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If so, please consider becoming a monthly FaithPhi partner by visiting FaithPhi.com and clicking Give. That's faithfi.com and click Give. One of the greatest threats to our financial and spiritual health isn't inflation, taxes, or debt. It's something deeper. covetousness.
I am Rob West. Left unchecked, it poisons our joy, drives us into unwise financial decisions, and blinds us to God's generosity. Today we'll explore how to combat covetousness with wisdom from God's Word. And then it's on to your calls at 800-525-7000. This is Faith in Finance, biblical wisdom for your financial journey.
Covetousness is more than just wanting something we don't have. It's a disordered desire that says, I must have that to be happy, safe, or fulfilled. Paul warns in Colossians 3:5, Put to death, therefore, what is earthly in you, covetousness, which is idolatry. Notice that covetousness isn't just bad manners, it's idolatry. Why?
Because it dethrones God and puts possessions on the throne. In finances, this shows up in subtle ways, comparing our homes to our neighbors, upgrading our cars when the old one still runs fine, or chasing investment returns out of envy. But wisdom begins when we recognize covetousness for what it is, worship gone wrong.
Now, the opposite of covetousness isn't deprivation, it's contentment in Christ. Philippians 4:11 through 13 reminds us: I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. That's hopeful news. Contentment isn't natural, but it can be learned.
When we trust in God's abundance, we no longer need to hoard or grasp. Instead, we rest in his provision. Think of Jesus feeding the 5,000. He didn't panic at the scarcity of loaves and fish. He gave thanks, broke the bread, and there was more than enough.
That miracle reminds us God provides beyond what we can see.
So, hope doesn't come from acquiring more, but from knowing the one who is more than enough. Let's be honest, covetousness is everywhere, and it hits all of us.
Social media magnifies it. Scrolling through posts of dream vacations or newly remodeled kitchens can stir envy in seconds. For some, coveting shows up in wanting what others wear or drive. For others, it's the longing for the life stage someone else enjoys: marriage, children, retirement. God understands this struggle.
The tenth commandment, You shall not covet, shows He knows the human heart. But notice, it doesn't just forbid the action, it goes straight to desire. God cares about the why behind what we want. If you're feeling the sting of covetousness, you're not alone. The good news is that the Spirit empowers us to shift from envy to gratitude, from restless striving to restful trust.
At its core, fighting covetousness is about worship. Augustine once said, You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you. When we crave what others have, we're really revealing a deeper hunger only God can satisfy. Jesus cuts to the heart in Luke twelve fifteen. Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.
He then tells the parable of the rich fool, who built bigger barns to store his wealth, but lost his soul that very night. That story warns us accumulating more can never replace intimacy with God. True reverence redirects our longing. From possessions that perish to a Saviour who never fails.
So, how do we fight this in daily life?
Well, here are three financial practices rooted in Scripture. First, practice gratitude. 1 Thessalonians 5.18 says, Give thanks in all circumstances. Gratitude shifts our eyes from what we lack to what God has given. Consider keeping a daily list of blessings, financial and otherwise.
Second, budget as worship. Instead of seeing your budget as restrictive, view it as a tool for faithfulness. Align dollars to giving, saving, and living in ways that reflect God's priorities. It's a chance to say, Lord, I want you to direct my spending. And third, give generously.
Nothing loosens covetousness like generosity. Paul tells Timothy, they are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and willing to share. Every time you give, you declare, My life does not consist in what I own, but in who owns me. These steps are not self-help tips, they're spiritual disciplines that retrain our hearts to prioritize what matters most.
So, how do we combat covetousness? Not by shaming ourselves into contentment or pretending we don't feel envy. We find it by turning our gaze toward God's abundance, naming covetousness as idolatry, embracing gratitude, and practicing generosity. Let me finish with Hebrews 13:5. Keep your life free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for he has said, I will never leave you or forsake you.
Your calls are next. We'll be right back. We're grateful for support from Movement Mortgage, who provides residential home loans in all 50 states. Guided by a mission to love and value people and a goal to redefine the mortgage process, Movement seeks to help others achieve their financial goals. You can find out more at movement.com/slash faith.
Movement Mortgage LLC supports Equal Housing Opportunity, NMLS, number 39179. For licensing information, please visit NMLS ConsumerAccess.org. Are you looking to maximize your charitable impact this season? The National Christian Foundation has a smart solution. It's called a Giving Fund, and it helps you give more strategically, grow your balance tax-free, and amplify your charitable impact.
