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That's 800-525-7000. This is faith and finance, biblical wisdom for your financial journey. Well, we're delighted to have Carolyn Kolupka back on the program. Carolyn is the author of our new four-week study, Rich Toward God, a study on the parable of the rich fool. Carolyn, nice to have you back with us. Thanks.
Glad to be back, Rob. So in this parable, Jesus challenges us to be rich toward God. Now, does that simply mean to give money and possessions away? Or what exactly is Jesus inviting us into? Well, short answer, no. It doesn't mean just giving money and possessions away.
Anyone can do that. And the spiritual ramifications are different depending on your heart. But Jesus is inviting us to set our hearts on an imperishable inheritance.
So here's the context. A man from the crowd asks Jesus to settle an inheritance dispute. Jesus deflects that question, and he gets to the heart of the issue by telling a parable about man's greed and envy.
Not just the man who asked the question or had the issue, but ours as well. So this parable is about a rich man who poured his whole heart into accumulating and essentially worshiping his wealth. And then he died before he could enjoy it. So obviously, perishable worldly inheritance is a false solution. Yeah, no doubt about that. And it's fascinating to see that the parable is actually answering the question that was asked to him. The casual reader of Scripture might miss that, and I appreciate you drawing that connection.
But let's dig a little deeper. Where can we find more about this imperishable inheritance? Well, it's everywhere in God's Word. But let me just take a passage here that we touch on in the study. 1 Peter 1, 3-9 talks about the inheritance we have as believers, and that calls it imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. And here are a few of the things that the passage goes on to say are our inheritance. It includes a living hope in Christ, which is an eternal hope. Because we have the mind and spirit of Christ, we can also have joy in the midst of trial. That's another thing. And then we have our genuine faith, which it says is more precious than gold. And the end result of faith in Jesus Christ is what we long for, and that's the salvation of our souls and abundant life. That's our imperishable inheritance. Oh, that's powerful.
I love that. Now, the parable of the rich fool shows that there's, of course, both a physical and a spiritual side to wealth. So how would you counsel Christians, our listeners today, to view it? Well, the Bible isn't saying that money is evil, and it's not saying that wealth is evil. There's no condemnation for being rich. Money is just a tool. This is a matter of the heart, and this is what you are saying all the time here. God's concern is with the use of money and the attitude towards money and not the amount of money.
Yeah. So clearly, wealth isn't evil. God's Word is clear there.
But is it dangerous? Well, it definitely can be when it becomes the priority. In the study, we have a quote that I think is fantastic from author Paul David Tripp. And let me just read that for you. Money is one of God's good creations, but this good thing becomes a bad thing for you when it becomes a ruling thing. You simply cannot serve the King of Kings and have acquisition of wealth as the organizing dream of your heart. Oh, wow. That's powerful.
All right. Unfortunately, we're getting short on time, so I'd love for you to just sum this up for us. In the parable of the rich fool, Carolyn, what is Jesus inviting us to do? Rob, Jesus is inviting us or me to set our hearts on imperishable things.
So let me talk about myself here, because this is hitting me as well. So Jesus is calling me to make him the desire of my heart every moment of every day. He's asking me to surrender my life and my plans and my finances to him, to allow Jesus to be my treasure, ultimately.
And then Jesus is inviting me to say that God is my abundance now and I have an imperishable inheritance in heaven. That's good news to me and should be to everyone. It absolutely is. Well, we're certainly grateful for your work on this study, Carolyn. It's an incredible blessing. I know it will be to so many thousands of folks who will dive into it, and we hope they'll use it either themselves or in a group. But appreciate you stopping by the program today.
Thank you so much, Rob. Carolyn Kolupka has been our guest today. She's the author of the new FaithFi study, Rich Toward God, a study on the parable of the rich fool. You can pick up a copy for personal study or several copies for everyone in your Bible study group. To experience it together, just go to faithfi.com. That's faithfi.com and click shop at the top of the page.
Back with your questions after this. What's most important to you when it comes to choosing your financial advisor? Someone who's aligned with your biblical values? How about someone who will take the time to explain your options? Certified Kingdom advisors are professionals who meet high standards in competence and integrity and have been trained to offer biblical financial advice.
To find a Certified Kingdom advisor in your area, visit faithfi.com and click Find a CKA. 19. That's how many pairs of shoes the average American has in their closet.
