Are you looking to deepen your faith and grow in biblical stewardship? The Rich Toward God study from Faith By invites you to dive deep into the parable of the rich fool from Luke 12. This four-part study explores themes of greed, pride, and abundance, challenging you to reflect on what being rich toward God really means. Join us in this transformative journey through God's Word and discover how a life rich in faith can lead to lasting joy and fulfillment. Order your copy today or place a bulk order by going to faithby.com/slash shop.
Uh Charles Spurgeon once said, Consider how precious a soul must be when both God and the devil are after it. Hi, I'm Rob West. In the story of the rich young ruler, Jesus exposed how deeply possessions can grip our hearts and how only surrender leads to true life. Today we'll explore why Jesus told this man to sell everything and what that means for us as we seek to follow him. And then it's on to your calls at 800-525-7000.
This is Faith in Finance, biblical wisdom for your financial journey. A young man once approached Jesus with a sincere but revealing question: Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life? Jesus replied with an answer that stunned both the young man and his disciples If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come follow me. Matthew 1922 records the tragic result when When the young man heard this, he went away sorrowful, for he had many possessions.
The man's words at the beginning reveal his mindset. What good thing must I do? He assumed that eternal life could be earned through human effort, as if a spiritual checklist guaranteed it. But just before the story, Jesus told the crowd that the kingdom belongs to those who receive it like children. depending on God's goodness, not their own.
The young man either missed that or resisted it. He wanted certainty on his terms through his own accomplishments. Jesus pointed him toward God's commandments, not because keeping them could save him, but to expose where his devotion was placed. When the man asked which ones, Jesus listed several Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not lie, honor your parents, and love your neighbor as yourself. Notice what Jesus left out.
The commands against idolatry and coveting. That omission was intentional. Outwardly, the man looked moral. Inwardly, his wealth had become his God. When the man insisted, All these I kept, what do I still lack?
Jesus answered, Go, sell your possessions, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come follow me. The issue was clear his devotion to wealth outweighed his devotion to God. He wanted eternal life, but not enough to surrender what he valued most, and so, sorrowful, he walked away.
So, does Jesus mean every believer must sell all they own? Not necessarily. The NIV study Bible explains: the young man's primary problem was his wealth, and therefore Jesus' prescription was to rid him of it. There is no indication that Jesus' command was meant for all Christians. It applies only to those who have the same spiritual problem.
The real issue isn't money, it's the heart. For some, it might be possessions. For others, it may be about a career, reputation, or control. whatever we cling to more tightly than Christ must be surrendered. Mark's account adds a beautiful detail.
Jesus looked at him and loved him. Out of love Jesus named the very thing keeping him from life. That same love pursues us. Jesus knows that anything we prize above him will ultimately enslave us. After the man walked away, Jesus told his disciples, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.
Wealth itself is an evil, but it has a unique power to capture our hearts. It promises security and status, but if it takes God's place, well, it becomes a barrier to faith.
So what does this mean for us? We may not be called to sell everything, but we are called to examine our hearts. What competes for your devotion? What gives you a sense of security or identity apart from Christ? Jesus calls us to surrender it, not to rob us of joy, but to offer us something greater, Himself.
Hebrews twelve puts it this way Let's lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. At Faith Phi, we talk often about being rich toward God. That phrase comes from the parable of the rich fool in Luke 12, who stored up earthly wealth but neglected his soul. Being rich toward God means treasuring Christ above all else, practicing generosity, and holding our resources with open hands. We explore this more in our devotional Rich Toward God, a study designed to help you see money and possessions from God's perspective and reorient your heart toward eternal treasure.
You can get your copy or place a bulk order for a group study at faithfy.com/slash shop. That's faithfi.com slash shop. Jesus' words to the rich young ruler are both a warning and an invitation. Wealth can blind us to our need for God, but surrendering to Christ opens the way to true life. The choice is the same for us: will we cling to temporary treasures or embrace the eternal treasure of knowing Him?
Because wealth isn't the problem, worshiping it is. Thanks for joining us today. We'll be back with your questions after this. Stick around. When you hear the phrase, rich toward God, what comes to mind?
Surely it doesn't mean making God rich. Is it about us becoming rich so we can give? Or maybe it's an invitation to something much bigger. In the Rich Toward God Study, Faith Phi has created a way for you to explore and reflect on a well-known biblical parable about a very rich man with a very big problem. Purchase your copy of the Rich Toward God Study or place a bulk order today at faithfy.com/slash shop.
You're young. You don't go to the doctor that often. Yet, health insurance is still so expensive. If your health insurance costs too much, maybe you should switch to an affordable alternative. Take charge of your healthcare with Christian Healthcare Ministries.
