Everything in this world fades—possessions, accomplishments, even financial security. But Scripture reminds us that true riches never fade. In my 21-day devotional, Our Ultimate Treasure, I want to help you reorient your heart from what's temporary to what's eternal through daily scripture reflection and practical application. You'll explore what it means to steward God's resources with wisdom, generosity, and trust, so your financial life reflects what you truly believe. Whether you're just beginning your stewardship journey or longing for deeper alignment between your faith and finances, my hope is that this devotional.
Gives you a clear, hope-filled path towards seeing God as your ultimate treasure. You can get your copy or place a bulk order for your church or small group at faithfi. dot com slash shop. That's faithfi. dot com, and click shop.
Theologian Dorothy Sayers once said, "Work is not primarily a thing one does to live, but the thing one lives to do." Hi, I'm Rob West. If God designed work before the fall and preserved it after redemption, then work is not simply what we do; it's part of who we are. Today, we'll look at how Scripture gives us a different picture of what work was meant to be and what it can still become. Then it's on to your calls at eight hundred five two five seven thousand. That's eight hundred five two five seven thousand.
This is Faith and Finance: Biblical Wisdom for Your Financial Journey. From the first pages of Scripture to the last, the Bible treats work not as a necessary evil, but as a sacred calling woven into what it means to bear God's image. But if we're honest, many of us don't think about work that way. For some, work feels like a grind to get through until the weekend arrives. For others, it's a means of identity.
The ladder we climb to prove ourselves, and for others, especially in retirement. Work may now look like volunteering, investing in grandkids, serving at church, or caring for aging parents. Still, in every season, Scripture reframes the conversation. Our work, paid or unpaid, is an act of worship to God. In Genesis 2:15, before sin ever entered the world, Adam was placed in the garden to work it and keep it.
Work wasn't cursed; it was commissioned. It was a gift before it became a burden, and it will be a gift again in the new creation where Revelation describes the people of God reigning with Christ, not in idleness but in fruitful responsibility and stewarding joy. Our faith isn't merely about spiritual activities; it's about. Doing the everyday things with excellence, integrity, and love, because that reflects the God who creates, orders, and sustains all things. Scripture gives us a remarkable picture of this in Exodus thirty-one.
When God commands the building of the tabernacle, He fills Bezalel with the spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship to design and build the place where His presence would dwell. Think about. That the first person in Scripture explicitly filled with the Spirit wasn't a prophet or a king; it was a craftsman, a builder, a worker, someone God called to saw wood, form metal, and stitch fabric with excellence for His glory. Work done unto the Lord is worship. This reframes how we think about our own jobs.
Whether you're grading papers late into the night, running spreadsheets in an office, raising young children at home, or volunteering. At the food pantry in your retirement years, you are imaging God in your work. In Colossians three twenty three and twenty four, Paul writes, "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord, not for men." You are serving the Lord Christ. That means there are no ordinary jobs in the kingdom; only ordinary moments given extraordinary significance when they are offered to Christ. It also helps us understand why work often feels frustrating.
After the fall, work was not removed. It was resisted. Thorns and thistles entered the world, symbolizing difficulty, inefficiency, and fatigue. We still work, but now with friction. And yet, the gospel doesn't erase work; it redeems it.
Christ rescues not only our souls but our vocations, renewing our labor to bless others, advance good, and glorify God. This is one of the most countercultural truths in Scripture: work is not primarily about income, but about formation. It shapes us into the people who resemble Christ. It teaches diligence, humility, perseverance, love of neighbor, and dependence on the Spirit. It's why work matters before retirement and why it matters after.
The kingdom has no unemployment line. It has only stewards, servants, and image bearers. And here's the wonderful news: when we offer our work to God, He delights in it. The spreadsheets, the dishes, the carpentry. The caregiving, the counseling, the volunteering—none of it is wasted when it's done unto the Lord.
Your everyday work is kingdom work.
So today, perhaps the invitation is simple: don't just go to work; worship at work. Ask the Spirit to help you serve not for applause or promotion, but for the pleasure of the King. And remember this: what matters most is not the job you have, but the God you serve through it. This vision of work as worship is something we explore more deeply in my devotional, "Our Ultimate Treasure." It's a 21-day journey into what faithful stewardship really looks like—not just with money, but with everything God entrusts to us. You can order an individual copy today, or place a bulk order for your church or small group at faithfi.
dot com slash shop. That's faithfi. dot com slash shop. All right, your calls are next. eight hundred five Two five seven thousand.
Don't go anywhere. We're just getting started. 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 dot com.
