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Now, let's dive into the podcast. Money has a way of reaching places in our lives that nothing else does. It touches our fears, our desires, our relationships, and our sense of security. Hi, I'm Rob West. That's why Jesus said, where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
He knew something we often miss. Money issues are heart issues. Today we're exploring how our financial lives reveal what's happening inside us and how God invites us into freedom and trust. 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. Yeah. Years ago, my friend and mentor Ron Blue told me a story from his time in Kenya that has shaped my entire approach to stewardship. He was sitting on a hillside with a local pastor. They were looking out over the village where the man lived, and Ron asked what he thought was a practical question.
He said, What's the greatest barrier to the spread of the gospel here? Remember, he's in Kenya. He expected to hear about money, transportation, or lack of resources, but the pastor didn't hesitate. He said, materialism. Ron was stunned.
Surely materialism was a Western issue. But the pastor went on. He said, If a man has a mud hut, he wants a stone hut. If he has a thatch roof, he wants a metal one. If he has one cow, he wants two.
Well, in that moment, Ron realized something profound. Materialism is not about how much you have, it's about what your heart longs for. Because if materialism can thrive in a mud hut every bit as easily as in an American suburb, then money is not. The root problem, the heart is. Money simply exposes what's already there: our desires, our fears, our loyalties, our trust.
That's exactly what Jesus teaches here. Money isn't moral or immoral, it's a tool. But because it touches nearly every part of our life, it becomes one of the greatest indicators of what we trust, desire, and worship. When we overspend, it may reflect a longing for identity or approval. When we cling tightly to savings, it may reveal where we seek security.
When we fall into debt, it might reveal impatience or a desire to live outside of God's provision. When we resist generosity, it may reveal fear that God won't provide. In all these cases, the dollars are secondary, the heart is primary. The good news is this: God cares deeply about the state of our hearts, and He invites us to experience freedom. Freedom from fear, from comparison, from striving, from the false belief that everything depends on us.
Over years of studying scripture and walking with listeners and families through financial decisions, a few core truths have become foundational for me. First, God owns it all. Ownership determines responsibility. If everything belongs to him, then we stop clinging to money as if our lives depend on it. We begin managing it as stewards, grateful, humble, and free.
Second, God is our provider. The scriptures remind us that He feeds the birds and clothes the lilies, and we, His children, are worth far more. When we believe that, fear begins to loosen its grip. Third, money is a tool, not a treasure. It was never meant to bear the weight of our identity or security.
It was meant to serve God's purposes, meeting needs, blessing others, advancing the gospel, and reflecting the generosity of the one who gave everything for us. And fourth, our financial decisions are acts of worship. Every spending choice, every giving decision, every act of planning becomes an opportunity to honor God. When we begin asking, how can I serve you with this? Money stops being a rival and becomes a means of discipleship.
These aren't theoretical ideas. They're the truths that shape every page of my new devotional, Our Ultimate Treasure. It's a 21-day journey to faithful stewardship. I wrote it to help you walk through these core biblical principles and see how deeply they shape your daily financial decisions. Here's my hope: that as you read it, you'll experience God's peace growing where fear once lived, contentment where comparison once thrived, and generosity where self-protection once dominated.
If you'd like to pre-order your copy or even place a bulk order, it officially releases next month. Just visit faithfy.com and click shop.
Now, later this month, you'll actually be able to access it in a digital version as well inside the FaithFi app when you become a FaithFi partner. Simply go to faithphy.com slash partner. That's faithfi.com slash partner to support the ministry with a gift of $35 a month or $400 annually. Folks, in the end, money will always reveal what we treasure most. And when Christ is our ultimate treasure, we experience a freedom no amount of money can offer.
All right, your calls are next: 800-525-7000. This is Faith in Finance, biblical wisdom for your financial decisions. Stick around. We're grateful for support from Guidestone, whose diversified suite of investment solutions align with Christian values to create positive change in the world. More information is available at guidestonefunds.com/slash faith.
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Learn more at chministries.org/slash faithfi. Yeah. Thanks for joining us today on Faith and Finance. Taking your calls and questions today, 800-525-7000. Again, that's 800-525-7000.
If you've got a question today, something going on in your financial life, we'd love to hear from you. Be able to take that question and see if we can help you wrestle it through the lens of biblical wisdom. Again, that number 800-525-7000. Let's head to Texas. Mike, you'll be first up.