If you want a donor-advised fund that aligns with your values, open a giving fund today and start making a bigger difference for the causes you love. Learn how at faithfi.com forward slash ncf. Great to have you with us today on Faith and Finance. I'm Rob West. I'm looking forward to taking your calls and questions today.
So, if you have a question, let's have you get in on the action today by calling 800-525-7000. We've got lines open. We're ready for you. You can call right now, 800-525-7000. We'll begin in Texas with Sandra.
Go ahead. Hi Nair, thank you for taking my call. We put our house on the market first week of April, thinking it was going to sell quickly like the one down the street. tariffs happen and we just finally sold our house. We took the money out because we're in the process of building.
From our IRA, hoping to pay it back within like a 60-day period, but then that got extended with the delay of the house of selling. And I'm just wondering if There's any other IRS rules or anything with retirement and paying that money back. With less taxes? Do you have any suggestions for us? Yeah, boy, it's a great question.
And unfortunately, there's not a whole lot that can be done.
So if you take money out of an IRA, those are taxable as ordinary income. There is this 60-day rollover window where you can basically put it back without the tax consequences. But if you miss that, it does become taxable.
So it'll be added to your taxable income for the year. If you're under 59 and a half, there'd be a 10% early withdrawal penalty. If you're over that, then it's just only the ordinary income tax that you would pay. The only exceptions really are for a first-time home buyer or hardship issues, but construction issues really don't change that rule. The IRS is pretty strict about that 60-day rollover limit.
So unfortunately, the only thing you can do is just plan to report that as taxable income. Set that money aside for that tax bill so that doesn't catch you by surprise. And if it's a large amount, you may want to adjust withholding or make estimated payments to avoid under payment penalties. But there is not really any kind of end around that can be done here. All right.
Well, the blessing is a household, so the money is there and it's all good. Just wanted to double-check.
Okay, it's a great question, though, and I'm sorry to hear about that. But thanks for calling today. We appreciate you being on the program. Let's head to North Carolina. Hi, Philip.
Go ahead. I'm turning fifty nine and a half, and I'm taking early retirement from the government and have a TSP. And I have an opportunity. to roll over Um qualified distribution for an higher well, it's a fixed index annuity. And there's a bonus of 50%.
is through a company called Alliance. And uh it's a life insurance company. Um The only guarantee for payback is full faith of the confidence of the company which is A-rated. But Wanted your opinion on it? Yeah, that would be good.
Yeah.
So Alliance is a is a strong uh carrier. I think uh you know looking at that A and best rating is a good uh sign. And you know, that uh that means you know that A, even an A minus, Is an excellent rating. That means a stable outlook, and that means AM Best, which is the primary rating service, feels like they're in very good shape. And so that's a strong positive.
In terms of just the product itself, You know, I think you just need to make sure it's a good fit for you. I mean, a fixed-indexed annuity is. Is where your money is not directly in the stock market, but your return is linked to a market index. Do you know which one it is? Is it like the SP 500?
S P 500, there's a month to month point to point with a 1.5 or 1.8 percent cap.
Okay, yeah, yeah.
So, it's a guarantee that you won't lose principal with market declines, but your growth is limited until you've got that cap that you just referred to. You know, the only downside to this is really the upside potential. Because if you look at the average annual return of the SP 500, which is pretty rich, I mean, it's, you know, depending on what time period you look at, 25, 50, 75 years, you're going to get in the nines when you add dividends and so forth. But the way that happens is in these dramatic up years.
So, you know, if you were to take off the years where the market's up 25% or up 30% or up 22%, and all of a sudden you get this cap, that average annual return plummets. because those dramatic upswings more than offset those decline years like the nineteen twenty nine and nineteen eighty seven and the dot com bubble burst and the Great Recession in 07 and 08.
So you know I would rather you take the downside risk and get the upside and get the full upside and manage the risk through diversification and asset allocation with stocks and bonds and fixed and precious metals. Preferably than putting it into an insurance product, even though they give you the floor where you have that downside protection. That's just my preference because then you don't have the extra fees, the complexity, and you don't have the caps on it. Not to mention, you still have full access to your money if you're outside of an insurance product, where inside of it, you're going to have surrender charges and limits on how much you can take out if you ever need it.
Now, if you've decided, listen, I'm risk-averse, I want to transfer it to the insurance company. And so, I'm just wondering, is this a stable company? I would say an A and Best rating of A is good, is really great, actually. And so, you can have some confidence there. But I would just want to make sure that you've thought through it, and this product is the very best thing for you.
