God’s Economy vs. Man’s Economy with Sharon Epps

Kingdom Advisors equips Christian financial advisors to bring their faith into their practice with the industry-recognized Certified Kingdom Advisor designation. We bring those advisors together with other industry leaders to form a vibrant network. And through that network, we give them the resources, tools, and encouragement they need to serve clients like you, helping you align your values with your financial decisions and investments.

To learn more, visit KingdomAdvisors.com. Well, it's always a pleasure to have my friend Sharon Epps with us. She's president of Kingdom Advisors, and I can assure you, we spend a lot of time studying the difference between God's economy and man's economy. Sharon, great to have you back.

Always good to be here. Sharon, we're often told that we should be in the world, but not of the world. Jesus, of course, was the perfect model for that during his ministry on earth, wasn't he? He really was.

Boswell Chambers said it this way. Our Lord did not teach detachment from other things. He taught attachment to himself. Jesus was not a recluse. He didn't cut himself off from society. He was amazingly in and out of the ordinary things of life, but he was disconnected fundamentally from it all.

He wasn't a luth, but he lived in another world. Wow. And then our friend and mentor Larry Burkett said, few Christians seem to understand the devastation that's generated through the misuse of money. Now listen for this, God's economy. There are those who've accepted God's financial plan as their own and stand out like giants among their brothers, but more common is the Christian who withholds this area of his life from God and struggles within the world's financial system, man's economy. The same frustrations, worries and anxieties which characterize the non-believer are common to many and perhaps unfortunately most Christians.

That's powerful. You know, it's sad to know that many Christians choose to follow man's economy versus God's because frankly, man's economy is not a great place to be, is it? Well, it's like Larry said, the same frustrations, worries and anxieties that characterize the world happen to those Christians when they live in man's economy.

Yeah, that's exactly right. All right, so then what drives people's actions in man's economy? Let's do some contrasting and I'd love to go to the Word of God for that. Psalm 4, 6 through 8. And I love the way it's expressed in the message.

First of all, it says man's economy. Why is everyone hungry for more? More, more, they say, more, more. And then the psalmist turns and says, I have God's more than enough, more joy in one ordinary day than they get in all their shopping sprees. At day's end, I'm ready for sound sleep, for you, God, have put my life back together.

Wow, that's great. Well, I know you have a list of questions and answers that I think clearly reveal the difference between God's economy and man's economy. So let's begin to unpack those. We'll start with the question, who is master? Well, as you know, I think this is the key. In God's economy, he's the master, of course, but in man's economy, money tends to be the master. And it doesn't matter how much you have, money can control you. And if God is the master, then what's the source of my income?

And of course, you might think God is the source. If we're living in man's economy, we'll be tempted to say I earned it. But the fact is, God provides everything, even our ability to earn money. Deuteronomy 8, 18 says, But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors as it is today. Yeah, well, that's, of course, the starting place, who is master. That might lead us then to ask, what is the reason we have wealth in the first place?

Well, that's a super great question, and there's two answers. Man's economy says the reason we have wealth is to live independently and not need God. And in God's economy, wealth, that is the abundance more than we need, is to help others. If some Christians didn't have a surplus, nothing would be available to grow God's kingdom, to help others, and to show the love of Christ. Yeah, that's powerful.

Well, there's so much more we can unpack around this topic. We'll get into the purpose of money. We can start to talk about goals, because when we look at this through the lens of God's economy, it changes even our goal setting. It does.

Yeah. We'll even talk about what does success look like? That definition of success in God's economy versus man's economy is very stark. Sharon Epps is here today. She's president of Kingdom Advisors, and we're drawing the line in the sand between God's economy and man's economy, helping you make God your ultimate treasure and seeing money as a tool to accomplish his purposes. Just around the corner, we'll be taking your questions as well today on anything financial. The number to call, 800-525-7000.

That's 800-525-7000. Back with much more after this. Stick around. As a faithful listener of the Faith and Finance Program, you know that there is life-changing financial wisdom in God's Word to meet all your needs. More than anything, Faithfi is here to help you and millions of others see God as your ultimate treasure. As a nonprofit, we're grateful for our partners that help expand our outreach every month with their generosity. Has God provided financial answers for you through this ministry? Please consider becoming a monthly partner by visiting faithfi.com and clicking Give. As the leading advocate for the Christian financial industry, Kingdom Advisors serves the public by promoting the integration of a biblical worldview across every aspect of the financial services industry. And we serve a growing network of thousands of Christian financial professionals, equipping and empowering them to carry biblical financial wisdom to their clients, peers, and community. For more information, visit kingdomadvisors.com.

