When You’re Treated Unfairly

Today's version of Faith in Finance Live is prerecorded, so our phone lines are not open. Into your hands I commit my spirit. Redeem me, O Lord. Deliver me from my enemies and from those who pursue me. Psalm 31 5 and 15.

I am Rob West. Those are the words of David who suffered severe mistreatment at the hands of Saul. We're all treated unfairly from time to time. So how should we respond? Well, I'll talk about that today.

Then we have some great calls lined up, but please don't call in today because we're prerecorded. This is Faith in Finance Live, biblical wisdom for your financial journey. Okay, before we get into how we should respond when others mistreat us, I think it's important to examine ourselves first and to make sure we're not mistreating others. As Jesus says in Matthew 7 5, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. If you find that you've treated someone unfairly, repent and make amends because you serve a just God.

Proverbs 21 3 says, To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice. Now, what to do when you're treated unfairly? Well, it could be by a family member, a friend, a boss or co-worker or someone you're doing business with who may be trying to cheat you. Money is often the issue when we interact with others, and it's a powerful motivator to strike back when we feel we're being mistreated. Losing money we feel we deserve to have can make us feel better. But Hebrews 12 15 tells us, See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God, that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled. You see, we live in a fallen world filled with fallen people, and we all experience mistreatment at one time or another. It's important to remember that you're one of those fallen people, too. Your first instinct might be to lash out against someone who's mistreating you. That is not a biblical response to mistreatment.

Instead, look to Christ as your model. No one suffered more injustice and mistreatment than Jesus. In 1 Peter 2 20-22, the apostle tells us how a Christian should respond to mistreatment. It reads, When you do good and suffer for it, you endure. This is a gracious thing in the sight of God.

For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. Now, that's a pretty high bar to reach, but Peter goes on to tell us how to respond like Christ to injustice in verses 23 and 24. They read, When he was reviled, he did not revile in return. When he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. You see, the key to responding like Christ to injustice is trusting God to work for good in all your affairs. Psalm 37 4-6 tells us, Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord, trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light and your justice as the noonday. One of the greatest examples of a Christ-like response to injustice is found in Genesis and the story of Joseph.

He was first sold into slavery by his brothers, then wrongly accused by Potiphar's wife and thrown into prison. Yet Joseph never reacted in an ungodly manner to injustice. He even went on to save his brothers and all of Israel when famine struck.

Joseph trusted God, who eventually used Joseph's mistreatment in a powerful way. And God tests us the same way when we suffer injustice. He expects us to respond like Christ – now, this doesn't mean that we must quietly accept every injustice that comes our way. It's not unbiblical to state your case in truth and love, but the result must be left to God. This brings up the question of whether Christians should sue or not. In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul says, If you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church?

Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers? Paul is adamant that this is a terrible witness for Christ. He goes on to say, To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong?

Why not rather be defrauded? But note that Paul is only talking about Christians suing other Christians in civil courts. The civil courts are ordained by God to protect us from injustice.

And nowhere does the Bible say we can't use them when we're wronged outside the church. Well, folks, we're going to head to a break, but let me remind you, we're out of the studio today. Our team is not here, so don't call in, but much more to come just around the corner on Faith and Finance Live.

Stick around. I'm so grateful to have you with us today on Faith and Finance Live. Just a quick reminder, we're not here today. Our team is away from the studio, but we've lined up some great questions in advance.

We'll get to those in a few moments. Let me remind you first, though, about the FaithFi app. You know, Julie and I use the FaithFi app personally, literally every day. We're in the app. We're looking at our digital envelopes. We're making decisions. You know, we have four kids, a busy household. So one envelope is always pushing right up to the edge at various points during the month.

And we're having to make course corrections along the way. It's simple to use. You can see where you stand at any point during the month. I'd love for you to download it and check it out today. You can do that at faithfi.com.