Does that make sense? Yes, sir. Yeah, it's a 10-year waiting period to withdraw lifetime annuity. But, yeah, thank you so much. I appreciate the input.
Absolutely. Thanks for your call today. All the best to you, Philip. Let's go to North Carolina. Hi, Peggy.
Go ahead. Hi. My question is we uh sold a property in owner finance the property. When do we report the taxes on it? And this is a long term capital gain.
I had it for fifteen years. lived in it some, but it wasn't our primary residence. Yes, yes. Yes. Owner financing is considered an installment sale.
So you are allowed to report the capital gains in proportion to the payments you receive each year rather than reporting the entire gain in the year of the sale.
So it's calculated, the gain is calculated based on the difference between the selling price and your adjusted basis in the property, which is just your purchase price plus any improvements that you made. And then it can be spread out over the period of the loan.
Now, you do have to report the interest income that you receive.
So, that portion of the loan payments that's interest, that's subject to ordinary income taxes, not capital gains. But the portion that is just the payment for the purchase, that portion can be spread out, you know, as you realize the capital gain over time through those payments as they come in.
So, what I would recommend here, Peggy, is that you consult with a tax professional on this because they can help you tailor this to your specific situation. But the good news is, you don't have to report all of the capital gains this year. You're able to spread that out. But I think a CPA would be really helpful to you to kind of make all this happen. Does that make sense?
Yes, it does. Thank you. Thank you. Let me ask you one more question. Sure.
What is the difference in reporting a long-term capital gain and a short-term capital gain? Is there any break at all for having owned all that period of time?
Well, if you own if you've owned the property for more than a year, it's going to be a long-term capital gain.
So th that's the difference. If it's less than a year, it's a short term. Long-term capital gain has a long-term capital gain rate, which for most people is either zero or 15%. And if it's a short-term capital gain, it's going to be treated as income.
So, again, I think this is a time for you to reach out to that tax professional. If you need one, you can find a CKA who's a tax professional at faithfy.com. Just click find a professional. Thanks for calling, Peggy. Hey, much more to come just around the corner.
We're just getting cranked up here. We still have a whole nother segment left and some great calls coming up just around the corner. We'll get to those here right after this break. If you want to check out prior broadcasts or download the FaithFi app, Do that on our website, faithfy.com. We'll be right back.
Right now, more people than ever are looking for biblical wisdom to navigate their finances, and you can help meet that need. When you become a FaithFi partner, you're equipping believers to trust God, steward his resources well, and live with kingdom purpose. Partners receive early access to our newest resources, our quarterly Faithful Steward magazine, and the pro version of the FaithFy app. Become a FaithFi partner with your gift of $35 a month or $400 a year at faith5.com/slash partner. As the leading advocate for the Christian financial industry, Kingdom Advisors serves the public by promoting the integration of a biblical worldview across every aspect of the financial services industry.
And we serve a growing network of thousands of Christian financial professionals, equipping and empowering them to carry biblical financial wisdom to their clients, peers, and community. For more information, visit kingdomadvisors.com. That's kingdomadvisors.com. Great to have you with us today on Faith and Finance. Well, in the mail yesterday, I got my Faithful Steward magazine.
That's right, I get one mailed to me too. It's the third issue of Faithful Steward for this fall season, September, October, and November. The theme for this issue is Your Work Matters. We have an incredible article on really God's design for work, the biblical account of how we should think about our work and whether or not our work needs a new story. And Tom Nelson, pastor and founder of Made to Flourish, did just a fabulous job on this feature article.
The other features in this issue is tithing, a fresh look at an ancient practice. We take a deep dive into all the passages around the tithe that help you think about the tithe as New Testament believers. We have an incredible article on financial next steps after losing a spouse, how our view of God shapes our stewardship, six great money dates. We actually give you six ideas to go on a money date and actually have some fun and enjoy your spouse and also tackle some important. Important financial topics at the same time, creating a shared vision for blended family finances, whether or not it's okay for married couples to have separate checking accounts, generosity through the ages.
And then Ron Blue has a great QA on: is it okay to be unequally yoked in business? Not in marriage. What about in business? That and more in this current issue of Faithful Steward. And listen, if you love the program, an incredible way to help us fund Faith and Finance and everything we do at FaithFi is to become a partner.
When you do that, you'll get every issue of Faithful Steward mailed to your door and all of our new studies and devotionals. And our new devotional due out at the beginning of the year is going to be incredible. I won't tell you too much about it, but I'm really excited about it.
