Many people are using the FaithFi app to help provide the wisdom, community, and money management to stay on track, financially speaking. To date, over 37,000 members are using its digital envelope system, participating in our community forums, and engaging in virtual workshops. And one of the most convenient features is the ability to keep all your accounts in one place for an easy-at-a-glance view.
You can choose from one of three options depending on your management style, and it's available on desktop or mobile. Go to faithfi.com and click App to get started. In his book, Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis wrote, Pride is spiritual cancer.
It eats up the very possibility of love or contentment or even common sense. Hi, I'm Rob West. The Bible also warns about the sin of pride and the boasting that comes with it. Today we'll look at the consequences of pride in the life of the rich fool. And 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. In Luke 12, Jesus tells his followers a parable about a rich man who's proud of his prosperity.
Here's the text from Luke 12, 16-18. At first, this might look like an example of good stewardship. A rich man plans to take care of his abundant resources.
But when you look more closely at the rich man's words, you will see that he's giving all the credit for his wealth to himself. I have nowhere to store my crops, he says. Then I will tear down my barns.
You get the idea. He uses the words I and my nine times in just two verses. He never acknowledges God's provision or even considers God at all. 1 Corinthians 4-7 condemns this attitude. 1 Timothy 6-7-8 encourages an attitude of gratitude and humility about material things.
For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of the world, but if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. How often are you tempted to be proud of the good financial things that happen in your life? You work hard, and you finally pay off that car loan. You save enough money to take a much-needed vacation.
You invest carefully, and your nest egg grows. But are any of these things really your doing? The Bible reminds us that God is the author of every good gift. That means any boasting we do should be about how awesome God is, not about how clever or successful or rich we are. 2 Corinthians 10-17-18 explains why, So the rich man in Jesus' parable isn't being a faithful steward because a faithful steward understands that the Lord is the source of financial blessings. Instead of feeling proud about their possessions, faithful stewards use their resources to glorify God and serve others. The rich man in Jesus' parable misses the mark by taking credit for his success and by using his wealth only to serve himself. He is both proud and greedy. Jesus continues the parable in Luke 12-19 with the man's boastful words, Jesus completes the parable with the moral of the story. God calls the rich man a fool because the man expected to find security, hope and joy in his abundant possessions.
He went to great lengths to protect what he had for his own glory. After having everything, he ended up with nothing because he was not rich toward God. As King Solomon points out in Ecclesiastes 5, 10-12, So are you anxious about finances a lot of the time? Do you envy what other people have? When things go well, do you feel like you deserve a little credit? Well, Jesus told the parable of the rich fool to point you and me to the only true source of life in abundance, himself.
As we quoted earlier, C.S. Lewis called pride spiritual cancer. He goes on to say, As long as you are proud, you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people.
And of course, as long as you're looking down, you cannot see something that is above you. Today's topic was drawn from our brand new study, Rich Toward God with the Lord's Guidance. Faithfi created it with the intent to expand our understanding of his amazing love for us and what it means to follow him with all of our hearts.
Now, we'd like to invite you to get a copy for personal study or for everyone in your Bible study to experience it together. Pick it up today at faithfi.com. That's faithfi.com.
We'll be right back. So why don't you grab your phone right now and download the Faithfi app? Every day, Faithfi is working to meet people right where they are through our national radio program app and Web site. We're helping people put their faith in God and not in money and possessions. And we're encouraging and equipping Christians to have a passionate pursuit for sacrificially living and giving the money entrusted to them. If you believe in and have benefited from Faithfi, would you consider becoming a monthly Faithfi patron? Learn more about the Faithfi patrons membership at faithfi.com and click Give.
Welcome back to Faith and Finance. I'm Rob West. We've got a few lines open today for your questions. Three, in fact. Eight hundred five two five seven thousand is the number to call.
Let's go to Chicago. Hi, Helen. How can I help you?
Hi. Actually, this question is about my daughter. My husband and I, we're actually pretty financially set. We've always through the years, we're in our 60s, but we've never done a Roth, anything with Roth because it's just our income was too high.
So my daughter asked a question. She's 30 and her income is getting about a 150, 160. And she already gives to 401k at her work.