Just click app again. That's faithfi.com or just head to your app store and search for FaithFi, Faith and Finance. Hey, before we dive in today, the big ideas around managing God's money, we see the heart of God on full display in his word, and that includes around this area of money management, which, by the way, can be one of those areas that can compete with God for lordship if we allow it to. You know, this idea that we cannot serve both God and money or mammon, as the scripture says, because we have to choose one or the other. Now, in our day to day decisions, we can perhaps, I think, not realize that we're choosing money over God. We can find ourselves, if we're not careful, placing our trust in our bank account, seeing that is really our source of of confidence and strength toward the future. And yet we realize that God is our ultimate treasure, that he's our source of provision, that we're to worship him, to seek him fully, surrender our lives to him and see money not as a source of strength or really that vehicle that's going to provide for us, but really a tool to accomplish God's purposes. So it it starts with a perspective or a mind shift that I think needs to occur.

And then ultimately, we look to God's word to pull out those principles on how we should make wise financial decisions. So we want to help you do that each day on this program in an encouraging and hopeful way. We're going to dive in today. Let's begin in Montana. Hi, Christie.

Go ahead. Hi. I have a question about more differences between prepaid cards and credit cards. But my main goal is to figure out what is the kind of prepaid card?

Okay, you broke up there for a second. I know we're talking prepaids versus credit cards. What was the question? Well, my main I want to know there's differences between them. There's good and bad.

And I'm not sure what's all the benefits and downsides of both. But my main goal is to figure out what's the best prepaid card. Okay. All right.

Yeah, very good. And what is it you're looking for in why you would choose the prepaid over the credit card? And I'll give you my thoughts on it, but I'm just curious why you're going that direction initially. I've seen so many people go into credit card debt because they're borrowing money and then they have to pay it back. Yes. And my thought was it'd be really, really hard to go into debt with a prepaid card because it's your money. And once you spend your money, it's gone. Yes. Yeah, that's exactly right.

So that is true. And now there is kind of something that rides along in the middle and that's what's called a secured credit card, which basically is where you put a certain amount on deposit. They then issue the credit card against it using that as collateral. So as opposed to an unsecured card where they're extending you a line of credit, you don't have any money on deposit.

There is no collateral. They're just using your credit score or credit worthiness to determine how much to give you in the form of that line of credit. And then you're able to charge up to the limit and then you have to pay it back as agreed.

And if you don't, that's when they're going to damage your credit by reporting you as late. They're going to go after you from a collection standpoint, could even seek a legal judgment against you. With a secured credit card, it's different than a prepaid card, but you are putting up the collateral. So it does provide kind of that ceiling, so to speak, because you will not be able to charge beyond what you have on deposit and you can use it just like a credit card. Now, with a prepaid card, it's similar.

The only difference is, which is why I would encourage you not to go the prepaid route, is the prepaid credit card doesn't have the same backing with the federal laws that require the protections around liability. So with a credit card, legally, a credit card holder is responsible for no more than $50 in unauthorized purchases. And you have no liability if you report it before the thief can use it. But even if they do, it's only up to $50. And a lot of credit cards will take full responsibility even for the first dollar up to $50, even though the law requires $50 or less. Most American Express, Discover, MasterCard, and Visa, most of them these days take full responsibility for unauthorized purchases. Debit cards, there is that same, as long as you report it within two business days, it is a $50 limit. The problem is the money comes out of the account and you've got to wait for them to return it. And that can lead to other problems if you have some automated transactions set up, and all of a sudden those aren't paid, and so now you get late fees and that type of thing. With prepaid cards in general, you don't have that federal consumer protection against unauthorized transactions. Now, again, many vendors will step in and say, we're going to protect you for fraudulent activity as long as you report it quickly.

They just don't have to because there's not the federal consumer protection in the same way that you have with a credit card. Now, with all of these, I would send you either to bankrate.com or nerdwallet.com. Either of those sites would give you up-to-date reviews on all of the various options that exist with both the traditional unsecured cards, with the secured cards.

