This Faith in Finance podcast is underwritten in part by Sound Mind Investing. For more than 30 years, do-it-yourself investors have relied on SMI for proven strategies and trustworthy guidance. SMI helps people build wealth so they can provide for their families, prepare for the future, and give generously. Learn more at soundmindinvesting.org. And he gathered up all the food of these seven years which occurred in the land of Egypt and put the food in the cities.
He put in every city the food from the fields around it. Genesis 41, 48. I am Rob West. Joseph's story isn't just dramatic. It's a powerful example of godly wisdom in uncertain times.
His preparation during years of abundance helped an entire nation weather a famine. Today, Mark Biller joins us to explore what Joseph's legacy teaches us about planning ahead. And then it's on to your calls at 800-525-7000. This is Faith in Finance, biblical wisdom for your financial decisions. Mark Biller is the executive editor at Soundmind Investing, a longtime underwriter of this program, and a trusted source of wise investing advice.
He's also a good friend. Mark, great to have you back with us. Thanks, Rob. Thanks for inviting me back.
Well, we love it, Mark, when you join us. And today we're looking at your latest editorial at soundmindinvesting.org titled Years of Plenty, Years of Famine Revisited. The title clearly draws from a biblical theme.
So, why don't you begin today by setting the stage for our conversation using this article? Yeah, sure, Rob.
So it's hard for me to believe that I wrote the original version of this editorial almost 20 years ago back in 2006. That's why the revisited is there at the end. But the editorial told how Joseph's always been one of my favorite Bible characters. You know, his roller coaster journey from favorite son to slave to master of the house to prisoner to viceroy of Egypt. It's amazing.
It's inspiring. And the culmination of that story, I think, holds out hope for every believer who's going through a difficult time. You know, Joseph tells his brothers in Genesis 50, verse 20: You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good.
So the whole story is this incredibly inspiring example of God at work in the affairs of men to accomplish his ultimate purposes. Yeah, no doubt about it. It's an incredible story in God's word. And the financial side, Of Joseph's story really comes into focus during his time in Egypt, doesn't it? Yeah, it sure does.
So the turning point of Joseph's experience really happens when he interprets the pair of dreams for Pharaoh. And through that, he realizes that Egypt is about to experience seven years of abundance, and then that'll be followed by seven years of famine.
So Joseph gets put in charge of the preparations during those years of plenty so that the people can survive the coming years of famine. Yeah, and looking back, that warning proved to be remarkably well-timed, didn't it? Yeah, it did. You know, and I certainly give full credit to the Lord for generously giving us that warning because it certainly wasn't any special insight that I had, but it was a useful warning because the global economy was about to suffer through in 2008 and 2009, what we would eventually start calling the global financial crisis. And at the time, a lot of people wondered if the current financial system was even going to survive.
It did, but a lot of the core issues. That led to that crisis really were never truly addressed. Talk about that for a moment, because I know it changed quite a bit in terms of lending standards and reserve requirements. But perhaps at its core, there are some things that still need to be addressed.
So, what are you seeing? Yeah, so you know, I'd kind of pick out four things there, Rob, or at least I did in the editorial. One is our debt.
So rather than recognize the dangerous implications of our debt, which was about $10 trillion in 2008, we've just doubled down. And now our debt is like 36 trillion today. The financial system that you mentioned, instead of clipping the wings of those too big to fail banks, you know, the reforms that ended up being implemented have led to a lot of industry consolidation. And those biggest banks have become even bigger. Probably the biggest one personally, Rob, is that rather than moving away from central banks repeatedly intervening in the economy and markets, which arguably laid the groundwork for the first crisis, global central bankers after the crisis just doubled down with quantitative easing and a decade of near zero and in some cases, even negative interest rate policies.
And of course, with our political system, Rather than coming together to deal with these important issues, you know, our politics are more fractured and divided today than they've ever been, at least in our lifetimes. Yeah, no doubt about it. Well, those are concerning, and I can see your point here.
Well, when we come back with Mark Biller today, we'll find out: does he have a similar concern as he did in 2006? What does that mean on a personal level? And with some of those risks, how should that affect how you invest and prepare? Mark Biller here today. He's executive editor at Soundmind Investing.
