any individual for 2025, you know, 38,000 between the two of you.

If you wanted to go over that, that's no problem. It's still not taxable. Likely, you would just have to fill out gift tax form 709, let the IRS know, and it would chip away at your lifetime gift exemption, which happens to be more than $13 million.

So you got a long way to go before you're going to get anywhere close to that. But you do have to report it because they're going to want to track that whenever it goes beyond 19,000. But the fact that you're giving it away has really no bearing on whether or not you pay a penalty, if that makes sense. Okay, so I can do that at tax time, fill that form out. That's exactly right. Yeah.

Are you looking to do more than 38,000? Oh, yeah. Yeah. So yeah, you would just do that at tax time and fill out that form. And, you know, that would chip away at that lifetime exclusion.

But again, there's no issue there. Could I ask you another question? Of course. Okay, 401k, right? Yes. Can I, would you feel guilty to draw out some money to buy yourself a little gift from your IRA versus going into debt?

Oh, not at all. Yeah. I mean, I think the question is, you know, you've got, you know, various assets to pull from. And, you know, if you wanted to enjoy part of what God has provided for you and something that is going to bring you enjoyment, I think that's a very appropriate use. Remember, money is a good gift from God. And yes, we're to use it to provide and to share with others. But I think it's also for our enjoyment.

We see that clearly in God's Word. So I would say for you to enjoy part of God's provision is absolutely appropriate. And I wouldn't go into debt to do that. I would say, you know, tapping that 401k makes a lot of sense.

Okay, great. I mean, in comparison, you're either gonna pay it there or, you know, they give you these 84 month deals, but they're adding interest in there anyway on a monthly payment. So it's going to balance out somewhat.

Yeah, that's right. I mean, it's always just a matter of what are your values and your priorities, you have limited resources. And so just make sure you're not pulling too much out that's going to somehow, you know, down the road impact your ability to continue to fund your lifestyle. But I would say given those two choices, pull from the 401k during retirement or take on some debt.

Absolutely. Let's enjoy what God has given you and pull it out of that 401k. Hey, Larry, thanks for your call today. Keep me posted on the trip to Atlanta, sir. And call anytime.

Let's go to Arkansas. Hi, Joyce, how can I help you? My question is when you have paid tied, honest tied on the gross your whole life, then you retire and draw on Social Security pension or your business. Do you continue to pay ties? Because it seems odd to me that you don't but I've heard people say it's already tied.

Why do you tie that again? Yeah, it's a great question, Joyce. And we do get this question a lot. And I appreciate the heart behind it, because you want to honor the Lord with what he's given you. You've been a faithful giver giving on the gross amount. And so you're right, there is a question.

And the question is really this. I think approach number one is what I'll call the simple approach, which is just to say, everything I receive is a gracious gift from the Lord. And I want to give systematically and proportionately on it as an act of worship.

And really a demonstration that I know it belongs to him. And so I'm going to give in your case, a tie the 10th on that amount. The other approach is to say, well, the spirit or the the principle of the tithe is really around the increase. And so the question is from your Social Security check, let's use that for example, we can apply this to a withdrawal from a retirement account too, but we'll stay with Social Security for a minute.

How much of every benefit check is truly increase versus the amount that's being returned to you that you paid into the to the system through your FICA taxes, and therefore already tithed on? And that's a very appropriate question. And it's a difficult question to answer, but we can kind of form some rules of thumb around it. And here's the way I would come down on that.

And we've got to make some assumptions. So somebody who takes Social Security at full retirement age, and lives a normal life expectancy, what you would see is that about 30% of what you're getting in every check would be probably considered a return of what you paid in. And 70% would probably be the portion that represents the employer contribution, because unless you were self employed, your employer paid half of your Social Security, and that would not have been included in your check, and therefore you would not have already tithed on it. And then the other portion is probably can, you know, the growth of the Social Security trust fund representing, you know, the amount that they're giving you over and above what you paid in. So I would say, you know, somewhere around 3070 is probably if you wanted to try to figure it out, probably the way I would go where you'd say, Okay, I'm going to go ahead and tithe on 70% of every check, using my illustration and consider 30% a return of what you paid in.

