Money touches every part of our lives, our fears, our hopes, and the things that we trust most. That's why scripture speaks so often about it. In the devotional, Our Ultimate Treasure, Rob West guides you through a thoughtful 21-day journey into faithful stewardship, helping you move beyond budgets and balances to the heart behind your financial decisions. Each day includes scripture, reflection, and prayer, inviting you to see money not as something to cling to, but as a tool God uses to shape us, free us, and bless others. If you're looking for greater clarity, contentment, and purpose for how you steward what God has given you, this devotional is for you.
Our Ultimate Treasure, written by Rob West, is available now at faithfi.com slash shop. Counterfeits mislead precisely because they look convincing. And the same is true of spiritual sayings that sound biblical but aren't. Hi, I'm Rob West. When familiar phrases replace scripture, they can quietly distort how we think about God, stewardship, and even money itself.
Today we'll talk with Taylor Stanrich about how those counterfeit verses can shape the way we view money, risk, success, and dependence on God, and how Scripture gives us clarity and freedom. And then it's on to your calls at 800-525-7000. This is Faith and Finance, biblical wisdom for your financial journey. Taylor Stanrich serves as our production manager here at FaithFi, And he was the lead writer for both Look at the Sparrows, a 21-day devotional on financial fear and anxiety, and our new devotional, Our Ultimate Treasure, a 21-day journey to faithful stewardship. He's also a regular contributor to our Faithful Steward magazine.
Taylor, great to have you on the mic today. Hey, thanks so much for having me. Taylor, you've written an article called Counterfeit Verses in the latest issue of Faithful Steward. And you take us all the way back to Genesis 3, where the enemy asks Eve this question, did God really say? Why is that moment such a significant place to begin this particular discussion?
Yeah, well, I think Genesis 3 shows that the enemy's first tactic wasn't about specifically creating something that was so blatantly untrue. It was distorting what was true.
So when the enemy is asking, did God really say? He's not really questioning the rule. he's undermining God's character. He's actually communicating to Adam and Eve, I think God is holding back on you. He's trying to establish himself as the good guy.
And so that moment reframes God from being this generous father saying, look at what all you have to eat, to this restrictive authority of, oh, why can't I have that? And so once Adam and Eve doubted God's goodness, disobedience follows naturally. They take the bite of the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
So that's the pattern we still see today. Most financial lies, whether it's cultural narratives or counterfeit verses, as what I say in the article, they begin with these subtle distortions, these half-truths that sound biblical. They're spiritual or they're wise, but I think, like I said earlier, it's way more effective to just simply distort what is actually true than inventing something that is straight up out there because it sounds so close enough to the truth to feel safe. It's like a ship that veers off course only one degree. You know, early on, it looks harmless.
A ship that is going the same direction, you probably can't tell they're going different directions. But over time, that one ship's going to end up way further away from its destination.
So starting in Genesis 3 is reminding us that this is an old strategy. This is what he's been doing since the beginning. It helps us see that the spiritual battle beneath modern ideas about wealth, success, and fear and provision, that is what is at the heart of every counterfeit is this simple question, can God really be trusted?
Well, I think that's well said. And I think one of the things that makes this so challenging is that these phrases often sound perfectly harmless at first. Do you think that's what makes counterfeit verses so convincing for many believers? Oh, I think that's precisely the danger because they rarely show up with sort of this warning label. They are borrowing from the biblical language.
They're appealing to our emotions. They're often addressing these real desires that we have about hope and comfort, identity and purpose. And that's why they feel harmless. But what makes them convincing is precisely their familiarity. It's their subtlety.
They're so close to scripture that they feel true. In a lot of cases, they might even be scripture, but they're pulled from their context.
So Christians are often misled by these ideas that seem almost biblical. And that almost is where the enemy does his most effective work.
So the goal isn't to make people suspicious of everything by warning them of these counterfeit verses, but to teach people discernment. to help believers and followers of Jesus recognize when a truth has been nudged a degree off course like that ship. Because over time, that small deviation can really lead us far from the heart of God. Yeah, I think that's exactly right.
Well, we're going to begin to unpack some of these counterfeit verses after the break. But first, you used this comparison to counterfeit money and even referenced the film Catch Me If You Can in this article. Tell us why that illustration helps us to understand this.
Well, it's such a fascinating movie because what struck me about this, Frank Abagnale Jr. is the main character and he succeeds not by inventing new money, but by copying the real checks that he is often making counterfeits of.
So he's studying the real thing in great detail and his forgeries are so convincing that he knows all the details by instinct, whether that's the texture, the ink, the signatures and the watermarks. And so why I pull from that is that no one knows the genuine check more than Frank Abagnale Jr.