CHM offers programs starting under $100 per month. Check off the affordable box on your list and get back to what you really love: running your business or caring for your kids, and have peace of mind while doing it. Visit chministries.org/slash faithfy to enroll today. Thanks for joining us today on Faith in Finance. I'm Rob West.
We're taking your calls and questions today: 800-525-7000. Looks like every line is full, so if you get a busy signal, just keep trying. We'd love to get you on the air. Let's go to Chicago. Allison, how can we help?
Hi, my husband and I are purchasing Cherm life Insurance. And The question has come up, do we make each other the primary beneficiary? with our children as the contingent but beneficiary. We have a blended family. And of our kids are Are already grown, two of them married.
Three of them are still in the house. They're getting ready to launch into the world. They're teenagers. Yes. All right.
Yeah. You know, so I think the first thing you need to do is just kind of work through your estate plans with a blended family. It's a little more complicated, but I think the goal is, of course, unity and oneness as husband and wife, and then praying through what God has entrusted to you so you can decide how much you want to leave to your children and how much you want to leave to ministry or charity. There's only three places we can leave money to the government. We want to minimize that, to our heirs and to ministry or charity.
And so deciding how you want to approach that, especially with kids from a previous marriage, I think that can take a little extra time and attention to kind of sort through all of that. And then once you have that plan in place, then we put all the necessary planning tools in place.
So you would certainly want a will, especially with minor children at home, because that's going to name your guardian, but it's going to be kind of the catch-all for making sure what God has entrusted to you, personal assets and furniture and financial assets and real estate and otherwise. Is passed according to your wishes. And then the beneficiary designation, whether it's on an IRA, a 401k, or a life insurance policy, is also going to designate where certain types of accounts, including term life insurance, will go at your death. And that happens outside of probate and goes directly to those heirs.
So have you all decided exactly how you want everything distributed at your death? If let's say you were to pass away at the same time?
Well, so we're trying to work through that right now. Our term life insurance is Like our 15-year term life insurance is getting ready to expire, and so the decisions we've made 15-year-olds. years ago was my husband made me the Beneficiary. And then for some reasons we We had a much smaller policy on me. set names the Children, and I don't really recall why we did it that way.
And so now we're thinking that each of us should be the primary. For the purpose. of maintaining the same lifestyle that we have for the kids that are in the house. And so It got a little bit confusing because we are kind of on a timeline to get this. done and we realize we can change it.
afterward but we kind of want to complete Process. We're also in the process. of trying to do get all of our stuff together for an attorney for the will. It's kind of all culminating. But the life insurance thing, we kind of want to get to the point.
sure of this month so we don't have a period of time where we're uninsured. Yeah, that makes sense.
Well, I think the key is, yeah, I mean, typically what folks will do is make each other, as husband and wife, the primary beneficiary on everything. And so that way, regardless of who pre-deceased is the other, the remaining assets for you all as a couple, one flesh, are then with the other spouse to be able to maintain the lifestyle, provide for the kids and your spouse and so forth. And then you would have a plan in your will or perhaps in a trust, you know, to handle everything else. You know, one option is if you did a revocable trust, you could have as the contingent beneficiary on all these accounts, including your term life insurance, the trust named. And then that way the trust.
Managed by the trustee, could then house all of the assets at your death, and then they could be distributed based on your wishes.
So, you know, you could have them paid out to the kids as they reach certain ages. You could have the expenses of the children, especially the minor children, paid for out of the trust. And then eventually, at certain triggering points or events, you know, the assets could be distributed, you know, to your kids as heirs. But all of that could be controlled through the trust beyond your life. Apart from that, you would just name the kids as contingent beneficiaries.
And then, let's say, you and your husband passed away at the same time, then everything would go straight to the kids. And if you had minor kids, they would be held in custody and managed by, you know, whoever is named as guardian at that point.
So I think you've got a couple of options there, but typically I would make your spouse the primary and then perhaps either the kids or a revocable trust if you decided to go that direction as the contingent. And so let's say that I died and then so my husband received the whole thing. Then that's done with, correct? It's not like if it doesn't carry on after that. Does the whole thing just go to him right then?
Or is there a With a beneficiary designation?
Well, like, so if he's 100% and I die, then he would get it. But if he died a year later, Yeah. a separate issue like any just It is, yeah, because that policy would be closed. It would, the death benefit would be paid out to him, and then he would be free to do with that what he wants. And then that's where his own estate planning at that point would kick in in terms of how he wants to handle it, passing at his death.