This article is at soundmindinvesting.org. We'll be right back. Uh Are you a financial professional looking to grow your practice while offering advice that aligns with your Christian values? By becoming a certified kingdom advisor, you'll gain the biblical wisdom and professional credibility to serve clients who are seeking faith-based financial guidance. Each year, more than 75,000 people search for a certified kingdom advisor.
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Well, Joseph's story in the Bible is not only dramatic, it's a powerful example of godly wisdom in uncertain times. His preparation during years of abundance helped an entire nation weather a famine. Well, today, Mark Billard joins us to revisit an article he wrote back in 2006 with some concerns about what might be on the horizon, drawing from Joseph's story.
Now, we know how that played out in 2008 and 2009 with the Great Recession and the global financial crisis.
So, clearly, there was something that came following that article. And Mark has taken the opportunity to revisit that article, and he's sharing some of the concerns that exist today.
Now, Mark, you were sharing before the break just around our runaway debt and some of the political undertones of all of this. You've talked about how those big banks. Banks have become even bigger. Are you sensing a similar kind of concern today that you did in 2006?
So the good news, Rob, is unlike in 2006, I don't have any specific sense of foreboding today. But that said, there are signs of stress everywhere within the financial system. And to be honest, we never know when the next crisis might come. You know, knowing the Bible's many clear warnings about debt, it really doesn't take a prophet to see that eventually the global economy's debt addiction is likely to cause problems at some point. But no, nothing real specific this time around.
All right.
Well, that's good news. We'll get to the economic risks we should be planning for. But first, what about at a personal level, Mark? How should we prepare? Yeah, I'm glad you asked the question that way, Rob, because while it is easy for us all to focus on these national or global problems, you know, God has graciously provided protective principles to help us prepare in Individually for future storms.
So, if we're wise, you know, those of us who are fortunate enough to presently maybe be enjoying years of plenty with our home prices and asset values at all-time highs and unemployment relatively low, you know, we should be preparing now for future strains to the system. And we can do that by diligently working to get debt-free, to fund an emergency savings reserve, investing for the future, and diversifying broadly. Yeah, those are really practical and helpful. All right, then let's talk about some of those specific economic risks that might be coming. What should we be getting ready for?
Well, you know, investors have always needed to watch out for economic recessions and bear markets that reduce the value of their assets. And that's still true today. But I would say what's different today from at least most of the last 40 years or so is we also need to be preparing for the possibility of inflationary and currency debasement scenarios that could be triggered by runaway government spending. And so in other words, really what I'm saying is it's not just the traditional worry that a bear market might take the value of our assets down. It's now we also have to think about the possibility that the government could print so much money that the price of everything we have to buy goes up faster than the value of our assets.
And because of that risk, SMI has been emphasizing a broader range of assets in recent years than we used to.
So in addition to the Traditional stocks and bonds that we've always focused on.
Now we're including more things, things like monetary substitutes, that would be gold and Bitcoin, plus other assets that typically perform well during inflationary conditions, like commodities, real estate, and so on. Yeah, that's really interesting. And it makes sense that those, quote, stores of value would do well during a period like you're describing.
Now, some people may not have heard the last visit you had here to the program where you talked about how Bitcoin is going mainstream and that may have caught them by surprise that you would put gold and Bitcoin together. Will you just make one comment on your thoughts there? Yeah, absolutely.
So they're both appealing for the same reason, Rob, which is that as the value of our paper money declines, those can be stores of value, at least potentially.
Now, the big key with Bitcoin is you have to risk adjust that because it is an extremely volatile asset.
So unlike gold, which tends to not be super volatile and you can use that as more of a ballast in your portfolio, you've got to have a much smaller allocation if you're going to own any Bitcoin at all. Account for its much higher volatility. Yeah, very good. That's helpful. All right.
Well, going back to the story in God's word about Joseph, you draw a parallel between Joseph's actions and wise stewardship today in the article. Touch on that. Yeah, so Joseph wisely set aside 20% of the harvested grain, and that helped him to be able to save not only Egypt during the eventual famine, but the surrounding nations as well. And that really should be our broader goal: to be faithful stewards when times are good in preparation for times that aren't. And when we're faithful this way, we may find ourselves being used like Joseph as instruments of God's deliverance in times of distress.
You also connect, Mark, financial preparedness with spiritual opportunity. Share that idea from the article. Sure.