A return of what I had already sent in during my working years, assuming I'm going to live a normal life expectancy. Does that make sense? That does make sense. And I like the idea of just continuing to tithe and that you can't outgive the Lord, but I did want to get an expert, you know, break down with that because no, I'm not going to spend time figuring. Thank you.

Thank you. And I like where you came down on that, because I wholeheartedly agree, we can't outgive the Lord. And boy, what a beautiful just demonstration that, God, we trust you, you are a provider. And I think the other idea here, and I suspect this has been true for you as well, is that, you know, the tithe is really the beginning point. For those of us who have seen what Christ has done on our behalf on the cross, you know, we should be as just an overflow of our gratitude. I think one of the ways we reflect that is through our generosity.

And it's one of the privileges God gives us that we're able to partner with him where he's at work, starting with the local church, but then going beyond that to the ministries and causes on the heart of God proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth. So I appreciate your generous heart, Joyce. I appreciate you asking the question. I'm sure others in our listening audience are wondering the same thing. Thanks for your call. Well, folks, we're going to head into our first break here in just a moment.

But we do have some lines open today. So if you have a financial question, you'd love to wrestle with it. We'd love to talk to you about it.

You can call 800-525-7000. We want to help you see God as your ultimate treasure and money a tool to accomplish God's purposes. Let's do that together as we talk about a biblical worldview of money right after this break.

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 impacts. 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. Are you feeling overwhelmed by credit card debt? As followers of Christ, we are called to be good stewards of what God has given us. That's why our trusted partner, Christian Credit Counselors, is here to help. Their debt management program can help you pay off your debt 80% faster while honoring your commitments in full. Take the first step toward financial freedom today. Visit christiancreditcounselors.org or call 800-557-1985. Thanks for joining us today on Faith and Finance. So delighted to have so many of you a part of the program today, taking your calls and questions, helping you explore what it looks like to live as a faithful steward. Heading back to the phones, we're going to go to North Carolina and welcome Gracie.

Go right ahead. I want to sell my home. It's almost 70 years old and I received Social Security Disability. I was told that if you sell a home, it's considered an income and will stop your disability to go into a senior resident because I need a home that's handicapped, you know, accessible. Is this true?

Yeah, so what are you earning right now? You're on Social Security Disability. Is that what you said? Correct. Okay.

Yeah. And so the law says that selling your home typically does not count as income for SSDI. And so, you know, SSDI is not means tested. So that shouldn't affect your benefits. You know, this would be considered a capital gain. But, you know, the capital gain on a home sale, again, typically should not affect the SSDI, you know, depending on the size of the gain.

Do you have a CPA that you work with or somebody that has advised you on these matters? No, there's gentlemen that come by and say, we'll buy your hat, your home and clothes for you. And you don't pay anything. We didn't want to go through realty because the house is like 70 years old. So they've given us what is valued like 35.9. So it's like, okay, we can go into the senior home because it's handicapped, you know, accessible for me.

So is that a, you know, is that good or just go to a realtor to maybe get more? So it's not going to affect the disability at all, correct? Yeah, so that that's, again, where I'd love for you to get, you know, call Social Security just to go over your specific work record, but selling your home typically is not going to affect SSDI. It's really based on your work history, your earned income, your disability status, not your assets, or your unearned income, like proceeds from a home sale. Now, if you're receiving SSI, instead of or in addition to SSDI, that's where it could affect your SSI benefits.

Because that is means tested. Right now, I've worked on my life almost 52 years. So I've always worked, but I have medical issues.

And so that's why I retired at 62. So just wondering, would they say, Okay, you're going to get 35,000, we're going to take your check away for your four years or something? Yeah, no, I mean, again, to be sure you can always call the Social Security Administration and get personalized counsel based on your record.