Well, what a great illustration. All right, folks, when we come back in this break, we're going to dive into some of these counterfeit sayings and verses. Taylor Stanrich here today, our production manager and regular contributor here at FaithFi. He's the author of the article, Counterfeit Verses in the latest issue of Faithful Steward. Much more right around the corner.
Stick around. I was in ministry full-time, And I was always looking for a way to integrate my faith with this new industry around money and finances This is Mark He is a certified Kingdom advisor As a CKA one of the best things I offer my clients is trust in knowing that they working with a professional that understands their values. And I think in all of the different challenges that clients go through, if we can go back to trusting in God, then he'll make the path straight. You can find an advisor like Mark at findacka.com. We are grateful for support from Timothy Plan.
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Are there sayings that sound biblical but really are counterfeit?
Well, this often happens with God's Word and especially in the area of money. With us today, Taylor Stanridge, production manager and regular contributor here at FaithFi. We're talking about his article in the recent issue of our magazine, Faithful Steward, called Counterfeit Verses. And Taylor, before we dive into a few of these, one of the key illustrations you use to set this article up in Faithful Steward is this idea of studying the real thing so that we know what's counterfeit. And that's exactly what happened in this movie, Catch Me If You Can, that you referenced in the article.
What else might you share with us about how this really sets up our conversation today? Yeah, well, in the movie, Frank Abagnale Jr. is pulling off this range of identities and ultimately steals millions by the age of 19. He's pretending to be a pilot, a doctor, a lawyer, a professor. And so he is cashing these checks that look so genuine because he has studied the genuine so well.
And by the end of the movie, we see that Frank Abagnale Jr. is hired by the FBI. eye. And at first I'm like, why on earth would you hire this criminal to work in your currency department? And then I realized that he knows the genuine one better than anybody else.
He has been doing this for so long. And so I think that illustration really helps us think about scripture because banks don't train tellers by examining every possible fake. They are training them by handing them the real currency until that authentic look and feel becomes instinctive.
So in that same way, our goal isn't to become paranoid about every new idea. It's to become so deeply familiar with the Word of God that when you know the real thing, discernment comes naturally.
So that when the enemy does say, did God really say, we can respond with boldness and say, yes, this is precisely what the Word of God says.
Well, I know you're going to take us into Scripture today as we explore a few of these counterfeit phrases and verses from God's Word. Let's talk about one of the most common examples you highlight, and that is this quote, money is the root of all evil. How does misquoting that verse shape the way we view and think about money? Yeah, well, I think this misquote will rewire our entire theology of money, because if money is the root of all evil, then the logical conclusion of that is that the less money you have, the holier you must be. And wealth becomes inherently suspicious, and abundance becomes something that is spiritually dangerous.
And stewardship feels like we're compromising our convictions. But Paul's language is actually far more convicting. the love of money in 1 Timothy 6.10 says that the issue is not possession, but devotion to it. You can be wealthy and worshipful or poor and idolatrous.
So the counterfeit puts the spotlight on money, but the real verse puts it on the heart. And that matters because Scripture consistently talks about money as something that God uses for our provision, for opportunities of generosity, to love our neighbor, to participate in his kingdom work. And when we misquote that, We end up with a faith that is allergic to God's wisdom, that's afraid to budget, we're afraid to risk it in our investments or to save it or plan it, because those things feel worldly. But the Bible does not demonize money. It is actually discipling our affections.
Wow, that's really helpful. All right, this next one, some folks may be surprised to hear it's not actually in the Bible, and it's this phrase, God helps those who help themselves. Why is that especially problematic?
Well, I think it flips the gospel completely upside down because it makes self-sufficiency the starting point and God the finishing touch. But scripture consistently shows us the opposite. God meets us in our need, not in our strength. And from Abraham to Israel, all the way to the disciples, the pattern is grace first, obedience second, because grace is what enables that in the first place.
So when we apply that to stewardship, that counterfeit creates a lot of pressure and pride. And if I'm doing well financially, it must mean that I've earned God's favor. But if I'm struggling, I must not be trying hard enough. And it turns money into sort of this scoreboard of spiritual worth. But if we look at that idea biblically, stewardship is not about self-rescue.
It's about dependence on God. When we manage resources that God has entrusted to us, when we're guided by his wisdom, empowered by his grace, the real verse beneath that counterfeit isn't help yourself, but what John 15, 5 says, apart from me, you can do nothing.
So good stewardship begins not with relying on ourselves, but with surrender and trust. Yeah. And the challenge with so many of these, Taylor, is the culture just reinforces these ideas. But when we put it up against scripture, we see clearly these are not what God intended. All right, this next one might sound comforting on the surface, and it's God won't give you more than you can handle.