So just head to our website, faithfy.com/slash partner. That's faithfi.com/slash partner to learn more. Partners support us at $35 a month or more or $400 or more per year. And it all goes. Goes to helping us reach more people with the message of biblical stewardship.
Again, that website, faithfi.com/slash partner. All right, let's head back to the phones. Plainfield, Illinois. Hi, Agnes. Go ahead.
Yeah, thanks for getting my call. I have my sister, she's not knowledgeable. She has this amount of money in saving accounts in the bank. It's not yielding anything. And my name is Omit.
She doesn't have email address. Can I use the um saving account to fund high yielding online saving account.
so that she can be getting some interest paid in it. If I put my name and her name, if I use her name and they put my name as the secondary, And I use my email, is that okay to use to monitor the account and then to pay this money from her saving into this saving higher saving account? Is it possible? Yeah, let's tackle each of those.
So, first of all, opening a high-yield savings account. Most online banks require you to link a checking account for transfers.
Some will allow linking an existing savings account, but it's less common. You'll need the routing and account numbers. Of your current savings to try linking it, but I would check with them before you open the account to make sure that it doesn't require a checking account versus savings.
Now, if the bank you select requires checking, then it may mean that you have to open a basic checking account at your current brick and mortar bank in order to make it happen. But it's not going to be absolutely necessary, there's just going to be fewer options, and you're going to want to ask that question. Second, moving money in. Yeah, if the online bank accepts your saving or her savings account as the funding source, then yes, you would link it electronically with the account number and the routing number, and then she'd be able to transfer that money straight from the brick and mortar savings to the online savings. In terms of monitoring, you know, banks generally don't allow a non-owner to log in and monitor unless they're a joint account holder.
Mm-hmm. Or an authorized user, maybe, or an agent with legal documentation like a power of attorney.
So, what you can do is you can help her set it up in person or online. You can show her how to log in. You could ask the bank if they have a view-only access for joint owners, but that's not going to be available for outside family members as a normal. Practice. Does that make sense?
It makes sense, but she doesn't have that knowledge of going to log in and wipe on it even if I show a She doesn't have that uh confidence and So do it.
So I was thinking if I can use my email addresses, my name is attached to the account as well. And they open it in a name and then in my name. But you said they are not going to allow that so that I well if it's a joint account, meaning you all are co-owners, your name's on the account and her name's on the account, then absolutely, you'd be able to get your own login. I'm just saying if it's in her name only, you're probably not going to be able to get access to it wi if it's if it's an individual account and you're not listed on it. Yeah, she puts my name on it.
Okay, well, then that's no problem. Yeah, then if you're joining. Yeah, I can withdraw monies for her and everything, but my name is in the savings. Then you're going to be able to get a login.
So that's not going to be any problem.
So now the next step is to find the bank that's right for you, the online bank, and go ahead and get that account open in both of your names. And then you're just going to want to ask the question. Can I use a savings account as the funding account or does it have to be checking? And you're going to want to know that before you go through with it. Let me also mention more and more of our listeners are wanting to align their Christian values with their banking partner.
And they're choosing an organization like Christian Community Credit Union, which happens to be the biggest in this space, because they want to know that they're doing business with somebody that shares their values and even supports Christian ministries and churches. And there's a special offer going on right now for Faith Phi listeners. At Christian Community Credit Union. And so that might be worth looking at as well. Just go to faithfy.com/slash banking.
That's faithfi.com/slash banking. They offer the same high-yield savings, and you can get up to $400 as a bonus when you use the keyword FaithFi.
So hopefully that helps, Agnes. Thanks for your call today. You sound like a wonderful sister.
Well, that's going to do it for us. Before we go, let me remind you to check out the FaithFi app on our website at faithfi.com. It's the best money management app out there to get godly counsel, encouragement, great content rooted in scripture, but also what I believe is the very best money management system as well. You know, with expenses up everywhere and high inflation, you're probably struggling like I am to stay on budget.
Well, having a plan and a system to control the flow of money is essential. The FaithFi app was built on Larry Briquette's tried and true envelope system. Put in a modern, beautiful, and simple interface right there in the palm of your hand. Julie and I use it every day, and we wouldn't be able to stay on budget without it because whether we're taking one of our kids shopping or we're checking our vacation category or anything else in our financial lives, we know exactly where we stand with the Faith Buy app. You can check it out in your app store or at faithby.com.
On behalf of our team here at Faith Buy, thanks for being along with us. Come back and join us next time. May God bless you. Faith in Finance is provided by FaithFy and listeners like you.