You know, you could even look at the prepaid, although there's not as much to look at there other than just what liabilities, protections they're offering. Does that make sense though, Christy? Yes. The main reason why I was looking at cards is because I wanted to get away from using my debit card since COVID shut down so many stores.

It's, we're having to use more and more plastic here in Montana. I don't like doing that. I've always been a checker cash person and now with stuff having to be shipped in, like you have to prepay for it, which is a card.

I don't like doing that. That's why I want something secure. I get it. Yeah, I totally get it. I think that's why a lot of folks are looking at these other alternatives because we're becoming more and more of a cashless society, right or wrong.

I think you can make a case both ways, but I think the extent to which it becomes more and more difficult to use. Now I know a lot of restaurants, at least where I live, that won't even allow you to pay with cash. It's just right there on the door. We're a cashless operation and you only can use credit or debit. I think that's where the secured credit card though, Christy, may provide you something that's helpful because you get the benefits of that credit card with the Visa or MasterCard logo where you can swipe it and use it, but you have the protection of not being able to charge beyond what's on deposit so you know you can never get in trouble with it.

Does that make sense? Okay, so it's almost pretty much like a prepaid card. It is, but it's still a credit card so you get the federal protections and the liability protection, but the benefit is it's secured by what you put on deposit. So even though you're not spending your money down, they're not going to let you charge more than what you have on deposit because that way if you're ever unable to pay, they'll just grab the money in the account and they're made whole, but it protects you because you can't spend beyond what's there on deposit.

So what you want to do is go to nerdwallet.com or bankrate.com and do look at the reviews for secured credit cards. Thanks for calling. We'll be right back with much more.

Stay with us. Hey, great to have you with us today on Faith and Finance Live. I'm Rob West, your host.

Our team is away from the studio today, so don't call in, but coming up a little later, we'll have more of your questions right here on the program. Hey, let me take a moment to mention the Faith Fi app. We'd love for you to download it. Just head to your app store wherever you download apps and search for Faith Fi. That's Faith Fi.

You can manage your money. You can access the best content in biblical finance, podcasts, articles, and videos. You can also participate in our Faith Fi community where you can post questions and get answers from others on their stewardship journey. You'll find it in your app store. Just search for Faith Fi or if it's easier, head to our website at faithfi.com.

That's faithfi.com and you'll see the app right there on the homepage. Before we head back to the phones, household appliances like washers and dryers have become a lot more expensive and they're not lasting as long. Today's appliances probably have more computer chips than the lunar landing module and they're all expensive to replace. The housing market research firm Zonda Media says that between 1995 and 2005 homeowners replaced major appliances on average every 12 to 13 years. Today, those appliances are about 35% more expensive than 15 years ago and they're only lasting 8 to 9 years. So to avoid going into debt to replace a new washer or dryer, you should plan for appliances having a shorter lifespan. So I think the net result of that is you need to beef up your emergency fund so you can handle that $1,000 expense coming your way sooner than perhaps you may have expected or had to in the past just given the useful life is on the decline and the costs are rising. Unfortunately, it seems like that's the case all across the board but that 3 to 6 month emergency fund I think is really helpful so you can, whether it's a major appliance or the loss of a job until you find the new one, I think it also lines up with scripture which says there's precious oil in the house of the wise. You need to realize that part of what God gives you today we don't need to spend and therefore we need to set a portion of it aside.

That's why living within your means is so vital. All right, now let's head back to the phones. Let's go to Texas. Hi Ebenezer, thanks for your call sir. Go ahead. Thanks for taking my call. So a little background of myself, I'm a new migrant to the US and a sister of mine is trying to talk me into getting the index universal life insurance.

And I just thought I listen to your program often as much as I can to see what your take would be for that. I don't fully understand it but you told me it's called index universal life and it's an investment towards old age. I'm 45, just a little background. I have savings from work done in the past, about 20 grand or so.