So, one of the major themes of Joseph's story is that God is at work even in times of hardship. Like the ancient Israelites, we've seen Americans often will turn to God during a crisis only to go back to their old idols when the threat recedes. And those crises can be widespread, like they were in 2008, but much more commonly, they're individual crises, like the case of a neighbor or a co-worker falling on hard times. And in either of those cases, Having our own financial house in order may enable us to reach out and help while also offering the spiritual food that truly satisfies. Yeah, no doubt.
And as we look to God's word, we see these principles that we talk often about on this program. But share, Mark, some of those practical ways a listener can prepare during a year of plenty to be a source of help during someone else's year of famine. Yeah, a lot of them are really foundational things. They're things like building and maintaining that emergency savings fund so that you're ready to weather your own crisis and then, of course, possibly be able to help others in theirs. Another one is to live below your means so that you can give generously when you see other people struggling with their own crisis.
A third one, more on the investing realm, would be to consider diversifying into assets that preserve value across different economic scenarios. Like we were talking about earlier, the threat of a recession and your 401k falling in value is very different from the threat of higher inflation and currency debasement.
So we've got to keep our eye on a couple of different possibilities, different economic scenarios. And then a fourth one would be to focus on our spiritual readiness as well as our financial preparedness. Yeah. Yeah, if you're already in that season of famine right now, Mark offers some really helpful suggestions. First of all, don't lose heart.
God is your provider. Take some small steps forward. Connect with community, maybe your local church. Lean into that opportunity to let others step in during your time of need. And remember, this season won't last forever.
You can prepare for the next season of plenty right now. Mark, so appreciate you. Thanks for stopping by. I always enjoy it, Rob. Thank you.
That's Mark Biller, Executive Editor at Sound Mind Investing. You can read his editorial, Years of Plenty, Years of Famine Revisited at soundmindinvesting.org. We've got to take a quick break, but much more just around the corner. If you have a question today, call right now, 800-525-7000. Are you looking for a financial professional who shares your Christian values and offers advice you can trust?
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I'm Rob West. Each day we gather to encourage you in your journey to manage the resources God has entrusted to you. And we hope we do that in a way that's encouraging, that is biblical, that takes you back to God's word, and is also wise and practical. And we do that by answering your questions.
So, if you have a financial question today here in our final segment, we've got room for you. You can call right now. You'll get right through 800-525-7000. Let's go to Tennessee, Marshall. Go ahead.
Hey Rob, how you doing today? Good.
Okay, I got a quick question. It's on the topic of time shares. Yes. And I bet you have a grin on I bet you have a grin on your face as I say. Yeah, I mean, I could take a question on timeshares on every episode if I wanted to.
I bet you could.
Well, my wife and I own one. We've owned it for years. And if we my point is maintenance fees. And there are other options for vacationing. I just think it's a bad idea.
I think we need to get rid of it. It's going to cost us $2,000. to get rid of it. He really likes it, but. We can do other things.
So, I don't know what else to do. I don't want to hurt her feelings. I love her, but I don't think it's a good move. Yeah, you know, I mean, I would tend to align with you.
Now, I'm sure in an audience this size, Marshall, there's people out there listening right now that have a timeshare and they absolutely love it. And they have a guaranteed vacation spot every year and they can, you know, trade locations and they like the resort style amenities, you know, and they're not buying a second home or anything like that. And that can sound appealing. But I think the reality is, number one, typically timeshares are sold, not bought. Meaning people don't go out looking for timeshares.
They typically either got a free weekend or they happen to be somewhere and they're like, hey, you know, if you take a couple of hours, we'll give you free tickets to the amusement park or whatever. And so typically they're sold to people and often with a kind of a high pressure sales strategy, which is the first red flag for me. The second concern I would have is just the number of people. I don't get many people calling.
Now, maybe we'll get a flood of them now, but I don't get many people calling saying, hey, can I tell you how much I love my timeshare? But I get a ton. Of calls, Marshall, from people saying, How in the world do I unload this timeshare? And here's why. Number one, and you pointed out there are high ongoing maintenance costs.