That's KingdomAdvisors dot com. FaithFi is grateful for support from OneAscent. OneAscent believes that your values inspire why you invest and how they can inspire how you invest. OneAscent's goal is to provide solutions designed for every need and invest in businesses that bless the people and places God has made. They want to help investors do well by doing good.
To explore a new way of investing that aligns with your values, more information is available at OneAscent. Sent. dot com slash faithfi, helping you apply God's wisdom to your financial decisions. This is faith in finance. Let's head out to Texas, Petra.
Thanks for calling. Go ahead. Yes, I'm trying to figure out a way of what to do with a it's a little bit of money that my mother left me as a beneficiary. But I have two options. One is to roll it over, and the other one is to get a lump sum and pay twenty percent.
Well, I'm not working anymore, so I never did a four hundred one k. But I did talk to my tax lady, and she's telling me that that if if I get that money, that I'm gonna end up paying more than the twenty percent.
So at this point, I mean, I wanted to use it on on her headstone and my father's headstone, but I'm trying to figure out a way of maybe not paying so much or what to do. If you can tell me what to do. Sure, I'd be happy to talk you through it, Petra.
So let me just understand: you got a ten thousand dollar inheritance. Is this money inside an IRA, an individual retirement account? No, it was from her.
Well, it was from her retirement. It's for like a funeral expenses, but they're calling it an inheritance because I was just the beneficiary.
So okay, it sounds like a burial policy, like a an employment benefit with some life insurance paid to a beneficiary to cover funeral expenses. Is that right? Yes, I think that's really what it is. Yes.
Okay, but the the the only thing that's confusing to me about that is if it was a a life insurance policy, what they call it, burial policy, specifically a smaller death benefit like ten thousand, paid to a beneficiary to cover funeral and burial expenses, that should not be taxable. That should that should be non-taxable.
So I'm not sure what it is that the CPA is saying is triggering the you know taxable.
Okay.
Well, I mean, how would I know exactly what it is? Because according to her retirement, she worked for the TRS system. And who do I call to make sure what exactly it is?
Okay.
Yeah. I mean, it's important that you get the documentation on it. Who is her executor? Is that you? Yes.
Okay, so I think the the thing you need to do is try to pull all the information. I mean, if it was part of the the teacher's retirement system, then you know that's a retirement or a pension plan, and the options depend on you know which state. In this case, it sounds like it was Texas. Is that right? Yes.
Okay.
Yeah. Um. And so with the the Texas Teachers Retirement Plan, um, essentially what would happen here is, um, if it was a ten thousand dollar death benefit from the Texas TRS, then and you're the beneficiary, then you know you could take the lump sum survivor benefit, um, in addition to continuing annuity benefits, um, but you In that case, it could be you know a taxable event, given that it was a part of this retirement plan. And at that point, you'd have a decision to make: do you do what's called a rollover distribution, where it's directly rolled over, and therefore it's not a taxable event, or do you take the money out and use that money then to pay expenses? And you know, if you really don't have any retirement account to speak of.
I like the idea of you rolling it over and keeping it in what's called an inherited IRA, and that would be if you don't need the money. It would keep it in that tax-deferred environment, and therefore you don't create a taxable event. And then it could be invested and grow for the future. But do you have some burial-related expenses you need to be able to cover? No, I took care of all that, so it's all clear.
And I just, you know, I I just don't know what to do with this part because I'm I'm already I was already paying owing the IRS, and that's what the lady told me, my tax lady, that I would be. Paying even more, and she did recommend to put it like in a IRA. Yes, but I don't know where where to go. She couldn't tell me where or what to do. You know what.
That part, yeah, very good.
Well, an IRA is right if you're going to keep it in a tax-deferred environment. It's called an inherited IRA, and you would roll it over, and you would probably want to open an account at Fidelity or Schwab. Those are discount brokerage firms, meaning low cost. It could be rolled over. You don't have to, you know, do anything other than you know roll that money in, and then you would be able to pick the investments.
And then let it grow, and then if you need it at some point, you could take it out as you need it, rather than you know taking it all at once, which would add the full ten thousand to your taxable income in one year. And you could also just you know once you roll it over, you could stick it into some CDs or a money market account inside the IRA if you didn't want to take any risk with it.
Okay, so due to my age, also, I mean, can that be passed on to somebody else, like one of my children? Yes, absolutely.
So once that's in the IRA, you can name a beneficiary, and so at your passing, any accounts you have with a named beneficiary would, you know, it would pass directly to that person.
Okay.