Okay, yeah great, that's really helpful. You know I think at the end of the day what you need to know Ebenezer is that life insurance comes in many shapes and sizes and it has a critical role and that is as a death benefit, which just simply means that you need insurance on your life during your working years if you have others who are depending upon your income and if something were to happen to you and the Lord calls you home, then you're able to provide for them even in your death through life insurance. And for most folks and this is not the end all be all but for most folks, that's term life insurance where you can get enough coverage, probably 10 to 12 times your income during your working years for a period of time that lasts throughout your working years and then you drop it. Now where would you need whole life insurance which you know doesn't expire after a term. Well maybe you have a lifelong dependent, maybe you have a buy-sell agreement with a business and you need life insurance you know all the way through.

Maybe you've capped out all of the retirement vehicles you have at your disposal and you're starting late and so you need to catch up and you want a tax deferred vehicle. Well life insurance can be one of those vehicles. So there are situations where you need whole life insurance but for most folks the vast majority of people listening to our program right now just having that term life insurance with adequate coverage during your working years is important. Now why would we integrate a savings vehicle into that because that's what the IUL is that you're talking about, Indexed Universal Life. And the only reason you do that is because maybe you want the permanent coverage that I described which I would say is only for those isolated cases not for everybody but you also want you know the ability to make some money on it but you want to take away the downside. The question is what are you giving up in exchange for taking away the downside and what you're giving up is the full upside potential of the index that the Indexed Universal Life is pegged to. So there's a cap on the returns and there's no guarantees on the premium amounts meaning how much they're going to charge you in that policy for this death benefit throughout your life. And when we look historically at how people make money in the market you know even with the downside which happens far less than markets that hit new highs you know the key to being able to get those good long-term average annual returns is the years where the markets just taken off on the upside you need all of that upside and even with the downsides like 1929 and you know 2008, 2009 and 87 where the market had pretty significant declines even with those in when you factor in all of the upsides for the years the market did great and even the decades where the market did great you're able to offset those downsides and still have a really good average annual return.

The problem with the Indexed Universal Life is you're losing some of those because you've got a cap on the upside and so in my experience it's better to do your retirement savings in a company sponsored plan like a 401k or an IRA or a SEP IRA and even though you're taking the downside risk given the full upside potential you're going to do better over time and you don't have the added cost of the life insurance throughout your whole life as well. But I want to get your thoughts on all that because I threw a lot at you there so stay on the line we'll take a break and then I'll come back and get you to weigh in we'll be right back. So glad to have you with us today on Faith and Finance Live.

Our team is away today so don't call in but we lined up some great questions in advance and we'll be going to those here in just a moment. Let me also remind you that the advice that I give each day on this program is general in nature. We offer principles and ideas that apply at a high level. They are not personalized so that's why you should always seek professional financial advice and if you'd like to find a professional who shares your values we of course here at Faith and Finance Live recommend the Certified Kingdom Advisor designation. These are men and women who've met high standards and they've been trained to bring a biblical worldview of financial decision-making. You can find one at faithfi.com. All right back to the phones we go.