That's kingdomadvisors.com. I'm so glad you're with us today on Faith and Finance. Joining me in the studio today is Sharon Epps, president of Kingdom Advisors. And Sharon, we have long talked about the fact that there's God's way and then there's the world's way. And so often when it comes to money, the lure into the world's way is so strong by our culture that we can miss out on God's best for us by not pursuing his way to handle money, which really is what is life giving.

It is. We hear the world's messages every single day. Yeah, we sure do. So today we're trying to compare and contrast, if you will, God's way versus the world's way. And Sharon shared some of those ideas with us before the break, kind of setting the stage for this dichotomy, if you will, and answering some of the key questions around God's economy and man's economy. Sharon, let's talk next about the purpose of money, because there's a real difference when we look at this through God's lens versus the world's. Well, money is no different than anything else we've been given in the universe. The purpose of money is to fulfill God's purposes.

It's just one part of his plan. But in man's economy, we tend to think that money is there for the purpose of insulating ourselves from the world's problem. We live in constant fear that something's about to go wrong and that we can never have enough money to fix it. So if the role of money is to fulfill God's purposes, then what's my role? Well, it naturally follows that my role is to be a trustworthy steward of that wealth he gives me.

And it's also temporary. We need to remember that our stewardship has been entrusted to us just for the period of time that we have the money and that we manage it appropriately. And that's why he's given us so much direction in his word, 2300 plus verses, to help us do that well. And that's very different from man's economy, where your role is to just seek your own personal fulfillment and happiness. Yeah, we were created for abundance. We were created for fulfillment. But we can only find that through God himself. We'll try to replace that God-sized hole in our hearts and our souls with all kinds of things. And certainly, money is one of the most common. It really is.

Yeah. So that's something that we'll never achieve then if we're living in man's economy, given that God is the only one who can provide true fulfillment and joy. So now let's talk about those goals as we think about finances we often quickly go to. Well, what are the goals that I'm setting in my life? How do those vary in these two economies? Well, they become pretty easy in God's economy because your goal is to follow God's will.

In fact, this is one of my favorite prayers to pray, and that is, Lord, what would you have me do? And it's the opposite if I'm living in man's economy. My goal is to benefit myself, and I'm constantly thinking, what is the best thing for me, rather than asking the Lord for direction? Yeah, and I think the natural follow-on to that is really to define success, because ultimately, that points us in the direction that we're headed with our goals. So what does success look like in either of these two economies?

Oh boy, this is one we could talk about for quite a while. It's really simple to define success in God's economy, and it is called faithfulness. I'm successful when I'm faithful in following God's principles and following his direction, and that's my part. I'm not responsible for the outcome.

That's his part. And I tell you what, that really relieves a big burden. And in man's economy, you might have a super long list of achievements that you think mark your success. And of course, it's not wrong to have goals and celebrate when those goals are accomplished. But in man's economy, we tend to equate those goals to failure if we don't make them, and we're responsible for the results. And that causes a lot of angst and frustration. And you might look at this and say, OK, well, goals end up with outcomes or rewards, and what does that say for my life? What's my reward on life, my return on life?

The difference between the economies are huge. In God's economy, he has said we reap eternal rewards when we follow him faithfully. And of course, Matthew 25, 23 is one of my favorite scriptures. Well done, good and faithful servant. You've been faithful with a few things. I'll put you in charge of many things.

Come and share your master's happiness. And in man's economy, we measure our return on life by the earthly gains we've made. Oftentimes, we say it's our net worth that measures our self-worth, and that's not God's way.

Yeah, that's so helpful. And one interesting thing about faithfulness is that it's faithfulness to opportunity, and we recognize that the Lord entrusts to us differing amounts, but we're called to be faithful with whatever passes through our hands. That's right. And so I can be successful no matter what my balance sheet looks like.

Yeah, that's exactly right. All right, a few more questions here as we draw the distinction between God's economy and man's. We, of course, all want to feel good about ourselves. So Sharon, what is the source of my significance in God's economy? Well, in God's economy, my identity is squarely as a child of God.

I've been adopted into his family, and that can't be taken away from me no matter what happens. In man's economy, again, my significance or worth are all wrapped up in my work, my riches, my power, and that vacillates all the time. And so we can ask ourselves, why do I get up in the morning?

