Wisdom About Work from Proverbs 31

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Learn more at guidestonefunds.com slash faith. If you could choose a role model for your life and work, who would it be? That's a popular question in job interviews and we're going to share our best answer from the Bible. Hi, I'm Rob West. God's word is full of Kings, prophets, and warriors who might fit the definition of role model. But today we'll consider someone more ordinary whose reputation still stands the test of time. Then we'll take your calls at 800-525-7000.

That's 800-525-7000. This is faith and finance, biblical wisdom for your financial journey. Well, when it comes to work ethic, there's nobody we like better aside from Jesus, of course, than the woman described in Proverbs 31.

We don't know her name, but her actions and attitudes are worth studying and imitating no matter what kind of work you do. First, a note about Proverbs. It's part of the wisdom literature found in the Old Testament.

We refer to Proverbs a lot since there are many nuggets of financial truth there. Proverbs 31 is the final chapter and the description of the woman of noble character is written as a poem, with each line beginning with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Proverbs 31 10 introduces the woman of noble character who is worth more than rubies because she sets the standard for trustworthiness and generosity towards her husband and all those around her.

She's also a top-notch businesswoman. Here are some of the characteristics that make the Proverbs 31 woman such a great example of a biblical work ethic. First, she works with eager hands. She has a positive attitude towards work, knowing that diligence can produce many benefits. Next, verse 15 tells us she gets up while it's still night. She provides food for her family.

The Bible makes it clear that providing for your family is a primary responsibility. She takes it very seriously. The Proverbs 31 woman is also a careful entrepreneur. In verse 16, she considers a field and buys it.

With the fruit of her hand, she plants a vineyard. So part of the biblical work ethic involves expertise, gaining useful skills and using them for the benefit of your family and community. In verse 17, she sets about her work vigorously. Her arms are strong for her tasks. Living and working well requires persistence and determination.

You don't reach your goals just sitting around watching YouTube. Proverbs 31 also offers us a picture of generosity in verse 20. She opens her arms to the poor. The woman of character is so successful in her work that she is able to be generous with her surplus.

Are you working just for yourself or so you can help others also? Next, she speaks with wisdom in verse 26. A person of noble character uses their experience and authority to teach others. To put it another way, this woman's work ethic is the water that raises all boats because everyone benefits from her industry. It comes as no surprise in verse 27 that she does not eat the bread of idleness. It's pretty clear that a biblical work ethic means not being lazy. Well, that's an impossibly impressive resume, but I think the most important quality of the woman of noble character is that she follows and honors the Lord.

Verse 30, charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. She serves God first and all her success springs from this priority. You know, you might look at this biblical portrait of a godly worker and wonder how she does it all.

She's running a farm, marketing her products, teaching, mentoring, and taking care of a household at the same time. I think we have to understand that this is a portrait of virtue at work, not a blueprint for what you have to do next week. Another point I'd like to make here is about rest. It might not look like the Proverbs 31 woman got much of that, but her success points to the fact that she did know when to go and when to stop. God does call us to work for His kingdom, for our families, and for the community with the same commitment we see in the Proverbs 31 woman.

We work to pay the bills, to give, to save, and to invest as she did. It's part of how God made us, but work isn't all there is. We need to rest sometimes too. Perhaps you find things moving too fast in your life. Working late nights and weekends might seem necessary, but burning the candle at both ends is ultimately unproductive. You'll find that exhaustion leaves you no energy for the most important things, time with the Lord and relationships with others. You don't have to go full throttle all the time, but if you are feeling overwhelmed, be comforted by the words of Jesus in Matthew 11 28. Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

We can learn a lot from the Proverbs 31 woman about what it means to live with personal and financial integrity, and I encourage you to read it today. All right, your calls are next. 800-525-7000.

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800-525-7000 is the number to call. We're going to dive in today. Let's begin in Montana. Hi, Christie. Go ahead. Hi. I have a question about differences between prepaid cards and credit cards, but my main goal is to figure out 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 and 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, you know, American Express, Discover, MasterCard, and Visa, most of them these days take full responsibility for unauthorized purchases. Debit cards, there is that same, you know, as long as you report it within two business days, it is a $50 limit. The problem is, you know, the money comes out of the account, and you got to wait for them to return it, and that can lead to other problems if you have some automated transaction setup, and all of a sudden those aren't paid, you know, and so now you get late, paying 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, you know, 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, Christine?