What's the danger with that idea? Yeah, well, I think like the previous one, it relocates the weight of life back onto our shoulders because it implies that the goal of life is to tough it out, to dig deeper, and to prove that we're capable. But scripture is actually, once again, revealing the opposite pattern. God is often allowing situations we cannot handle so that we can learn to depend on him. This is explicit in 2 Corinthians 1 when Paul is saying plainly, we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength.
And then Paul says why that God allowed this to happen, that we might not rely on ourselves but on God When we believe that counterfeit suffering becomes a performance issue Like why can I handle this What is wrong with me It breeds pressure and shame But the biblical truth is so much more helpful and hopeful God does not promise we'll always be strong. He always promises that He will be near and with us.
So the point is not to be self-sufficient, but to have communion with God, to learn that grace meets us precisely where our strength ends. Taylor, that is so good. All right, let's do one more, and then we'll begin to tie a bow on this. This one sounds harmless, but you point out it can drift toward passivity, and it's a phrase that says, let go and let God. Talk to us about that one.
Yeah, well, I think this one needs the most nuance, because there are verses in Scripture that talk about being still and knowing that I am God, and I love that message because it's helpful when it reminds us to stop trying to cling to control. But that problem arises, and that distortion happens when it drifts into a view of the Christian life in which surrender replaces obedience.
So in Scripture, trust and action are never separated. Noah builds the ark, Abraham walks out of Ur, Ruth gleans from Boaz's field, and the early church gives. Grace is actually empowering our participation, not merely passivity.
So when we look at that in stewardship, that counterfeit can sound like, God will take care of my finances, so I don't need to budget, it, plan, give intentionally or seek counsel, but biblical trust doesn't eliminate responsibility. It rightly orders it and prioritizes it.
So we act because God is faithful, not so that we don't need him. You know, I like the way that J.I. Packer put it, the Christian's motto should not be let go and let God, but trust God and get going. That is so good.
Well, Taylor, these are so helpful and I bet eye-opening for many of our listeners today.
So if these counterfeit saying show up everywhere. How do we start developing the discernment to spot them? Yeah, well, I think like the Frank Abagnale story, discernment begins with familiarity. Counterfeits thrive when we only know Scripture in fragments or slogans. But the more we read and study and meditate on the story of the Bible, the more instinctive it becomes to sense when something is off.
It's less about hunting for errors, and it's more about recognizing, like John 10 says, the voice of our shepherd. And I think community also matters. The New Testament assumes that we are learning this truth together through teaching, correction, worship, and sometimes someone else hears that distortion before we do.
So also remember, the goal is not cynicism. It's to be confident in what we believe. We don't study counterfeits all day. We merely immerse ourselves in truth so that when the counterfeit shows up, the Spirit of God can tell us, that's not from me. Oh, this has been so helpful.
Well, folks, if we want to steward money wisely, we have to first steward the truth of God wisely. Taylor, thanks so much for being with us today. Oh, thank you, Rob. I appreciate it. That's Taylor Stanrich, our production manager and regular contributor here at FaithFi.
He's so key to everything we do. He's the author of the article, Counterfeit Verses, and the latest issue of Faithful Steward, our quarterly magazine for FaithFi partners. To receive your copy and enjoy additional partner benefits, just go to faithfi.com slash partner. That's faithfi.com slash partner. Back with your questions after this.
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We do have a few lines open today, so if you have a question, go ahead and call right now. The number is 800-525-7000. Again, that number is 800-525-7000. We would love to hear from you today and help you think about managing money God's way, according to biblical wisdom. All right, let's head to the phones.
We're going to begin today in Georgia. Gregory, go ahead. How are you today? I'm doing great. How can I help you?
Okay, very good. I was considering doing a reverse mortgage as a form to kind of facilitate my retirement. I have about $370,000 value on the house. I only owe about $105,000. And so I didn't really have a good understanding of that.
So I was just trying to see if that would be something that would help facilitate, you know, going into retirement. And is now a good time to think about doing something like that? Yes. And what did you say, or maybe you didn't mention, but what is your age? I'm 70 today.
Okay, got it. Hey, congratulations. Happy birthday. That's amazing. I'm so delighted you called.
I hope it's been a wonderful day and I'm thrilled to help you think through this. You know, when we think about a home equity conversion mortgage, which is really the reverse mortgages of today, it's the only one I would consider. It really depends on your goals and how long you plan to stay in the home.
So here's how you might want to think about it. At age 70, you're absolutely eligible. But because you owe $140,000, they would want to make sure that you have at least 50% equity in that home.
So on a $340,000 home, I think that's what you said, or maybe $370,000, you clearly have at least 50% equity.