Back to Texas Ebenezer. So before the break I was sharing some of the pros and cons of Index Universal Life Ebenezer. Give me your thoughts on that. Yes so it was quite a lot but from what I understand my thoughts would basically be for me it's not more of the life insurance after death it was more like just like you said the savings for me so I was looking at something on how to save you know my funds and because the premiums are not that guaranteed and I'm not like I said I'm a new migrant to be country I'm not very familiar with 401k what it seems to me that the 401k is more stable than an IUL I would probably chat with my wife you know and then see who do the best for us to do. So one-to-one is just something we can invest money. Yes now that makes a lot of sense I wouldn't use the word more stable because certainly you can have plenty of risk in a 401k you know because you're at the risk of the of the underlying investments that you choose which can go up or down so the Index Universal Life does provide a little bit more stability because it it takes away the downside it protects you from loss but you're giving up the upside so in my view and I think we're arriving at the same place in my view it's best to keep your life insurance separate from your savings let's not use a life insurance vehicle for you and your wife to save for the future. So what I would do is buy as much term insurance you need as you need so that if you pass away she has what she needs to continue to maintain her lifestyle and that would come with just as a starting point 10 to 12 times your income in the form of of a death benefit on a on a term policy which will be far more inexpensive because it's just for a period of time typically and that matches up with the your retirement date and then for your investments your long-term savings don't use an insurance product with you know the fees and and some of the other things that you'll have to to give up including the upside on the gain on the investments and let's use just investment accounts preferably tax deferred accounts so let me ask do you have at work a retirement plan available to you? Yes I'm just starting a job but there's no retirement plan from the papers they've sent to me like many people will be signed before you start working I don't have them taking note of any retirement plan as part of my job at the moment. Okay so what you could set up you and your wife even if she's not working is you could set up what's called a Roth IRA it's IRA stands for individual retirement account so you could go to any one of the brokerage firms like Charles Schwab or Fidelity and you would open a Roth IRA and you could put in what is your age 45 okay so you could put in seven thousand this year as long as you have at least seven thousand in earned income you could put in up to seven thousand and then she could have a spousal IRA and put in the same amount so between the two of you could put in fourteen thousand dollars this year for 2024 if you haven't filed your 23 return you actually could contribute still for 2023 up until you file that return and then you could put in another fourteen thousand for 2024 but that would give you the ability to go ahead and start saving and then you'd pick some some mutual funds to use inside that Roth IRA and although yes you're taking some risks because they can lose money you're going to be looking at a 20 plus year time horizon so you know as long as you've got the right time horizon the stock market is probably the best place for you to build wealth and you don't have as many of the fees and other restrictions that you will inside the IUL so that would be the next place that I would go and your goal is going to be to put away ten to fifteen percent of your income you may not be able to do that today but as soon as you can get up to that number that would be ideal because that'll ensure that when you get to retirement you'll have enough credits hopefully to get social security and then you'll have this these investments that you'll be building along the alongside it okay okay okay very much appreciated absolutely Ebenezer I want to send you a gift do you stay on the line we'll get your information I want to send you a book it's called the sound mind investing handbook and it'll give you a lot of education on investing but through a biblical lens it's the sound mind investing handbook it's no cost to you we're going to send it as our gift thanks for being on the program today sir god bless you let's go to Mississippi Randy go ahead sir hello yes I would like to do a small group with my church about doing your finances God's way you know sort of instructional to anybody that wants it yes because I see a great need and I see a great need for people as far as their finances and things like that and I'd wonder if you had any programs information workbooks whatever that I could deeply purchase or whatever to to use the material for the small group yeah a couple of thoughts number one would be if you want really kind of the blocking and tackling if you will of financial management through a biblical lens how to set up a spending plan and the dangers of debt and the importance of saving and living within your means those types of things our friends at compass finances God's way I think would be a have a great resource for you if you want to go to on the web compass and then the number one dot org compass one dot org and that's the one the numeral so that would get you started I think and they've got a number of great resources that I think would you know help you get on your way in this particular topic and those studies can be done in a small group type setting so that would be number one if you want something that really is going to help in kind of the heart side of financial decision making our new study called rich toward God at faithfi.com would be excellent it's a four week study on the parable of the rich fool but if you're really looking for more of kind of the basics of money management through a biblical lens I think that's where compass one dot org could be really helpful to you okay yes I'm mainly looking towards that but in with