And so, if you wanted to set that up to be able to determine, you know, assets that you had had, you know, prior to marriage or life insurance that you have on your life that's intended for your children because of your blended family, that's where you would want to, of course, talk through that with your husband and make sure you all are on the same page and really good communication and driving toward unity. But to the extent you all came to a decision that you wanted to handle certain assets differently for the benefit of your children that perhaps you had prior to marrying one another, then that's where a trust would come into place because you would not have certain assets paid directly to your husband. They might go into the trust for the benefit of your kids.
Okay. Adult. It does not matter if they're adults. It really comes down to how you want to distribute them. And that's really something you and he need to work through to make that decision.
We appreciate your call today. Thanks for being on the program, Allison. All the best to you. To Virginia, we go. Hi, Vicki.
How can I help? Hi, thank you for taking my call. We have a HELOC and it matures about two years after our mortgage will be paid off. And we had to recently use it and the people at the bank said, Best case scenario is to always hold on. after you pay off your house.
And that will be a red flag in case Someone tries to use your house or get a loan off of your house in a fraudulent situation. Would you recommend that, or do you agree with that? Or is it just the bank trying to make us spend more money? Yeah. You know, I wouldn't leave a HELOC open for that reason.
I mean, if you're concerned about a fraudulent title transfer, which we're hearing more about lately just because there's companies that offer quote title lock insurance, even though it's a misnomer, there is no such thing as insurance against fraud. And so, what I would say is, if you're concerned about that, I'd call your county records office and see if you can put an alert. On your title that would allow them to notify you if there were any changes or any request for changes. But with regard to that HELOC, if it's paid off and you're not planning on using it, I don't see any reason to keep that open. It's probably just sitting there as an enticement for you all to spend money, which I wouldn't want you to do unless you'd really thought through it and prayed through how you're going to use it.
So I would say if you're ready to close that down because you don't have a use for it, I would do it without looking back. And I certainly wouldn't leave it open just because it will, you know, prevent somebody from trying to steal your title.
Okay, okay. Thank you so much. All right, Vicki, thanks for your call today. This is Faith and Finance Biblical Wisdom for your financial decisions.
So glad to have you along with us today. A quick break, and then back with much more in our final segment. Stay with us. What if managing your money could actually draw you closer to God? What would happen if we began to see God as our ultimate treasure?
The Faith by App helps you do more than budget. It helps you integrate your faith and financial decisions for the glory of God. With easy-to-use envelope futures, top biblical financial content, and a supportive in-app community, you'll learn to steward God's resources wisely and grow in generosity. Download the Faith Buy app today from your app store or visit FaithBuy.com and click App. 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. Wow, it's been a busy day today. Lots of phone calls, all the lines still full.
So, we're gonna head right back to the phones here in our final segment. We'll get to as many calls as we can. To Ohio, Connie wants to talk about savings bonds. Connie, go ahead. Yes, hi.
Thank you for taking my call. I have savings bonds in my name only. and they've reached the maturity date. How do I go about putting a co-owner of POD on them because banks don't do that anymore? Yeah, yeah, unfortunately.
In the past, you could take those paper bonds to the bank to be updated, but you're right, most banks don't do that any longer, even if you're an account holder.
So today, almost all U.S. savings bonds are managed electronically through the treasurydirect.gov website. And basically, to add a co-owner or change the registration, you would just create a free Treasury Direct account if you don't already have one.
So again, it's treasurydirect.gov. And then you would transfer the paper bonds into that account. And they'll give you a process for how you do that. And then once they're in Treasury Direct, you can update the registration and add a co-owner or a beneficiary. But unfortunately, you're going to have to work through their online system.
Okay, well they give me the Yeah. Ah, no, you will mail them in. when you set that account up and then they will add them electronically and then from that point forward they will be electronic bonds. Mm-hmm. All right, well, thank you so much for your help.
All right. It's like so much else. Everything's going electronic, Connie. I hear you. But unfortunately, that's the way that it goes.
Thanks for your call today. Let's go to Mississippi. Hi, Missy. How can I help? We have two missies.
From Georgia. You are Missy from Georgia, and that's who I was expecting.
So go right ahead. Oh, I.
Okay. Missy from Mississippi was not me. Oh, no, no, Georgia. Yes. Thank you so much for taking my call.
Thank you for the blessing that you are the way that you genuinely care about the people that call. It's blesses me every day.
So, just trying to make sure I have a general understanding of a reverse mortgage. For my mom, she's 81, she's the only pay on the home, she's single. She has the fear that if she were to do that, that she loses the value of the home for her kids. And so I wanted to explain it to her just with theoretical figures. If Say she owes $50,000 on a $300,000 mortgage for round figures.