One. That's how many pairs of shoes it takes to share health, education, opportunity, and the love of Christ to a child in need in the world. You can play a part in changing the life of a child today through Buckner Shoes for Orphaned Souls. Visit giveshoestoday.org and find out how you can provide shoes for a child in need.
That's giveshoestoday.org. Great to have you with us today on Faith and Finance. We're taking your calls and questions today. We've got a few lines open, 800-525-7000. Again, that's 800-525-7000 you can call right now. According to Gallup, only about 33% of Americans actually maintain a budget and the average American spends less than four and a half hours on their finances.
A year. I think the reason for that is most people don't have a system that they've employed and haven't made the commitment to stick with it to manage God's money wisely. Well, we want to help with that. The FaithFi app specifically was designed with a simple, beautiful interface for you to get on top of your finances, give every dollar a job, have a plan, and have a system where you can find out during the month exactly how you're doing.
So you can dial back your spending with when needed using the digital envelope. You can download it in your App Store, Google Play or Apple App Store when you search for FaithFi. Or just go to our website, faithfi.com and click app.
Download it today and check it out. We'd love to hear your report. We'll head next to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Hi, Diane, go right ahead. Hey, I am going to make your day because I'm going to ask you to get involved in a family matter.
You know, I love those. My mom is an 85 year old widow, and she is living with my sister. And in 2009, my dad had had enough strokes that he was really my mom was like, I can't take care of the whole house by myself. And so in 2009, my older sister built an addition on her house, and they moved in in 2009.
And then my dad died in 2013. So she is now a widow, and my sister is charging her rent to live in this addition. And I'm wondering if that is biblically acceptable. Yeah, you know, there, I mean, there's nothing that I would say that wouldn't, that would be against God's Word in the idea of that, so long as you know, it's not creating a hardship for your mom. I mean, clearly, we are to provide for our relatives. First Timothy is clear about that. I mean, we see that in the Old and the New Testament. I think that's a common theme that we're to honor our parents, and that includes providing for our relatives.
And so I think that's clear in God's Word. Tell me a little bit more about the situation. I mean, is she able to cover some of these expenses? Well, my sister and brother-in-law are financially stable. And my mom so far has paid $110,000 to them. And, you know, I asked my sister just recently, you know, how much could you possibly have left on this mortgage for this addition?
And she said it's not about that. It's that mom is paying rent because she's living with me. And my mom is making like $2,000 a month on my dad's pension and Social Security.
And my mom has mentioned that she would like to be able to do things, but she can't. Yeah, I certainly understand that. So in terms of the numbers, how much is she paying per month? $650.
Okay. And you said your sister and brother-in-law added an addition. So that was a pretty major renovation. Do you know what the cost of that was? I do not know, but they made it twice as big as they needed to and they kept the upper floor for themselves and my mom is living in the basement floor. Yeah.
The lower floor. Yeah. And have you had a conversation with your sister about this? I mean, you know, obviously you inquired about it and she said, no, it's rent. I mean, have you, you know, made it known that you feel like this may be above and beyond what would just be reasonable given, you know, what portion of the home she's been allocated and the actual expenses involved here? I have. And I've talked to her about it three times. Then the last time she kicked me out of the house and I said, well, you can't kick me out of my mom's rented apartment. So, yeah.
Yeah. And are there other options? I mean, I realize they've done this, you know, major renovation that perhaps exceeds what the needs are for your mom, but, you know, could she live with you? I mean, is there some other scenario where she could just lower her overall expenditure? I have offered to let my mom live with me and I wouldn't charge her.
The problem is I live in the Pittsburgh area, which is very hilly and very curvy. And my mom grew up in Minnesota where it's all straight, you know, perpendicular lines of roads and she doesn't feel comfortable driving here. And also her memory is getting a little bad. And I would be afraid that if she ever went to the grocery store, she'd get lost. So I don't know if it's best for me to take her in.
I would love to have her live with me. Yeah, well, I can certainly appreciate that. And I can realize how this is, you know, a source of contention and frustration. Obviously, you're wanting to make sure your mom has the resources she needs to maintain her quality of life. And, you know, perhaps there's some question as to both the amount being charged as well as, you know, what might have been kind of quote, we're doing this for mom and maybe it goes beyond that.
I think at the end of the day there, Diane, I can appreciate where you're coming from. I would say there's nothing necessarily unbiblical about it, you know, if your mom can afford it. But I think maybe the approach is first, and I suspect this has already been a matter of prayer, but make it a matter of prayer.