that I want to integrate that people's hearts we had a small group one time they talk about tithing and I told him I said you know tie it and be tied ten percent you ties on the girls or the net and I told him I said you know it's I'm gonna go throw a wrench in everything I said the first ten percent is God I said to the other ninety percent it is too that's exactly right well I think you're doing a great thing here your church will be blessed by your leadership in this area that the study that compass is called building your finances God's way building your finances God's way and that covers earning spending giving getting out of debt investing teaching children having an eternal perspective finishing well and it's you know there's six chapters in it so be great for a small group find it at compass one dot org hey thanks for your call today Randy we appreciate it all right we're gonna head to a break so don't go anywhere still a lot more to come even though we're away from the studio today and you shouldn't call in we have some great questions that you're really going to enjoy as we continue to apply God's wisdom to your financial decisions this is faith and finance live with Rob West hey if you hear a phone number mentioned today please ignore that number and don't call us because today's broadcast was previously recorded but we think the upcoming information will help you and make you a wise steward of what God's given you so please stay tuned you know folks as we think about managing God's money it's important that we understand although financial management can seem overwhelming and complex it really can be simplified that's right even though there's an unending number of decisions you and I will make throughout our lives and even day to day we can boil it down into some areas that I think will help us understand just the basics you know the overarching principles and guidelines that when applied will get us moving in the right direction over a long period of time what are those and by the way these find themselves right in scripture each one of these the first is this idea that we have to live within our means now that sounds simple and it is but it's also very difficult to live out you know living within your means is the key to every financial success and if you're going to do it you've got to be able to manage your budget you've got to have a plan that ultimately you can live by so you give every dollar a name or a job so you know where your money's going because if you just live haphazardly with regard to your spending I guarantee you your money will find its way into places that you don't intend and by not living within your means you will not be able to fund your long term goals and objectives so what do you do with that well you create a plan you have to have a spending plan or a budget and that's where our FaithFi app can be really helpful you can download it today from your app store just search for FaithFi or go to our website faithfi.com click on app and you can download it more than 60,000 believers have downloaded it are using it daily to manage God's money and it's a real blessing because there's three different approaches to managing money in the FaithFi app you can have everything from a real hands-off directional approach all the way to our hands-on digital envelope system and even a system in between that and so you'll be able to match it to your personality and approach but here's the key it will give you and view into your finances in a way that perhaps you've never had so that you can see where your money's going and here's the big idea is that you can make course corrections along the way because it's one thing to say I want to get on a budget it's another thing to wait till the end of the month and say how bad did I do no what we want to do is give you the information so you can see let's say in the case of the digital envelope system you can see what's left in eating out you can see what's left in entertainment you can see what's left in clothing for the kids this month you can see what's left in you know any one of your discretionary categories so you can curb spending and make changes and make course correction was along the way and if you marry that visibility into your finances up with a weekly or a monthly money date with your spouse maybe a mid-month money date where the two of you can sit down and say hey let's pull up our envelopes and see how we're doing wait a minute this one's actually you know we're already over in that one so how which envelope are we going to transfer money from to bring that one back in line and how are we going to cut back in this one and maybe we need to delay that to next month I mean when you have that money date and you put that alongside the visibility into your spending it's a game changer because now you can actually do something with it and especially now with costs up so dramatically across the board I mean we started out earlier in the program by sharing with you what's happening in the appliance area I mean that's just one category let alone food and homeowners insurance and car insurance and utilities I mean the costs are up as you know I don't need to tell you this but everywhere and given that the ability to have a budget and stay on plan is just absolutely essential so check it out today and download it today while you're there at faithfi.com just click on app so that's principle number one live within your means principle number two is avoid the use of debt now let's talk about this is debt a sin no it's not but there are clear warnings in scripture that really should caution us against the use of debt we should only use debt when we have a productive use of it what is that well it's where the economic cost is less than the economic benefit of the debt so think borrowing for a home that's appreciating there's a an economically productive use of that because you're borrowing but you're also have an increasing value of the home as opposed to borrowing to go out to dinner or for lifestyle spending where there is absolutely no economic return so we want to avoid the use of debt when the economic cost is greater than