I believe it's a Roth. But the question she asked me was, should I open up a Roth IRA? But my income's getting too high.
So why open that? I mean, she's a little bit financially savvy, but I really didn't know how to answer that. And also it kind of, I told her about financial planning because my husband and I do Kingdom Advisor in Ron Blue Company, but she just said that's too much money. And then I don't want online. So I just I guess this is a two pronged question because they don't want to spend that, but they don't want to do the online. But it does cost. So anyway, just your advice.
Yeah. Well, I certainly appreciate that, Helen. And, you know, I think starting with the retirement contributions, first of all, you know, where an advisor could come in is helping her just understand what is her ultimate savings target or goal. Really helping her kind of plan for the future and plot out the current trajectory she's on if she were to just max out her Roth 401k and where she would end up in retirement, just running some assumptions. But also putting that alongside the other goals and objectives she has, maybe buying a home or giving more generously or whatever that is so that she can establish a financial finish line. And it's hard, you know, to do that on your own.
You certainly can. But it's also, I think, helpful to have some wise counsel and then some accountability along the way. Somebody who's meeting with you a couple of times a year, like you all do with your Ron Blue advisor, just to say, hey, how are we doing? And remember, we said this was important. So, you know, we're off track there.
You know, what is it going to take for us to get back on track? And, you know, those kinds of things, just to challenge your thinking a little bit, I think is always helpful in terms of other savings vehicles besides a 401k, assuming she is, in fact, maxing that out because she can put in quite a bit of money. I mean, this year, you can put in up to $23,000 in your 401k. So that would allow you to do quite a bit of savings. Beyond that, I do like the IRA. And as you said, there are income limits.
For this year, it's going to be $161,000 for a single tax filer. And so if she's under that, she'd be able to put in up to $7,000 there as well, and have that tax free growth. There is also something called a backdoor IRA.
And this is where an advisor could be really helpful. And essentially what it is, is for these people who make too much money to make a Roth IRA contribution. The backdoor Roth IRA essentially lets you, and this is absolutely legal, it's part of the IRS tax code. It allows you to make a non-deductible traditional IRA contribution, which because you have high income, you don't get to take the deduction.
But that's okay. So you're putting in after tax money, you're above the income limit, but then you can turn around and convert it to a Roth IRA. And that doesn't have any tax consequences. And then from that point forward, it grows tax free, just like in a Roth IRA contribution.
What if you made it directly in? You'd want to probably use an advisor because you want to make sure you do it properly. But there are ways to put money into a Roth, even if you're beyond those income limits.
And that would be another perfect example of why an advisor is helpful, because he or she would be able to introduce these ideas along the way. Now, I realize she's saying it's a lot of money, and it is, but we think about getting wise counsel and paying for things that involve a significant part of our lives. I mean, it's why we pay an attorney to do a will because we want it done properly.
It's why we pay somebody to perform surgery if we need a surgery in the hospital. And I think for the same reason, being a wise steward of God's money, somebody who's skilled in money management and planning, financial planning, who also understands the heart of God and biblical wisdom, can provide an invaluable service to her that she'll enjoy the dividends of throughout the rest of her life, even though there is a cost to it. So anyway, I've thrown a lot at you there, Helen.
Give me your thoughts. Yeah, I told her that. I think what it is, she doesn't have, her retirement balance probably is under 100K. You know, she just kind of came out of grad school. She's been working.
So, you know, I mean, just to help her to know, I mean, for her at this stage of her life, a kingdom advisor, like finding the right fit. Like my husband and I, we're different. Our assets are much higher. We own a house. So, because somebody told me that if people, for those who have under 100K, they'll take anybody, they're probably not that good.
I know that sounds like a strange thing to say, but... No, no, I totally understand that. One of the things we're doing, it's not out yet, it'll be out later this year, is we're actually going to completely overhaul our Find a CKA web page. And you'll actually be able to put in what are the assets under management that you have and what are your needs. And you'll be matched with an advisor. Well, you'll get a list of CKAs that are most suited to your stage of life and income and assets. And there are some wonderful advisors. In fact, one of the new trends in financial services, which would be very well suited for her, is a subscription-based model where you pay a monthly subscription.