Ask the Lord to intervene here. I think second would be to, you know, just look purely at the financial side of this, not what's right and wrong or ethical or unethical or biblical or unbiblical. But just saying, hey, what is it that your mom really needs to maintain the quality of life she'd like to lead? And really approach your sister from that perspective is kind of work up a budget with your mom to say, you know, hey, here's what is available if we're just realistic about what mom needs to be able to do the things she wants to do.
And I suspect they would be fairly modest. And let's say that leaves $500 a month at the end of the day or $450 a month out of the couple of thousand that she's getting. You know, perhaps that's then a basis to say, you know, would you and your husband consider, you know, cutting it back a little bit so that mom has a little bit more spending money? And kind of come at it from that perspective where there's some rationale, not just you're overcharging her or you shouldn't be charging her, and that's the bottom line. But really where we're looking at, you know, and presenting your sister with a more detailed spending plan that has some rationale for what she has the ability to pay and what she needs left over, you know, to maintain her quality of life. And perhaps that would be something that she would react to with less pushback because it's not about right and wrong.
It's really more about the numbers. Is that something you could consider? But you don't think all of the verses about taking in the widow as opposed to charging the widow, you don't think those apply? You know, I think they're open for, you know, discussion there. I mean, if your mom and clearly there are added expenses related with your mom staying there, including some portion of this additional home that, you know, that the expansion of the home and, you know, water and utilities and that kind of thing. So I think there's some rationale for that. Would it be admirable for her to say, you know what, we just want to graciously provide this tour to your mom? Absolutely.
But they've decided not to take that approach. And so to, I think, step in and say, this is unbiblical to charge mom for, you know, the expenses. We could debate whether or not it's, you know, reasonable based on the actual cost of her being there and the addition that was added on to the home. But apart from that, just the idea that there would be, you know, some amount charged to offset expenses that are being incurred, so long as your mom has the ability to do that, I don't think I think it would probably be beyond the situation to say this is absolutely unbiblical.
And here's why. But in this kind of gray area where we need to discern the heart of God and, you know, your need to take care of your mom, both of you as her children, you know, I think there's an opportunity there. And clearly there is some cost being incurred by her that's real, you know, because your mom is staying there. So maybe this is an opportunity for you to step in and say, hey, I'm going to kick in X dollars a month for mom's spending. And, you know, I'd like for you to offset that by reducing the rent or something like that so that we get both of you contributing to what your mom ultimately needs to make her budget balance. That's just my take on it. Maybe that gives you some additional things to think and prey on, Diane, but we certainly appreciate your call today.
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Principal loss is possible. Foresight Fund Services LLC. Great to have you with us today on Faith and Finance. I'm Rob West. Here in our final segment today, we're taking your calls and questions. We'd love to hear what you have on your mind and your financial life today. You can call right now 800-525-7000. Let's go to Montana. Beautiful Montana. Linda, go right ahead.
Hi Rob. Thanks for taking my call. I was just wondering, we want to put money in the existing 529 plan that our son has. Do I get a tax break from it or do we have to give it to them for them to get the tax break? Yeah. So, you know, the person making the contribution would be the one that would receive the tax break. Now, keep in mind, there is no federal deduction for a 529 college savings plan contribution. So the only potential tax break would be based on your individual state. Is that what you're referring to? Yeah.
My daughter-in-law just said that we can't get a tax break. They would get it if we gave the money to them and they put it in. Yes, exactly. Instead of setting up a whole new 529. Right.
And that's true. So you would have to establish another 529 that you were the owner of and that you would be contributing to and then you could get that state income tax benefit if one is available. States aren't required to offer that tax deduction, but some of them do and many of them do.
But you would have to open one. In terms of who gets the best or most benefit, it would be the person in the highest tax bracket would get the most benefit from making the contribution. And you can have multiple 529s. And so if that was something you all wanted to be able to get the benefit from for your state, you could open your own, make the child the beneficiary, but you would be the one getting that advantage. A great tool, Linda, to explore all of this is a website called savingforcollege.com.
It's my favorite website for this whole category of college savings. And they'll actually help you with a free tutorial there, you know, go through and look at evaluating the potential tax savings alongside the performance of that particular state's 529 and to help you determine, does it make sense to stay in your state or to go to another state's 529? Because even though you may be giving up state income tax deductions, the performance may be lackluster.
And the greater performance in another state's plan, historically speaking, you know, may outweigh the potential tax benefits. And so that's at least something for you to consider. But at the end of the day, it would it would be the one the person that owns the account that would get that deduction. 800-525-7000. We've got a few lines open and maybe room for one more question today on anything financial.