Yes. The main reason why I was looking at cards is because I wanted to get away from using my debit card since 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. And I think that's why, you know, 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 know, you can make a case both ways. But I think the extent to which it becomes, you know, more and more difficult to use. I mean, now I know a lot of restaurants, at least where I live, that won't even allow you to pay with cash. I mean, it's just, you know, right there on the door, we're a cashless operation. And you know, you only can use credit or debit. Now, I think that's where the secured credit card though, Christy may provide you, you know, something that's helpful, because, you know, you get the benefits of that credit card with the Visa or MasterCard logo, or you can kind of 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 it, 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.

Let's go to St. Louis. Hi, Joyce, how can I help? I have come into some funds that I like to be able to get some advice on in terms of the small amount. You're talking about $20,000. And I'm trying to figure out the best way to invest it.

So if you could give me a few corners, it would be great. I'd be happy to, Joyce. So you came into $20,000. And, you know, as you think about how you might use this in the future, what kind of time horizon would you attach to your use of this money? It's not something that I need right now.

So I think it will be ongoing. I want to be able to help to build my reserves, use this money to do that. And if it's in an account that we couldn't save, I guess, sure. But yeah, you use the word reserves.

I like that. So what we would typically call your emergency fund or your emergency reserves, we'd like for you to have three to six months worth of expenses. So if you were to total up all your bills on a monthly basis, and then multiply that by three or as much as six, that'd be a great starting point for your reserves. Do you have some emergency savings already set aside prior to receiving this $20,000? Or would this really be it?

Just a little, you know, it's probably enough for one month, one month. Okay, yeah. So if you're looking to kind of make this a part of your emergency reserves, I think a high yield savings account is a great option. So you're talking about a bank, a savings account is FDIC insured. So there's very little risk about the lowest risk you could take because it's backed by the US government, even though there's risk in everything, it's very small.

So what I would do if you're open to it is look for an online bank at bankrate.com, go to bankrate.com, click on high yield savings, they'll rank as of today who has the very best rates, they'll offer a five star rating system on the bank itself and tell you whether it's FDIC insured, I would use that, open that online savings and link it to your checking. It'd be a great place to store this. We'll be right back. Stay with it. Have you downloaded the faith by app yet? You need to do that today because this is going to make your life easier. Yes, you can manage your money through the in app envelope feature, but also plan out future goals.

I want to buy a house in five years and I'm on track to do that. Here's also what I like. You can connect with people around the country. It's like social media, but better. Ask a question, get an answer and share what you're learning about money and investing. So why don't you grab your phone right now and download the faith by app. We're grateful for support from Eventide investments on the faith and finance program. Eventide's approach to values-based investing is grounded in the belief that humankind was created in the image of God with intrinsic dignity, value and worth. Eventide calls this investing that makes the world rejoice. More information is available at eventideinvestments.com. That's eventideinvestments.com. Welcome back.

This is faith and finance. I'm Rob West. We're taking your calls today. 800-525-7000.

That's 800-525-7000. All right, here in our final moments of the broadcast today, let's dive back in. We'll get to as many questions as we can.

Randy's in Louisiana waiting patiently. Go ahead, sir. My question is, I'm on permanent federal workers comp and I'm wondering if I'll be able to draw social security when it comes time. Yeah, and you're talking about just regular social security benefits, not disability benefits.

Is that right? Right. I've been told I can't draw the disability benefit. Okay.

Well, okay. So separate from workers comp, you've been told that you can't get disability or because you're on workers comp? Because I'm on workers comp. I can't get disability.

Okay. I mean, it is possible to receive both. I mean, there are some pretty strict eligibility requirements. They both have different requirements for approval. SSDI provides income when you're unable to work for an extended period, regardless of whether your condition is related to your job. Workers comp, of course, is just for the injuries or illnesses suffered on or as a result of the job. Now, if you're receiving workers comp, it may affect how much you received from SSDI and vice versa.

The total of both benefits can't exceed 80% of what social security determines to be your average current earnings prior to when you became disabled. If they do, then SSA will reduce your SSDI to get under that cap. And so what I would do is go through the application process. It generally takes a few weeks for the workers comp claim to be approved.