So the bank Would pay until that $50,000 was paid off, or whatever the remainder of the balance was. And then at that point. the rest of the home, the rest of the value of the home is Remains for her children, if that's where she's got it designated. Is that correct? Yeah, so the the bala what is the home worth, did you say?
I I'm guessing. I I know it's more than three hundred thousand, but my guess like as a ratio, three hundred thousand with fifty thousand is what she would owe less on it. She has very little that she owes.
Okay, and that's you think roughly what she owes today. Yeah, yeah, that's the ball part. Yep. Yeah. So the way it would work is the reverse mortgage, which the official term is a home equity conversion mortgage, which is a little different than the mortgages from a couple of decades ago that got a lot of bad raps.
But essentially, she still owns the home. What typically would happen in a situation like this is with the reverse mortgage. It would come in and wipe out the current mortgage.
So the current forward mortgage that requires a monthly payment would be paid off by the reverse mortgage.
Now, when that happened, the payment now becomes optional. You don't have to make a payment anymore. And it would be roughly at the prevailing rate.
So, if rates are at 6.5% right now, it might be a half point higher.
So, let's say it's at 7%. And let's say she never made a payment because, with a reverse, you don't have to.
Well, what happened is that $50,000 mortgage that was the old. Forward mortgage that was paid off by the reverse would just grow every year with some fees and the interest rate, whatever it is. And by the way, it's 7% today, but as rates come down and we expect them to, the rate on that reverse mortgage will come down with it. And then, whatever that grows to, let's say she never makes a payment. And let's say when she passes away, it's worth, you know, and let's say that that mortgage is up to $75,000.
Well, the home probably appreciated as well during that time. And let's say when she passes away, the home is worth $350,000.
Well, the home would be sold by the heirs or the executor of the estate. The reverse mortgage would be paid off. In my example, it's $75,000. But the $275,000 that remains with equity, because the home increased in value to $350,000, would be available to pay out to all the heirs.
So what it does is It allows her to get rid of what is probably her largest expense in her budget right now, her mortgage payment, by replacing it with a reverse mortgage. And she doesn't ever have to pay it.
So now she has more money to spend on living expenses. And it preserves the equity in the home. Which, by the way, is probably increasing each year for her heirs, which is, and she can live there until she dies.
So, you know, it is, I think you do have the understanding pretty well.
Okay. But it does what I wasn't sure, it does require the home being sold when she passes, or can the heirs retain it and just I don't know what would happen then. No, absolutely. No, they could for sure keep the home. They would just have to refinance it and pay off that, whatever the balance is on the reverse.
They would have to come in, just like if there was a forward mortgage on it, it would have to be paid. And they would do that by, you know, perhaps taking out a mortgage between the three of them, or they might just spend, you know, if they have the cash available, they could pay off the mortgage. But the mortgage would need to be paid off either by selling it or taking out a loan or just paying money toward it. Perfect, perfect. I just want to be able to explain it to my brothers, five brothers and sisters.
I just want to make sure I could explain it to them that they'll understand too.
Now, the other thing that she could do, she could just pay off the forward mortgage and be done with it and get rid of the payment. She could also, on top of that, get a line of credit. And so if she needed additional money, not now, but a couple of years from now, she needed to put money into the house to make a major repair, she wanted to take a trip, then she could tap into that as well. And that wouldn't have to be paid back. Again, it would just further reduce the amount of equity that remained in the home when she died.
So she doesn't have to limit it just to paying off the current mortgage. She could actually tap into more of the equity, you know, perhaps up to as much as 50%.
Now, you or she may not want to, but she would have that option. Let me do this. I want to send you a book as my gift to you. It's called Understanding Reverse. And it's going to simplify the reverse mortgage, give you a lot of great information that you can share with your siblings, okay?
Yeah, that'll be fantastic. I really appreciate it. Awesome. Hang on the line. And if you want to talk to our friends at Movement Mortgage, which really specialize in this area, Harlan Akola joins us regularly on this program.
He's an expert in it. Just go to movement.com/slash faith. and they could actually give you details on Her specific situation. All the best to you, Missy. Thanks for your call today.
Cole anytime.
So thankful for your calls, for you listening, being a part of the program. Thanks also for your great emails and encouragement that come through the mail as well. Let me say thanks to my team today. I certainly couldn't do this without them: Taylor Standrich, Devin Patrick, and Robert Youngblood, plus. The incredible team behind those gentlemen here at Faith By.
Amazing that I get to work with them every day. Hope you have a great day. May the Lord bless you and come back and join us tomorrow. We'll see you then. Bye-bye.
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