So, where do you recommend that I should go to? One of these Fidelity or Schwab? To one of those places? Yes, that's what I would do. You need to decide how you want to invest it, and if you want to take the minimal amount of risk, once you roll it into Fidelity or Schwab, you could just ask them to put it into a CD or money market.
If you want to invest it because you don't plan to touch it for a minimum of five years, then you know you could put it in a pretty simple portfolio. Folio of maybe two or three exchange traded funds. If you go to soundmindinvesting dot org, they have an article there on a strategy called just the basics, and that could get you pointed in the right direction. But I think the first step is to get that rolled over into an IRA at Fidelity or Schwab. There wouldn't be any required minimum distributions, or there shouldn't be at least, and and then that would allow you to get that invested and just take it as You need it.
Okay.
All right.
Well, thank you.
Okay.
We appreciate your call today. Lord bless you. Thanks for being on the program. Let's see. Indiana is where we're headed next.
Hi, Karen. Go right ahead. I just have a question on guidance for health insurance, where you can go if it's affordable and a limited income. If you had a past health history, I'm afraid I'll be penalized for because I've been sick for I don't know about a year ago. I went through some major health issues and.
We're running out of our resources. My husband's retired. I'm on a limited income now. Is there anywhere you could direct me to and someone to talk to on this? Yeah, I mean, you've got a couple of options.
You could go to the the federal marketplace where you can compare plans and see if you qualify for subsidies.
So that's healthcare. dot gov, healthcare. dot gov. It's free, it's trustworthy, and you can look for a plan that fits your needs and budgets. You know, the top private health insurance comparison sites are eHealth Insurance.
Another one would be Health Markets, and then I'll give you a third. One health Sherpa, S H E R P A, any of those you know could be an alternative to healthcare. dot gov. And what you're looking for is the plan type, you know, the coverage breadth, the support level, any subsidy access if you qualify for it.
So those would be the what I would be looking at in terms of you know the various options.
Okay.
All right.
Thank you very much. All right, we appreciate your call today. Back with much more after this. Stay with us. What if your money struggles aren't really about money at all, but about what your heart treasures most?
That's the focus of our ultimate treasure, a 21-day devotional written by Rob West. Through daily readings grounded in Scripture, he invites you to discover the freedom that comes when God, not money, becomes your source of peace, security, and joy. You can pick up your copy or place a bulk order at FaithFi.com and click shop. Are you feeling overwhelmed by credit card debt? As followers of Christ, we are called to be good stewards of what God has given us.
That's why our trusted partner, Christian Credit Counselors, is here to help. Their debt management program can help you pay off your debt 80% faster while honoring your commitments in full. Take the first step toward financial freedom today. Visit faithfi.com/ccc or call 800. Five five seven one nine eight five.
Great to have you with us today on Faith and Finance. We're going to get to as many calls as we can here in our final segment today. All right, let's get back to the phones. To Missouri, Jim, thanks for calling. Go ahead.
Yeah, thanks for taking my call. We've had some commercial solar companies. Inquire us about putting up a solar farm, and we were trying to find out if there's any pitfalls that we should be aware of. We have about 40 acres of farmland that this would turn into a solar farm, and just trying to find out more information. Yeah, absolutely.
You know, I think this is. I'm glad you're you're taking your time to kind of do some due diligence here. The developer has approached you on this. Is that right? Yes, but we have spoken to our local attorney.
There was like three different companies that were initially talking to us, and we're just relying on our attorney's advice right now. He's working with them with the contract. But I asked the attorney just the other day. I said, "Is there anybody else here locally that's has this happening? Because I would love to talk to them after the fact and say, 'Hey, is there anything that you guys missed?'" Yeah, and that's that's really what I'm looking for.
Yeah, I think that'd be a good idea. I mean, just kind of generally when these deals come up, I think it's always good to start with your own goals and priorities, and really just clarifying your objectives. You know, what is it you want out of the deal? Are you looking for a lump sum payment? Are you looking for long term income?
Are you wanting to retain some control over the development? I mean, I think those are the kind of big overarching questions you need to answer first. and Then, depending on the answer to that, it will lead you into whether or not this is even something to consider. I think you also need to understand and assess your land's value, and so getting an independent appraisal to understand the fair market value of your land is going to be an important part of this process. I think secondly would be the due diligence on the developer: who is this developer?
What is their reputation? Do they have past projects that they've worked on? What about financial stability? Can you find reviews or Or any past legal issues, those should be pretty readily available with just a quick internet search. And and then I think to your point, speaking with other landowners who have dealt with this developer, and perhaps that's where the internet can help.