But the big idea here is that if it's SSDI, Social Security Disability Insurance, that eligibility is based on your work history and your earned income and your disability status. Selling your home should not affect that whatsoever. Can I ask you one more quickly? Have you heard about these people that come around and say we buy homes, cash, quick cash, but they're giving me what it's worth? Are they pretty decent? They are not. My experience is that if you get those cash offers, they're going to offer you generally about 30% less than the market value. Or likely they were giving me the market value, but I could probably get more if I use a realtor, correct? Exactly. Yeah.

If they're coming in and just willing to pay cash and not put it out on the open market, you're normally going to have to settle for something around 30% less than what you could get if you just put it out there on the open market for somebody to do the, you know, pay what it's actually worth based on market comparables. Okay, thank you so much. All right. You're very welcome. Thanks for your call today. Let's see.

We're headed to Arkansas. Hi, Ann. Go ahead. Yes, I heard you talk about the limit of $19,000 gift to a person per year. And I wondered is the same limitation apply if you're giving to a 501 C3, but not claiming it on your taxes?

No, ma'am. That would be totally different. Yeah. So the the IRS has an annual gift exclusion and a gift meaning it's a gift from one individual to another individual. And that for 2025 is $19,000 you can give $19,000 to as many people as you want. Now, if you go over that the IRS wants to know about it, and that's going to chip away your lifetime exemption that is different than you making a contribution to a not for profit 501 C3 organization, no limit on that.

And you it may or may not be deductible depending upon what portion of your income that represents. Does that make sense? Yes. Thank you very much. All right, and thanks for your call today. We appreciate you being on the program. To West Palm Beach, Florida, Vincent, go right ahead. Hello, sir.

Thank you for everything that you do. Real quick, I know we're running out of time. I'm going to be 65 in a couple months and I own a condo that's paid off completely. Zero credit cards. Both cars are paid off. Basically debt free.

Okay, so going from there. All I want to know is the question is, I would like to leave the house to my children, as both my wife and I, you know, the ultimate, you know, we know where we're headed. Should I get a will or put them on the deed or get a trust and go through that expense? Can I just put them on a deed and when we pass, it goes to them?

Yeah, you'd need to check with an attorney on this. There is not, you know, the simplest way without a trust, which would allow you to transfer it and bypass probate. But it costs, you know, two, three, $4,000. And then you'd have to retitle the home in the name of the trust, which is not a big deal.

It's just, you know, mainly the expense. The other more simple way is what's called a transfer on death deed. But that is not available in Florida. Florida has something called a ladybird deed, which is a kind of an enhanced life estate deed that allows you a property owner, which is called the grantor, the life tenant, to retain control of the property, including the right to live in it, sell it, mortgage it, revoke the deed, but designate one or more beneficiaries, what's called a remainderman who automatically inherits the property upon the owner's death.

So it, you know, it's, it's very similar and it's unique to only five states, including Florida. And so, and it's called an enhanced ladybird deed because you as the life tenant retains the broader powers from a standard life estate, which makes it pretty flexible. So you can accomplish that probate avoidance that you're looking for, but also retain control and, you know, gives you still the ability to get homestead exemption. There's no gift tax benefit or anything like that, but you probably shouldn't, you know, wouldn't have that anyway, if you have an estate under $13 million, at least based on the way the law is right now. So you would just need to visit with an attorney who could set that up for you if your goal ultimately is to avoid probate. Otherwise, just a simple will will suffice, but it, it will go through probate and that can take some time, six months or more.

And there's, you know, expenses related to that could be three to 5% of the total estate value. Okay. I don't want them to have any more headaches. Very good. That answers my question, sir. I appreciate your time. Absolutely, Vincent. Thank you so very much. I appreciate it.

Call anytime. Folks, so grateful to have you along with us today on the broadcast. We'll be back tomorrow, Lord willing to do it all over again. Our goal, help you see God as your ultimate treasure and live as a wise and faithful steward. Big thanks to our team today, Pat, Devin, Jim, and everybody here at Faithfi. Have a great day. We'll see you tomorrow. Bye-bye. Faith in Finance is provided by Faithfi and listeners like you.