the economic return or reward second we want to have absolute unity with the spouse we don't borrow unless we're both on the same page third we just have to recognize that we may be denying God an opportunity to intervene now God can do whatever he wants don't get me wrong but I think when we pull the plastic out when money is tight rather than spreading the bills on the table and saying God I trust you and I'm just going to trust that you're going to provide and I'm going to do my part but you're my provider and I realize it may come completely in unexpected ways and I'm not going to pull out the the plastic and rob you of that opportunity I think lastly there should be no other alternative when we borrow we need to have exhausted every other alternative now we need to be smart we don't want to empty out our 401k to buy a house and those kinds of things but we should exhaust other reasonable opportunities before we make that borrowing decision okay so number one spend less than your second avoid the use of debt third is to have some cushion and here's what I mean by that and this kind of goes along with number one spend less than your your ability to have something left over at the end of the month is essential to your ability to accomplish your financial goals you will never accomplish your goals and let's insert any number of goals that you might have that are based on your values getting out of debt giving more saving for college you know whatever it is you will never have the ability to accomplish those god-given goals without margin because if you consume everything that comes in on a monthly basis there's nothing left over to fund those long-term goals starting a business I mean we could we could run down any number of lists of lists but you've got to have margin and here's another secret is the studies say that with regard to conflict in marriage over money that margin is one of the three keys to overcoming conflict in marriage you see the data says that it's not a matter of what your income is to avoid conflict over money in marriage it's that whatever that income is you're living on less than it and if you have margin or cushion and you're communicating and you have understanding of how God has wired your mate and what he or she brings to the table in terms of their backgrounds how money was handled growing up those kinds of things those three things are really key to helping you have a healthy relationship to money in the context of marriage okay so that's number three all right let's go back and recap spend less than you earn avoid the use of debt have some margin or some liquidity I'll call it in your financial life number four set long-term goals here's why your financial decision today is only as good as your your perspective long-term you the longer term your perspective the better the financial decision you will make today in the short term and so we've got to have those long-term goals and that probably means pulling away at least once a year if you're married with your spouse and saying let's dream and plan let's talk about what God's doing in our lives and how money can be a tool to accomplish that what are our values and our priorities what is our current sin spending say about what's most important to us and are we happy with the story that it's telling those kinds of conversations will lead to goals and objectives that should ultimately drive you toward what you ultimately want to do with God's money so that's number four and then number five is give generously and we could actually put that one up at the top if we wanted to because you know you can't out give God number one and number two giving breaks the grip of money over our lives here's what that means you know money is not evil the Bible is clear it's the love of money that's the root of all evil but we do know that money can compete with our hearts you know just look at the parable of the sower you remember what Jesus explained to the disciple for soil number three that was choking out the word from bearing a thirty sixty hundred fold return what did he say it was what were the weeds it was the desires of this world the deceitfulness of riches and the care and the desires for other things those are money related and so the things of this world can crowd out God's word from bearing fruit in our lives well how do we overcome that we give we hold it loosely and give it generously and we have a powerful opportunity when we do that to see God at work in our financial lives so I hope those five are helpful spend less than you earn avoid the use of debt have some margin or cushion set long-term goals and give generously all right let's finish out today with a testimony guy is in Missouri and I understand guy you want to share about how God is at work in your life go ahead just as a an addition in my younger years I made some very bad financial decisions and I did it without the counsel of godly people so I would throw that into the mix that if someone's facing some financial decisions they need to be seeking godly counsel before they jump in even though their spouse may be on board it's just always good to have another person there listen oh boy that is such good advice and such a great way to end today proverbs 11 14 where no counsel is the people fall but in the multitude of counselors there is safety and you are exactly right you see guy we can't hold ourselves accountable and unless I have an advisor who can ask my wife the hard questions a lot of times they won't get asked and the opposite is true with me you know and her so that's really great advice by the way we have a solution for that and guy thanks for calling today sir god bless you just go to faithfi.com and click find a professional and we can connect you with a certified kingdom advisor or a certified Christian financial counselor to be that wise counsel to walk alongside you faithfi.com click find a professional thanks to my team today Amy Dan and Jim thank you for being here as well faith and finance live is a partnership between moody radio and faithfi hope you have a great rest of your day and come back and join us next time we'll see you then bye bye