Also, I think in terms of hiring the professionals, that's going to be another key part of this. Engaging a real estate attorney and a financial advisor to kind of help you review the deal, the legal aspect, but also the financial aspect as well. Make sure that your interests are protected, and then understanding the tax consequences of the deal as well. And so, you'll probably want to talk to a CPA to be able to look at that. And then, you know, there's some other aspects of this.
Of course, there's the deal structure itself. How is that being put together? Is that coming to you as a lump sum, or installment payments, or a percentage of profits? You know, what is the fine print on this? What is their plan for the land?
You know, those types of things are. Are always important to make sure that your interests are protected, and then obviously at that point we get into all the zoning and regulatory compliance, and that's where the attorneys will have to make sure that everything's done properly.
So you know, I think at the end of the day, you always need to be prepared to walk away. You always need to have everything in writing, but starting with your goals, making sure you have competent professionals to walk alongside you to help you understand all the implications of this, and then. To help you with the deal structure as well as the negotiation is probably the biggest things for you to consider.
Okay, all right. I'll definitely look into that. Prior toing goals and trying to find out. I would love. I wish they would create like a pool of people that have done this, and then they could maybe, perhaps on Facebook or something like that.
I can I can research that as well. Absolutely, yeah. I think that would be time well spent, especially if you can find some activity from this developer with others, so you can find out, you know, what their experience was like in working with this developer, and what is their strength and longevity. How long have they been around? What kind of financial strength do they have?
All those things will will need to play into this. But we'll ask the Lord to give you some wisdom on this, Jim. We appreciate your call today, sir. Let's head to Ohio and talk to Don. Go ahead.
Hi Rob. First of all, I wanted to say thank you for coming to Northeast Ohio last year at CBCA, Cayoaca Valley Christian Academy. Oh yeah, that was great. It was a blessing. Yeah, it was a great time, and we appreciate meeting you and the book you gave us there on our ultimate treasure.
I think it was there was it's it's a fantastic book. We've often used it in our church offering talks, kind of in an edited fashion. Rights for the offering.
So, thanks for the ongoing ministry. Oh, that's incredible, Don. Thanks for saying that.
Well, it's great, and we appreciate it. A quick question I had was: I turned seventy and a half a year ago, a little over a year ago, and I showed up at my financial advisor's office because I said I think I'm supposed to be here now. I'm seventy and a half for something, and I wasn't sure what. Yeah, we had a good discussion, a good talk, and. He was able to advise us and steer us into a QCD that came out of an IRA that I have.
Yes, and so we've been using that for the past year. But and maybe I don't understand it all correctly, but we use it for the past year for our charitable giving out of a checkbook that it has. And my wife and I, the question we had was, if we don't have that checkbook with us and we want to give to something. How do we do that? Is there such a thing as a debit card attached to that?
Or I find unless if I if I wanted to give to say like for example Samaritan's Purse online because of Nepal or whatever. Usually, I'd have to use a credit card for that. I guess I could write a check, but I almost want to get it there quickly.
So, anyway, I just—what's your thoughts on that? Or maybe educate me a little bit better. Yeah, I'd be happy to. And I love the qualified charitable distribution. It's a great tool.
Once you're seventy and a half, it's the only way to get that money out of a pre-tax retirement plan and IRA. Otherwise, anything else would be a distribution, which is taxable. But it does have to go. Directly to an eligible charity, your church, really any five hundred one c three, it can't come to you first in order to satisfy the IRS requirements.
So, what are your options?
Well, it really depends on your IRA custodian.
So, in this case, your advisor's custodian, they will tell you what options they make available. Many of them do make an IRA checkbook available, so that's what you have access to. You can write a check. You write. Directly to the qualified charity.
This is very common and it's very convenient. The other approach would be an online QCD request.
Some custodians let you enter the charity online and have the custodian send the payment.
So, like for instance, Fidelity has that.
Some you would call the custodian and instruct them to mail a check directly to the charity, and they would mail it for you. And then some custodians. Can do what's called an EFT and electronic funds transfer from your IRA electronically to the charity. Again, that depends on which custodian you're with. I've never found one that has a debit card option.
I don't think that exists, and I would question whether that would even meet the IRS rules and regs. But I would say the either calling them and having them mailing a check or using that checkbook for your IRA would get it done. Great.
Well, thank you.
I appreciate that explanation. It's very helpful. Thank you. Absolutely, Don. Lord bless you, my friend.
Thanks for being on the program today. Thank you to Tahira, Amy, Omar, Taylor, and Rihanna. We'll see you tomorrow. Faith in finances provided by FaithFi and listeners like you.