What's driving me? And for those of us that want to live faithfully in God's economy, it's his glory and his fame rather than our own significance and security that you find in man's economy. Yeah, that's good.

All right, Sharon, what about this next question? And that is, how is our emotional state determined? Well, I touched on that a little bit a second ago. In man's economy, your state's really dependent on your circumstances. If things are going well, you're doing well.

If things are not going well, you're not. The benefit of living in God's economy is that you can be content in all circumstances because you understand that God is in charge of the results. He's promised to provide and he always fulfills his promises. We can have concerns, we can take those to him in prayer, but deep-seated worry has no place in his economy because we know his role. And I can't help but think that closely related to this is worry because when we worry, I know you mentioned Larry Burkett earlier, Larry would often say it's a spiritual trap that leads us down the road to fear and away from trusting God as our provider.

It is. And I would say if you take nothing else away from this discussion today about the differences is that when we get God's role right, it frees us up, frees us from anxiety, frees us from discontentment. It frees us from the burden of feeling like success is dependent on us. And so I think this is an important concept for us to really wrestle with a bit. We've run through it really quickly here today, but I would encourage you to take some time and really think about in what ways am I fully living in God's economy versus man's economy? And I think we talk so much here on faith and finance about live, give, grow and those decisions that we have to make on a daily basis. But if we root those in God's economy and asking him what he would have us do with his money, if we would ask him for provision, if we would rely on him for the results, the live, give, grow circle is a tool. But the mindset behind it is this deep understanding of what it really means to live in God's economy as the Lord showed us to. Sharon, we can give intellectual consideration to God owning it all, but it's really working it out each day in our daily decisions that was where the rubber meets the road. It is.

It is. Well, we've covered a lot of ground today, Sharon. As always, I appreciate how you recenter us on understanding God's design for what he has entrusted to us. It's a high calling. We're money managers for the King of Kings.

We are. That's incredible. Well, I'm so grateful for your time today. Always appreciate your insights. Thanks for stopping by.

Great to be here. That's Sharon Epps. She's president of Kingdom Advisors. If you want to learn more about our work here at Kingdom Advisors to lead the industry of Christian financial advice and to train and equip Christian financial advisors, you can head to the Web site, kingdomadvisors.com.

All right. Your calls are next. Eight hundred five two five seven thousand.

That's eight hundred five two five seven thousand. We'll be right back. Faith by account by going to faith by dot com and click Sign up to begin receiving weekly wisdom in your inbox. We're grateful for support from Guidestone, whose diversified suite of investment solutions align with Christian values to create positive change in the world. More information is available at Guidestone funds dot com slash faith. Investing involves risk, including potential loss of principal. Carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of Guidestone funds before investing.

They're distributed by four side funds distributors, LLC, which is not an advisory affiliate, a registered investment advisor, nor do they provide investment advice. Hey, thanks for joining us today on faith and finance. We want to help you make God your ultimate treasure, because when we do, our lives will reflect God's character to the world. You know, the way we earn money, our lifestyle, our generosity, even our financial priorities and our perspective of money and possessions become a reflection of who we are in Christ.

Let that be an encouragement to you today as you think about your role in being a wise and faithful steward. Let's head to the phones. We've got a few lines open today. We'll get to as many questions as we can between now and the end of the program.

The number is eight hundred five two five seven thousand to Winter Haven. We go. Hi, Lucy. Thanks for calling.

Go ahead. Hi. Yes, I just was hoping you could help me with a Social Security after retirement. I was married 19 years. We both have always worked in the last few years. He were divorced now in the last few years. He's been making well over double what I make.

And I was just wondering if you could explain how it works if you draw off a spouse's retirement. Yes. All right. And so you have not remarried, is that correct? Correct. OK. And you said you were married for more than 10 years.

So that's key. So you have the ability to claim up to because you were married more than 10 years. You're 62 or older. Is that correct? Not yet, but I will be by the time I retire. OK. Got it.

Yeah. So you will have the ability to collect a spousal benefit. So as long as the marriage lasted 10 years or more, you've not remarried once you're 62 or older. And as long as that spousal benefit is more than you would get on your own work record, then you'll get up to 50% of your ex's benefit if you wait until full retirement age, which is probably for you going to be close to 67.