Go ahead. Thank you. My wife and I, we're both over 65. We got a. financial planner on our team.
CPA We also have attorney, the will. It seems like to me, we got things in place by my wife doesn't feel that great about it. What she's really looking for and frankly, this would be great, is a quarterback on the team. This guy that we have, a certified financial planner, we kind of pictured him being that. He had there's so many initials after these guys.
He had the CIMA designation, which is Certified Investment Management Analyst. Are we shooting too high? I mean, she She's concerned, like, I mean, I'm older than her and stuff, so the natural assumption is: okay, I want. Hey, I can't just talk to you or whatever. I want to be able to talk to one person that can help me know enough about everything.
And I said, I've been listening to your show a while now, heard about these kingdom advisors, et cetera. Am I shooting too high to expect a certified financial planner to even even to the point of budgeting To just be able to kind of handle all that, or who would that be? Yeah, it's a great question, and I don't think you're shooting too high. In fact, I think that's a pretty critical role. And typically, you're right, that CFP is often that quarterback, not always.
You know, what you would want in that quarterback is somebody, first of all, who's a fiduciary. That's a legal term. They're legally required to act in your best interest, put their interest above their own. Second, you know, they would typically be experienced with retirement income planning in this season of life, really skilled at team communication.
So they would be that quarterback communicating with the other professionals often on your behalf, hopefully helping you make decisions, align with your values and priorities, understanding the council of Scripture, but really be that kind of go-to person.
Now, it doesn't mean you wouldn't meet with the CPA to do tax planning or meet with the wealth manager if that's a different person or the attorney, of course, with estate planning, but they're probably your first call and they're somebody you're meeting with more regularly because they're looking over your whole financial picture.
Now, that would typically be the CFP, the certified financial planner. But again, not all of them do that. Or that might not be their best skill set. They might be really good at creative comprehensive plans, but in terms of being that most trusted advisor, that quarterback, the person you have, if that hasn't emerged as a skill set, that may not fit with his or her unique gifting. And so perhaps that's what you need to look for as a replacement.
Let me ask, though: is the CFP that you referenced and the SEMA, is that the same person, or is that two different professionals? It's the same person.
Okay, yeah. And is that person also managing your investments, making the buy and sell decisions? Not all of them, but most of them. And he is he's focused on that basically. That's frustrating, I guess, both of us a little bit because we start talking about other areas and he seems to kind of like Point over here, and I don't have the confidence he's really knowing.
Yeah. You know, I'm not expecting him to be specialists on it. Yeah. You know, oh, I know.
Well, it sounds like, Mike, he's more of what we would call an investment advisor or a wealth manager than a financial planner, most trusted advisor, or quarterback that you're looking for.
So it sounds like his expertise, which would be consistent with the SEMA designation, is really about building portfolios and managing money and helping make or making on your behalf, as you've delegated to him, the buy and sell decisions for your investments. And he's gotten the CFP, which gives him a base of knowledge around comprehensive financial planning, but he's not really acting like a financial planner. He's acting more like an investment professional. And it just is what it is.
So I think what I would do as a next step, just given the desire that you and your wife have for that most trusted advisor, is begin interviewing other advisors.
Now, what you may find is you find that quarterback that, you know, Would get paid on maybe an annual basis to update your plan and meet with you all and be that person. That person that you find that's willing to serve and skilled in serving as the quarterback may also be able to manage the money. And then you'd have to decide: you know, do I want to move the assets over to this new person? Because often they get paid based on the assets under management. But if you left the money that's being managed with the current CFP SEMA, then you're going to have to pay that quarterback on probably an annual retainer for the planning and serving in that other capacity, which would likely be worth it, giving you all the peace of mind and that go-to person who can really serve in that quarterback role.
But it's going to be an added expense unless you find somebody who can also manage the money. Does that make sense? Yeah, it does. You know, you mentioned fiduciary. I've heard that term before, but I don't know if I really understand.
Okay, I understand what a certified financial planner in my mind or some relevance, but a fiduciary, I don't see people necessarily walking around saying, hey, I'm a fiduciary. How do I yeah, I mean, you would just simply ask that question, but it essentially is a legal term. They're legally required to act in your best interest. And so you can trust that their advice will put you first every time. You know, so when a fiduciary makes a recommendation of any kind, the standard is: is this the very best thing for the client?
Not what product pays me the most, what's the easiest to sell.