So you'll pay annual maintenance fields, which often rise even if you don't use it. Number two, our vacation preferences tend to change over time. You know, we vacation differently when we have kids versus, you know, when we're on our own as empty nesters or when we have grandkids and, you know, we have different needs and so forth. Where we want to vacation changes. Also, the heyday of timeshares was back in the age where, you know, it was either a timeshare or a hotel.
And now we've got Verbo and Airbnb. And I mean, you can, you have tons of flexibility as to how and where you vacation and the kind of place you want. And it can feel like your own. You're not having to deal with elevators and lobbies and, you know, just being stuck in a room looking at four walls. You can actually.
Be in a house on a river or a lake or a beach or in the mountains. And, you know, you've just got so much flexibility that I think not getting locked into something that you're constantly going to have to service and maintain, you know, if your preferences change down the road, I think, is something a lot of people like. Does that make sense, though? It really does.
So they sent two. $2,400 and they'll take it back. We have to pay them to take it back. Yeah, yeah, exactly.
So I just think there's so many more options when you don't get locked into something. And I think you guys will be glad you did it. I hate that I'm, you know, just kind of piling on because, you know, if your wife is listening or you share this with her, she might be like, yeah, but I really want it. And I get that. But I just think having flexibility, having options, not obligating yourself to an ongoing expense in the future, I think you guys will just be glad perhaps two, three, four, five years from now that you didn't go into this.
And you basically have control over how and when and where you want to vacation. That's just my opinion. You guys think about it, pray about it. And I'm confident you'll make a great decision. Marshall, we appreciate your call today.
Thanks for being on the program, sir. Let's go to Wilmington, North Carolina. Hi, David. Go ahead. I enjoy your show very much, sir.
It's real informative and it's educational.
So thank God for you all. Thank you. Cloud is, you know, in the Old Testament. I know it mentioned tidy. And even today, you know, we are Time.
But in the New Testament, Paul stresses that give as your heart purpose you to give. And I had talked to some people about Thai and they say, well, I do like Paul was fee. like purpose in my heart.
Sometimes I give more, sometimes I give less. But when I make my mind up, In my heart, that's how I give. Exaggerate on that a little bit. I'm here to learn more, you know. Give me your opinion, how you feel about that first.
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. It's a great question. You're absolutely right in the sense that there is not the same very specific command that we see in the Old Testament. It's not there in the same way in the New Testament. There's not the quantitative requirements.
It's certainly less prominent.
However, I think it would be a mistake to take that to mean that those of us under the law of Christ who have seen what Christ did on our behalf should be less generous than those who were under the law. I mean, keep in mind, we certainly wouldn't want to be in a position, I don't think, of giving away any less of our income than those who had so much less of an understanding of what God did to save them. And so, I think the big idea there is that the tithe becomes kind of a minimum size. Standard, not the standard.
So, if we were to summarize everything we see in the New Testament, David, around giving, I think there's four big ideas that jump out at me as I look through the New Testament. Number one is giving freely.
So, it's not under compulsion where we feel obligated. It's not about a legalism or checking a box to, quote, do our part. It's giving freely as an overflow or an expression of our gratitude to God. I think the second big idea is proportionate giving. You remember, it says in God's word, to whom much is given, much is required.
I think the third idea that we see is that we're to give cheerfully. Remember, Paul says, we don't want to give cheerfully. We don't want to give under compulsion. The word for that is hilarious giving. Again, an overflow of our gratitude to God.
And then I think the final big idea is sacrificial giving.
Now, you remember the most famous giver in the New Testament is the widow. We don't know her name, but we know she gave out of her poverty.
So I think you're right in the sense that there's not that same kind of standard that we're obligated to, but now we have an opportunity, having seen what Christ did on our behalf, to do some hilarious giving. And I think the tithe then becomes the training wheels of giving, the beginning point, not the ending point. Thanks for your call, sir. Folks, that's going to do it for us today. I hope you found something today helpful and you were encouraged.
I certainly couldn't do this without my amazing team, my incredible producer, Devin Patrick, providing great research today and assistance is Mr. Jim Henry providing our phone support and call screening today, Sandy Dickinson. Hey, if you want to be a Faith Phi partner, it'd be a huge blessing to us as a listener-supported ministry. Go to faith5.com/slash partner to learn more. Then come back and join us tomorrow.
We'll see you then. Faith in Finance is provided by FaithFi and listeners like you.