If you take it earlier, you can. Starting at age 62, you would just get a reduced amount. So you might get somewhere around 30% of his full benefit if you take it at 62 versus a full 50%, which is the most you can get if you wait until your full retirement age. And this doesn't affect his benefit whatsoever, but it will be based on his work record. So your benefit of up to 50% of his is going to be driven from his high 35. So as he's making more now, he's offsetting some of those lower earnings years, which raises his benefit. And given that you can get up to 50% of his, it's actually increasing what you'll receive as he continues to earn more in this season of life.

Does that make sense? Yeah. Does it matter who retires first? Like if I had retired prior to him, does that make any difference? It does not. No. And so it's really not driven off of retirement.

It's based on the fact that you were married long enough, you're at least 62 years old, and you haven't remarried, so you're eligible for that benefit. Okay. And it will not take anything away from him? That is correct. Yeah.

Your spousal benefit is based on his record, but it doesn't affect his benefit at all. Okay. All right. And when that time comes, you just reach out to Social Security? You do. And tell them you want to do that?

Okay. That's exactly right. And you could even take your spousal benefit and let your own benefit continue to grow. And you would have the ability to switch from the spousal benefit to a benefit based on your own work record further down the road and actually collect a higher amount. You can only take one or the other, but you can switch from the spousal benefit to your own benefit if you are entitled to one. Okay. And then mine would be based on a full amount of my Social Security benefit? That's correct.

So as long as you've been paying in FICA taxes for at least 40 quarters or 10 years, then they take your highest 35 years of earnings, and that would drive your own benefit based on your work record. And what you will find is that one of those is going to be higher, either your own or your spousal benefit, and you'd have the option to take one or the other. Okay. Perfect. Thank you so much. All right, Lucy. May the Lord bless you. Thanks for calling today.

Let's go to Nashville. Hi, Kurt. Tell us about your ministry to men coming out of incarceration. Yeah.

Thanks for taking my call, Rob. So yeah, I work with a ministry called Men of Valor, and we're in prisons across the state, but we have two reentry facilities, one in Nashville and one in Knoxville, that house guys for a year plus who are coming out of prison. And we do, you know, A to Z, helping them with everything they need for a successful reentry, including employment. But as you might imagine, so some of these guys have never had jobs before.

And when they start making money, the temptation to, you know, just spend and accumulate things is real. But our hope is to help them prepare for life after our reentry center. Okay. And so really what I want to talk to you about, I know you've touched on this, I listen to you as often as I can.

I've always appreciate your godly wisdom. I've heard you talk about apps and budget things before. But what I wanted to get your counsel on is, is there something that would help these guys, because most of them get a cell phone after 30 to 60 days, where they could have an app on their phone, log in their, you know, net pay, and then divvy it up for everything that they need to spend, save, tithe, etc.

Yeah, absolutely. And that's really why we built the FaithFi app, Kurt, and you'll find it in your app store or they can at Google Play or Apple. And basically, it's just that it's the envelope system, but in a digital kind of beautiful, simple interface. So right there on their phone, either manually, if they wanted to, they could log in their paycheck and then set up those envelopes and then allocate out the paycheck to various envelopes. And then the transactions that they would enter in manually would reduce those balances in each envelope, or it could be done automatically where they'd connect to a checking account, savings account, maybe a credit card. And then all those, you know, their income would come in, you know, fund their various envelopes and that that could be tied to the various streams of income they're receiving. And then as those transactions come in, so if they're spending on a debit card, then it would either automatically go into an envelope once it learned where these transactions go, or they could manually apply them. But the nice thing is, you know, regardless of what's sitting in that checking account, it's really a matter of okay, how has that been divvied up for my rent, for my food and eating out, for clothing, for entertainment.

And at any point during the month, they could see what's left in each of those digital envelopes, which just makes it really helpful to control the flow of money, but also to make course corrections along the way if spending, you know, has gotten out of line in any particular month in one category. Does that make sense? Perfect. It makes a lot of sense. That's exactly what I was looking for. Thank you for your help.

Absolutely. You can just send them to faithfi.com and they can click app or they could head to their app store and just search for it. FaithFI and you'll find it right there. We just released our brand new version.

It's got a lot of great features. Hey, God bless you, Kurt. Awesome to hear what you're doing. And we'd love to check in with you along the way, so don't hesitate to reach out. That's going to do it for us. Let me say a big thanks to my team today, Anthony, Amy, Dan and Jim.

Couldn't do it without them. Also the rest of the team here at FaithFi. Come back and join us tomorrow. We'll see you then. Bye bye. Faith and Finance is provided by FaithFi and listeners like you.