You know, a lot of these Gen Y folks are used to paying for media subscriptions and other things. Well, you can get a subscription to a certified financial planner who will charge you on that basis. Also, the other thing I would mention is Ron Blue Trust, which actually just changed their name to Blue Trust, they have a division called Everyday Steward. And it's a division of the firm for people in the stage of life that would be more consistent with your daughter. And they work on more of an hourly basis to help you create a financial plan, and it's not driven on the normal assets under management model that you might be in on the normal trust side. So you may want to encourage her to look at the Everyday Steward division of Ron Blue Trust. Okay, just one last thing because it's sort of, she even mentioned it, I have heard this, you know, when you're dealing with somebody who doesn't have, I mean, I trust the kingdom advisor, certified community advisor, but when they're underneath, under $100,000, when they don't have much, they're going to try to push more to make commissions and fees.
I mean, sorry, to push products because they just, you know, you don't have the assets. Yeah, but again, that's where you've got to have the right advisor with the right business model. And so if you're going with somebody whose only way of being compensated by taking on a smaller account is through commissions, then perhaps you're not with the right advisor. And there are plenty of them out there now that will just do the straight planning based on a fee or an hourly charge, and there's no commissions, there's no assets under management charge, nothing, and you literally just pay them for their time on an hourly rate to put together a financial plan.
And then there's even those that offer a subscription model. So I think you need to do just a bit more digging because I hear what you're saying, and I think there is some truth to what you're saying, but there's a whole segment of the financial services landscape that it sounds like you're not familiar with. It really could be a great fit for her, including Everyday Steward at Blue Trust. Thanks for your call, Helen.
Back with much more right around the corner. But it is possible to enjoy both profit and peace of mind in investing, no matter what's happening in the market. You can see a short video webinar on that topic at SoundMindInvesting.org. Since 1990, Sound Mind Investing has sought to offer financial wisdom for living well.
SoundMindInvesting.org. Because of my past health history, finding affordable health care was nearly impossible. But then I found CHM, where costs are not adjusted based on medical history. Christian Health Care Ministries even provides the freedom to choose my own providers.
And the best part? CHM members pray for me. Too good to be true?
It's not. I'm a proud member of Christian Health Care Ministries, and if you think it could be right for you, learn more at CHMinistries.org. Welcome back to Faith and Finance. I'm Rob West. We've got a few lines open today for your calls and questions. 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000. Let's go back to the phones to Nevada.
Hi, Jason. Go ahead. Yeah, my question, you were definitely the man to talk to. You're a biblical man, obviously, and a financial man, so that's two with one stone there for me. My question mainly is about Matthew 25, verse 16. He's talking about the talons, the ten, the five, and the one.
Well, the one I've always kind of struggled with is the five talons, and he said, it depends on your Bible, but mine was talking about, and he went and traded. It always made me wonder, so did they have a stock market? Did he buy a camel cheap, clean it up, and turn around and resell it, like some people do with cars now? Yeah, I just always wondered how they did that to make money in God's eyes where they weren't messing people over. You know what I mean?
Yes, yes. Well, I think the key here is the whole purpose of a parable is obviously to teach a spiritual truth, but do it in a way that allows us to relate to the instructor. In this case, it happens to be Jesus. And so, this is, I think, a lesson on being an appropriate or responsible manager of what we have been entrusted. And so, as believers, we're entrusted with, among other things, financial resources, but also we're entrusted with relationships and God's word. And so, I think, first of all, as a steward or a manager, we have to understand the heart of the master because we can only be an effective manager of the master if we understand the master's heart.
In this case, it's a means of putting it to work in whatever way they did in that economy, but the big point was obviously we don't want to be negligent, we don't want to be fearful with regard to how we use what has been entrusted to us. We're to be faithful with intentionality. We've been entrusted with spreading the gospel, with loving others, with caring for his church, being an example to the world, caring for the poor, the prisoner, and the sick, being wise managers of whatever God has entrusted to us. And that certainly includes our financial resources because we know that one day he will return and we look forward with anticipation to that day and he will ask for an account of how we have handled what he has entrusted to us. And we want to be able to say that with what he's given us, big and small, that we have used that faithfully and as unto the Lord. And I think when we apply this to our lives, it should cause us to want to be intentional to take whatever God has given us and use it for his glory with the anticipation of him, the master, returning someday and us giving an account. Does that make sense?