Hi, Angie, go ahead. Hi, we have a term life insurance policy that is coming to an end. And we can cash it out or we could roll it into a whole life policy. But we have other adequate life insurance. So we're just wondering, with a child going to college in about a year and a half, if there's a way to put that money in a savings account for that expenditure that would not be painful for taxes?
Yeah. Angie, the only question I have is, you know, with term insurance, just plain term insurance, there is no cash value. You just pay the mortality expense during the term. And if you don't collect on it, meaning you don't pass away, you drop it.
And I realized that you could say, well, then the money's gone. But it's kind of like your car insurance. You pay the premium to offset the risk and you hope you never have to collect. And that's true of term insurance.
There may be a few exceptions. One is what's called a return of premium rider. But that's an optional add on to a term life policy that if you outlive the term, it pays you all or some of the money you spent on the policy payments.
Do you think that's perhaps what you have? It must be either that or does a whole life policy do that? A whole life will have cash value.
Yeah, it's not term. That's a combination of a savings vehicle and the life insurance. It's much more expensive than term insurance, but it does build up savings. And I would say, well, the first question is, do you need the death benefit?
Are you all still working? Yes. And do you have any other insurance or is this your only policy? Oh, no, we have several other policies. Life insurance policies? Yes.
Yeah. Well, the key is just to make sure you have the proper amount of coverage. So at a minimum, you want 10 to 12 times your income on whoever on the person's life that's generating the income. So if you're making sixty thousand dollars a year, you'd want to have somewhere between six hundred and seven hundred and twenty thousand on the person who's earning the sixty thousand. And that's going to give you enough to generate enough income to get through until you would have normally retired and started taking Social Security. So first thing is I determine how much life insurance do we need at this point and what policies do we have to cover that?
And then if you have enough coverage, then I would drop that policy into your point, take that cash value and invest it or build up your emergency savings with it. Thanks for your call. I hope that helps you. Quickly to North Carolina. Bill, I've got just about a minute and a half left.
How can I help? Well, thanks very much and good morning to you. I was telling you, you're a good producer. My next birthday is going to be seventy one. It was kind of a shocker. Seems like the 50 years prior went by in a flash. And with that in mind, I've been taking some income monthly on the IRA side of things. And it was based on high dividend stocks.
And they're like the little girl with the golden curls when they're good. They're good with their bad word bet in a better bet. And it was kind of spooking me a little bit with that being the case in case something goes kablooey with them in the world and things go south. But I was actually a local adviser along the coast here and he said, I might want to look into one of these something called a GMIC annuity that pays seven percent.
And I know he's always gave me the ABG B's graph. I just always ran for cover when I heard the term. And I'm wondering if I'm being a little too scared or a little too gun shy or if I if it's something I should look into. The word just always instinctively gave me the heebie jeebies. I just never had any understanding of the things.
And it's just out of my league. I just don't see that. So anyway.
Yeah, I mean, I kind of take the same approach, Bill, you know, in terms of thinking about annuities. I mean, do they have a place for some people? Sure. You know, they're not all bad. But I think for the reasons you mentioned, they're complicated. There's a lot of fine print. You know, you've got fees and expenses. You're tying up your money. So why would you do all that?
Well, people do it because they want the peace of mind to know that they're transferring that market risk away from themselves over to an insurance company in exchange for a guaranteed return. And if that's something that gives you peace of mind, then you need to really do your homework to make sure you're getting the annuity you want because you're giving up control that money. You're losing partial access to it, at least for a period of time. And then what happens when you die? Is it all gone or does it get transferred to a beneficiary? You know, and they're not all created equal.
And you've got to determine a lot of that on the front end. So my preference would be even at 71, take a long term view. Let's say the Lord Terry's and you're in good health. We need this money to last maybe to age 100. That's that's almost 30 years from now. So regardless of what the market does, you can weather that. And by using an advisor outside of an insurance product, you've got full access to the money if you need it for long term care or whatever God may lead you to do. Yeah, you're taking some risk, but it's still my preferred approach.
That's just my thought. Appreciate your your call today and hopefully that can help you overcome your heebie jeebies. God bless you, my friend. Thanks to my team today.
Devin, Robert and Taylor couldn't do it without them. Thank you for being here as well. And go out and live for Jesus. Have a great weekend. Bye bye. Faith and Finance is provided by Faith Buy and listeners like you.