So, they have to avoid conflicts of interest. They have to be transparent about fees. They have to disclose how they're compensated. They have to give advice based solely on your goals and situation. Whereas some financial professionals follow what's called a suitability standard, meaning the advice only has to be good enough, not necessarily the best.
And so, I would just simply ask, as a part of this interview process, are you a fiduciary? And as soon as you use that word, that's going to trigger in their mind they either are or they're not. And that's a legal term. And if not, they would then only have to meet that suitability standard. And I think someone who you would see to be that quarterback, really, you want that fiduciary role.
Okay. And so if I was just looking Do they list that they're a fiduciary usually? I mean, that's a good idea. Typically, yeah, in the fine print, you know, often they don't lead with that, to your point. They would lead with their designations.
You know, I'm a CFP or I'm a CKA. They don't lead with I'm a fiduciary. And so you would just need to ask that as a part of the interview process. What I will say is, most of the advisors you would be talking to, especially if you're talking to a CKA, are going to be that. You'd want to confirm it, but the vast majority will be.
Okay, would banks be able to help me with this? The clients of people are potentially. I mean, I would go to, I mean, my recommendation would be to go to findacka.com and just see who the certified kingdom advisors are in your area. I'd start there. The challenge with the banks are, you know, often they're just kind of they have a limited universe of investments.
And typically, they're just, you know, I find that in terms of that quarterback role, they're not the best person. Hopefully that helps. Thanks for calling. Hey, before we head to this break, let me mention, folks, if you're struggling to stay on budget and maybe trying to figure out how do you balance everything, it was working four years ago, but now with everything 25% higher, it's not working quite as well.
Well, that spending plan is essential for you to be able to stay on track and make sure that the way you're handling God's money truly reflects what's most important to you. The FaithFi app could be just what you need to get your budget set up, but also to manage it well and stay on budget every month.
So, check it out today. You'll just head to our website, faithfy.com, click app. We'll be right back. Stay with us. We work, we earn, we save.
But is that all there is? The book of Ecclesiastes gives us an entirely new perspective on money that impacts our day-to-day lives. Faith Phi's study, Wisdom Over Wealth: 12 Lessons from Ecclesiastes on Money, unpacks life-changing biblical truths about wealth, work, and contentment. This resource will help you grow in how you handle wealth with wisdom and deepen your trust in God. Purchase your copy today or place a bulk order at faithphy.com/slash shop.
Faith in Finance is grateful for support from Sound Mind 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. All right, we've got three lines open. We'll get to as many calls as we can before the end of the broadcast. 800-525-7000.
Lynn is in Arkansas. And Lynn, I understand you've got a voicemail you just got from a debt collector. How can I help you with that?
So I pay off my credit card every month at the end of the month. And I don't have anything that a debt collector would be after. And so I didn't want to click on it because I don't know if it's some kind of scam.
Well, first of all, let me say you're smart to be cautious, Lynn. There are a lot of scams pretending to be debt collectors, and even legitimate collectors sometimes call the wrong person.
So there's one of two things going on here. Either one, this is truly a scam. Uh, and number two, this is a legitimate debt, but they've got the wrong person or the wrong phone number. There's one particular person that maybe had my cell phone number in the past. I won't mention his name, but it's always the same name I hear from the debt collectors.
That the debt collectors call me looking for this individual and they name him every time. In fact, sometimes when they call, say, you're on a recorded line to collect a debt, I say, Are you looking for? and I say his name, and they say, Yeah, how'd you know? And I say, That's not me. And so, it could be one of those situations where they just got the wrong number.
So, what I would do is, first of all, don't ever give anybody any information over the phone. If it's a scam, and it may be, they're going to try to get you to give your social security number, your bank details, your address, or your personal information. If there's a voicemail, ignore it. If you get them on the phone, just say, I don't confirm anything over the phone. Please send me a written notice.
And a legitimate collector must send written validations a letter within five days. Scammers can't do that.
Okay. Now, A red flag that it's a scam is they ask for personal info immediately. They threaten arrest or legal action. They demand payment by gift cards or wire transfer. If you hear those terms, you know it's a scam.
They refuse to give their name or their company or their mailing address, any of those immediately hang up. If it's truly not your debt, but it's becoming annoying because, kind of like my situation, there's somebody out there that has a debt that they owe, and somehow your phone number has gotten attached to it. You could tell them to stop contacting you and send them a written cease communication letter by certified mail. You could dispute the debt in writing. If you get a letter, say, This is not my debt.