Yeah, it does. It's just that the biggest thing was, you know, the trade it or trading that always kind of stumped me is like, well, how did he do it? But apparently, if it was very important at all, he would have mentioned, oh, by the way, it was, you know, hay for barley or whatever it was.
But, you know, it wasn't important enough for him to mention it or the Bible would be an encyclopedia set. Yeah, well, the word trade there actually means to toil or to work the talents. So that is, you know, to trade or toil as to what was entrusted.
So the guy that the person that received the five talents traded or worked and made five more. So his working of the measure of the faith that was given to him was completed by his good work. So that that word trade there in the Bible actually relates to toil or work. I believe the work thing is very important, said several places in the Bible. And and he talks about, you know, like the one talent he buried that that guy did. And it was because he was lazy and it's like, oh, you lazy and like that, you know, so he he definitely does talk about work as being very important. And that's I guess that would be part of it.
That's exactly right. You know, that's clear in scripture, you know, that we're not to be slothful, we're not to be lazy. God created us to be workers before the fall. And so that's part of God's design. God was a worker.
We saw him working in the creation account clearly and we were created in his image. So we're to work as unto him, not finding our identity in our work, finding our identity in the Lord, but clearly working and playing to an audience of one, of God himself, not man. And, you know, that's why I think we find so much joy in our work, because our calling until Jesus calls us home doesn't have an expiration. And so we're to take what God has given us and to toil or to work what has been entrusted to us, whatever it is, however much, however little.
And the goal is faithfulness to opportunity. But it's a great question, Jason. I appreciate you raising it and thanks for your kind remarks about the program, my friend. May the Lord bless you. Let's go down to Florida. Hi, Brian. It looks like you'll be our final caller. Go ahead.
Hello. My mortgage, I only owe like $75,000. I got a home equity because my dumb bud let a timeshare tell me how great it was. So I bought one and then the interest was really high. So I got a home equity loan to pay for. I thought I was doing the right thing, but it's just it went way up. And I didn't know this until a couple months ago, like $20 is going toward the principal. That's it. That's my $260 payment, you know.
Lovely. So I was wondering if I should because my my mortgage is only $345,000, I only owe $75,000. I didn't know if I should get another mortgage and combine them or. Well, you probably have a low rate, though, on that $75,000, right? Yeah, it's only $345,000. Yeah.
No, you're so you're not going to want to touch that. You know, unfortunately, I probably wouldn't do anything right now other than just try to pay as much as you can over the monthly payment to the home equity line of credit. The good news is rates are going to start coming down, although it won't happen quick. I mean, let's say, you know, this rate is in the fives by the end of next year.
You know, we probably won't see the fours until the year following, but at least it's coming down. But I wouldn't you know, the cost of refinancing that mortgage on top of the fact that you'd be letting go of that great rate just makes that you'd want to take that off the table immediately. A second mortgage fixed at these rates is not going to be attractive to you. So I'd probably just stick with it while ride the rates down. And in the meantime, let's eliminate any unnecessary spending so you can apply as much as possible toward principle on that $30,000 every month. And I owe about $11,000 on my vehicle. And I was wondering if I could double up on that and pay that off as quick as I could. And then that way I could pay a lot more on the. Yeah, that's probably not a bad idea because that rates probably not great either. Is that one in the sixes or sevens?
It's actually it's like five. OK. Yeah, I like that because as soon as you pay that off, you get that full payment that you can redirect toward the the home equity loan. So a line of credit. Very good, Brian. Well, I think that's a great plan. We appreciate your call today. Thank you for your time. Thank you to Lisa, Amy, Dan and Jim.
Couldn't do it without them. I'm Rob West. I hope you'll join us again next time right here on Faith and Finance. Faith and Finance is provided by Faith Buy and listeners like you.