Sounds like that's already happened for you. And then the SSDI applications of five month process or more. But it absolutely is possible to receive both at the same time. And you can absolutely collect workers comp and social security retirement benefits. So standard benefits. But again, the key is that the sum of these benefits can exceed 80% of your average earnings before your disability. So that's that workers comp offset rule that they talk about. So I think that's the key as you just look at the total amount that you could receive between the two. Does that make sense? Yeah, I've already been had the SSDI and I had to pay it back.

Okay. I wasn't eligible or because of the offset. I had to pay back what I had gotten in order to clear it. Now just wondering, is it the same rule for regular social security? Yeah, so that offset is going to apply for regular social security as well.

And so if that kicked in there, it's going to kick in on the regular social security benefits as well. Okay, thank you, sir. Have a good day. Alrighty, thank you, Randy. We appreciate your call. One line open 800-525-7000 is the number to call. Let's go to North Carolina. Hi, Robin.

Go ahead. I was wondering, I have a friend who has not paid her taxes for five years. And I just wondered how that would affect her children should she pass and what steps she can take to kind of get out of that situation. Yeah. So has she just not filed?

Or what is the situation? Right. She's not filed. Okay. And does she have reason to believe she owed taxes during that time? And did she pay anything in? Yeah.

Okay. Well, as to the question about her children, I mean, essentially, the final return that would be filed or in the case of, you know, there's not been taxes filed where there was taxes due, that would be settled in the probate process. And so at the end of the day, you know, whatever taxes are owed because of non payment, would have to be paid by her estate. And you know, then whatever's left over would be distributed to the heirs. Now, if there's not enough in the estate to pay those taxes, the debt does not transfer to the heirs. But whatever is owed would have to be paid as all of that is settled up by the executor by the estate to pay it in full before anything would remain that could be distributed to the air.

So I think the opportunity you have, Robin is just to encourage your friend to get current, you know, this can seem scary. And yet, my experience is the IRS is absolutely willing to work with you, especially if you're the one, you know, trying to get on top of this. So I'd find a CPA who has some experience representing taxpayers before the IRS for what's called offering compromises or a payment plan, get those tax returns filed, determine what that liability is, and then get on that payment plan to start, you know, making progress toward paying that back and becoming in full compliance. That is absolutely the way to go because there's fees and penalties that are continuing to accrue that are going to be astronomical down the road. And so I think the sooner the better, there's even some forgiveness plans available, you know, that the IRS offers, depending upon kind of her financial status that might even allow some of this to go away completely, if she's willing to get in compliance.

So I think visiting with a CPA who has some experience in this area would be the best next step. But as to your question, all of that, these back taxes would have to be paid by the estate before $1 is paid out to anyone else. So with the estate, like say she owns, for example, a trailer, and that's the only thing she owns. That wouldn't go to her children, the value of it until her estate was paid. That's correct. Until her debts and liabilities were settled.

And that includes a tax liability. Okay, well, thank you very much. I appreciate all you do. Well, thank you, Robin. I appreciate that very much.

God bless you. Let's finish up today in Louisiana. Lance, you'll be our final caller. Go ahead, sir. Yes, sir. I was calling in.

I had this question. I was told that with my current mortgage, it's about $125,000 remaining. And I was told that if I move it and do it on the home equity line of credit, that I can pay it off in like seven years. And what they told me is that you basically have your paycheck go into the line of credit deposit to the line of credit every month, but then use the line of credit to pay your bills. And then doing that, you'll be able to pay your mortgage off anywhere from three to seven years faster.

I just wanted to know if that is how you can treat. I just don't like that approach. I mean, yeah, it works on paper. The problem is it typically involves you spending a good bit of money on a fancy software package and it's complicated and you've got to have a lot of cash flow to make it work and it can go sideways on you. What I would recommend is a more vanilla flavored approach to paying off your mortgage. And that is just try to send an extra payment a year if you can, and if you can do more, great, but don't try to get fancy with home equity lines of credit and getting your paycheck to go and then borrowing it for your expenses and then paying it back. And yeah, I can run all kinds of fancy calculations that would show you why that makes sense, but at the end of the day, I think it's risky.

It's complicated and it usually involves a lot of fees that you would have to pay to the people selling the software. So I would pass Lance with all due respect. Thanks for your call today, sir. Well folks, that's going to do it for us. If you want to support our work, you found this ministry helpful to you. Just go to faithfi.com and click give. We'd certainly be grateful. Thanks for listening and sharing, and I hope you'll come back and join us again next time for another edition of Faith and Finance. Faith and Finance is provided by FaithFi and listeners like you.