Don't contact me again except to provide proof. And once they see that, according to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, they have to stop calling unless they have real documentation. And then the other thing you could do, just given this call you've gotten, is go ahead and pull your credit reports just to make sure there's not anything on there that you don't recognize. And you would want to do that at annualcreditreport.com. Annualcreditreport.com.
For free, you can get each of the three credit reports. And I would just use this as an opportunity to review those and make sure there's not any erroneous information. And then you may want to go ahead and, just as a safety precaution, freeze your credit with each of those bureaus. It's free, it will allow you to put a PIN number on it. And if somebody tried to fraudulently open a take out a loan in your name when the company tried to pull your credit, they wouldn't be able to because they wouldn't have the PIN number.
So hopefully that helps you. Is that helpful to you? Yeah, that's very helpful.
Okay, good.
Well, I know this is frustrating, but I probably start by just ignoring it. And if they ever get you on the phone, follow the things that I said. Don't ever give out any information. Tell them it's not your debt and to cease communication and just contact you through the mail. And if it becomes annoying because it keeps happening, that's where you may want to try to go ahead and get them on the phone.
You know, in that case, it's probably not a scam. It's just they've got the wrong person, and that's where you'd want to contact them in writing and tell them, stop calling me and tell them it's not you.
So hopefully that helps, Lynn. Lord bless you. Hang in there. And if I can help further, give us a call. 800-525-7000 to Texas again.
Marcy, go ahead. Yes. I know there's some people that still follow the standard deduction because it's gotten a lot higher and when we don't out itemize anymore.
However, I have heard that you are able to deduct your donations for charitable contributions. in addition to the standard deduction. And that is what I've heard. And I thought that would be encouraging to People who want to donate to you and to other agencies that are nonprofitable, and they would be able to deduct that deduction off of their income tax in addition to the standard deduction. Yes, I love that.
You're exactly right.
So, you know, coming in 2026, for people who don't itemize their deductions, you'll be able to donate up to $1,000 or $2,000 if you're married and still get that tax break. And so, you know, there is an opportunity, you're right, beyond the standard deduction, which 80 to 90 percent of tax filers take the standard deduction. And so that's a great opportunity. I love your generous heart, Marcy, and I love you encouraging generosity.
So thanks for mentioning that on the program today. We appreciate it. Yes, sir. Thank you. All right.
God bless you. Let's finish up in Pennsylvania today. Hi, Corey. Go ahead. Hi, Rob.
Thank you so much. I'll be brief. I have a car that I bought years ago. I still owe on it about $5,500. Minimum payment is $185 a month.
However, it's starting to nickel and dime me on the cost of maintenance. The bank owns the title. What are my options? What is the car worth? A little less than what's left on the loan, probably about four grand.
Yeah. Well, I mean, the best option is you sell it as a private sale and pay off the loan, and then you'd have to come out of pocket for the difference, but you try to maximize and get as much value out of it as you can by selling it yourself. Uh, and get as close to that, uh, you know, $5,500 as you can and try to, you know, spend as little as possible on the difference. The other option is if you're wanting to buy another car, you know, you could try to roll this into that deal essentially, where you know, you would trade this car in, and, you know, again, you're going to have to come out of pocket. And I guess the challenge is, you know, you will have to, you know, well, let me back up.
The dealership may not give you as much as you would get from a private sale. And so you may end up having to pay more towards satisfying that loan. But at the end of the day, we need to make sure that that loan gets paid in full because you have that obligation. And so that's why trying to maximize the sale and then turning around and buying something you can afford, you know, is the best path forward. Does that make sense?
Yes, last question. The car itself is the collateral on the loan, so I don't own the title.
So I don't think selling it personally would be an option. Because I was owning the title. Is that? No, it would be. I mean, you're going to have, you can do a private sale even with a loan on the car, and they're just going to need to be paid in full before they release that title.
But you certainly can sell it as long as you are able to cover the difference between what's owed and what you sell it for. Because when you pay off the loan, that's what's going to release that title, and then you can transfer it to the other party.
Okay, thank you so much. Yep. All right, you're welcome, Corey. Thanks for your call today. Thank you to Tahira, Amy, Omar, Taylor, and Rihanna.
We'll see you next time. Faith in Finance is provided by FaithFi and listeners like you.