So given your age and the amount of equity that you have that means you are eligible for it Your payment would go away because the existing mortgage whether or not you took another dollar out of the reverse mortgage at the very least if you just refinanced, essentially paid off the existing forward mortgage with the reverse mortgage, you would no longer have a monthly payment. It would be optional at that point, which could help with retirement cashflow. I suspect that's your biggest monthly expense.
Now, you'd have to keep up the property taxes and the homeowner's insurance and maintenance, but it could be a great option if you're strained for cash flow and you don't mind that balance increasing with interest and fees over time.
Now, your home is likely going to continue to appreciate, so you may end up preserving most, if not all, of the equity that you have in there just by way of the home appreciating, but that balance would be growing with it. But if that was the difference between you being able to stay in your home and balance your budget, then I think it is a great option, one worth considering. The only other option might be selling it and downsizing, but, you know, you're going to be really challenged to find something. You know, if you were to, what did you say the home was worth? Do you think it's $370,000?
$370,000.
Okay, yeah.
So if we take away the $140,000 that you owe, so if you were to sell it, that would give you $230,000 that you could use, and then you'd have all the expenses associated with it.
So let's say you ended up with $215,000. You're going to struggle to find something that allows you to buy it with cash.
So the benefit of the reverse here would be you stay in the home, you enjoy the house you have right now, but you no longer have that payment. And for many retirees, that's a game changer where now all of a sudden they can balance their budget. But give me your thoughts on that and any follow-up questions you have.
Okay. Actually, it's not $140. I only owe $104. Ah, got it.
So that's even better.
So that gives you a little bit more equity. You could pay off that mortgage with the reverse. The payment goes away. And then if you wanted to get more out, you could do that. and that would come in the form of either a line of credit or a monthly check.
Okay, so what kind of interest rate could I secure for on that reverse mortgage? Because I'm paying 3.5 right now. Yeah, so it would definitely go up. And typically, these are variable rates.
So clearly, it would be higher. You could get a fixed rate HECM, home equity conversion mortgage. but, you know, those are often even a bit more.
So I'd probably stay in the adjustable rate. It would come down as rates come down.
So that balance would be growing and it would be more interest over time versus what you have right now. But, you know, for folks that do this, they consider two factors. Number one is their home is continuing to appreciate.
So that's helping to offset the effects of the interest. Number two, it's really the differentiator once they get rid of that mortgage payment in being able to balance the budget and stay in their current home. And that's really the key. Does that make sense? That makes excellent sense.
So the main thing I need to look at is make sure I get the adjustable rate and not the fixed rate. That's right. Yeah. And you want to get with a trusted counselor who can help you walk through this. And first of all, lead with education.
before even selling you anything, you can head to movement.com slash faith to connect with our friends at Movement Mortgage. They specialize in this. Or if you hold the line, our team can get your information and get somebody in touch with you. Gregory, thanks for your call today. We appreciate you being on the program.
Lord bless you. Let's see. Benel is in Illinois. Go ahead. Oh, thank you.
And my question is, how would I vet or how would I verify and offer an opportunity to make a $10,000 investment and get 250% back on it.
Well, after you run away from that as quickly as you can, and then you stop and look back, tell me a little bit more. My philosophy is if it sounds too good to be true, it probably almost certainly is, and this would fit into that category. But what else do you know, Bunnell?
Well, we know the person individually, but we have paperwork an attorney that would verify the information.
So how can I have somebody look a little deeper into it? Yeah. How is it being explained to you? What type of investment is it? It's an investment in real estate where the gentleman has a company and a team of lawyers and accountants and other professional people that invest with him.
And he's been doing it for about 20 years. We've been acquainted with him for about three years. But we need to talk to somebody, I guess, in a deeper way, not just over a conversation as a general question. Yeah. Well, you certainly do.
And I would encourage you to get some wise counsel. You could reach out to a certified kingdom advisor there in Illinois to take a look at it. It's probably what's called a private placement, which is only for qualified investors.
So you have to meet an income or a net worth requirement. The problem with these deals is you tend to be very highly concentrated.
So you don't have a lot of diversification. Everything's at the risk of one deal. They're very illiquid, meaning that you can't get your money back until there's a liquidity event. And that may be years down the road. But the bigger red flag is the way that it was communicated to you is if the word guarantee wasn't used, it sounds like it was pretty close to it, that you're going to get 250% on your money.
That just doesn't exist, except in a very high-risk environment where the reward is massive, but the risk has to be massive with it. And if that's not present, if it's low risk and ultra-high reward, something is wrong.
So I would go very slow and get some wise counsel. Thanks for your call. Folks, thanks for being along with us today. I hope you'll come back and join us tomorrow. We'll see you then.
Bye-bye. Faith and Finance is provided by FaithFi and listeners like you.
