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Share the love of Jesus with an impact. Some people may tune out, assuming the message is just about funding a special project or covering financial gaps. But giving is about much more than meeting needs.
It's about the heart behind it. Today we'll talk about not only why we should give, but also why we shouldn't. And then it's on to your calls at 800-525-7000.
That's 800-525-7000. This is faith and finance biblical wisdom for your financial journey. Truth be told, many people don't need more reasons not to give to their church. We should give generously to our local churches and other ministries that advance God's kingdom. Gratitude for the priceless gift of salvation secured by the cross is one of the main reasons to give. However, giving should never be motivated by guilt.
Unfortunately, many Christians have been influenced by messages of legalism or the prosperity gospel, which suggests that failing to give a certain amount equates to stealing from God or forfeiting his blessings. In 2 Corinthians 9-7, the Apostle Paul reminds us, It's also helpful to understand the difference between guilt and conviction. Guilt, accompanied by shame, comes from the enemy and draws us away from Christ, while conviction comes from the Holy Spirit and guides us closer to him. Hebrews 10-22 speaks to this truth. When it comes to Christ's sacrifice, we're freed from the burden of a guilty conscience.
While we may feel convicted to live more faithfully, we shouldn't be weighed down by guilt that drives us away from God's grace. If guilt is your primary motivation for giving, it's better to pause and prayerfully examine your heart before moving forward. The second reason not to give to your church is that you want to control what the church does. In some churches, members use their giving to exert influence over leadership decisions.
They may designate funds for specific ministries while withholding support from the general budget. Often this is a silent way of expressing disagreement with the pastor or church's direction. This approach not only creates division but also reveals a lack of generosity. Giving with strings attached reduces it to a transaction rather than an act of worship. Worse, withholding funds as a form of protest effectively holds the body of Christ hostage, prioritizing personal preferences over the greater mission of the church. If your heart is not in the right place, it's better to keep your money than to give it grudgingly or manipulatively. Faithful giving reflects trust in God's sovereignty and a desire to support His work, even when we don't fully agree with every decision made by church leadership. The final reason not to give is that you feel better about yourself when you give.
Of course, there's a difference between feeling joyful about giving and using generosity as a way to elevate oneself. Jesus addressed this issue in the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector in Luke 18. The Pharisee's prayer reveals his self-righteousness. God, I thank you that I am not like other people, robbers, evildoers, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get. The Pharisee's giving was not a response to God's grace, but a way to showcase his own moral superiority. In contrast, the tax collector humbled himself, acknowledging his need for God's mercy.
Jesus commended the tax collector, not the Pharisee, illustrating that God values humility and sincerity over self-promotion. If your giving is motivated by pride or a desire to gain recognition, it's time to reassess. True generosity stems from gratitude for God's blessings, not from a desire to earn status or approval.
To cultivate a heart of biblical generosity, Dr. Art Rayner provides a helpful biblical framework for us to follow. Giving should be a priority. Giving should be sacrificial. Lastly, giving should be cheerful. Before giving, take time to reflect on your motivations. Are you giving out of gratitude, joy, and a desire to honor God?
Or are guilt, control, or pride influencing your decision? Remember, your heart matters far more to God than the size of your gift. All right, your calls are next. 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000. We'll be right back. Movement mortgage LLC supports equal housing opportunity and MLS number 39179.
For licensing information, please visit nmlsconsumeraccess.org. Empty stomachs, waterborne illnesses, hopelessness. These are harsh realities for impoverished African children, but you can make a difference. Join with Cross International to share the love of Jesus with a child in critical need today. Each gift of $62 provides a child with life-saving resources. Give now at crossinternational.org slash faith or 866-843-9500 and help kids go from barely surviving to thriving. So glad to have you with us today on faith and finance. I'm Rob West. We want to take your calls and questions today, help you apply God's wisdom in your financial life. And we know you have questions.
You're welcome to bring those to the conversation today. 800-525-7000. Again, that's 800-525-7000. The lines will fill up, so now's a great time to call to get your question in the mix. And we can go whatever direction you'd like. We could talk about paying down debt. Maybe it's navigating the stock market.
Perhaps it's giving wisely. Whatever's on your mind today. Again, the rest of the program is for you. That number again, 800-525-7000. You can call right now.
Let's begin in Missouri. Hi, Josh. How can I help? Hi, I've been living with a roommate for the past three years. And since March, he has not had a job. And I haven't really been able to set any sort of money aside or anything like that with me covering the bills. And I was just curious if you had any advice on what I should do if I should move out or otherwise? Yeah, whose name is on the lease, Josh?
My roommate's. Yeah. Okay. Have you had that hard conversation with him about kind of where things stand?
I've had it a couple times. And apparently, he wants to sit down and draw everything back up next month. But yeah, I don't know if I should stick around and stay for that or not.
Yeah. Has there been a pattern of this in the past? Or is this kind of a one time thing?
This is the third time in three years this has happened. Yeah, unfortunately, I mean, it's moved from perhaps an isolated event where you're kind of being gracious and understanding to a situation where perhaps he's taking advantage of you at worst or best case scenario, he's at least just relying on your willingness to overlook the reality of the situation, which is not doing him any favors, because he no longer has an incentive to get out and, and do what he needs to do to replace that job. And find employment because you're covering the bills.
And so why would he? And so you know, it's unfortunate, because in your desire to be a good friend and a good roommate, and you know, you've stepped in that gap there, but it's unfair to you. And if you've got somebody who's going to take advantage of that, and this is going to repeat itself, which clearly it has, it doesn't sound like you should assume for the fourth time here that the outcome is going to be any different than it's been in the past unless you get serious about it. So I would say you need to start making steps toward moving out, give him notice, open and honest communication and just say, Listen, I understand things are challenging for you.
And yet, I just can't afford to continue on like this. And so I've decided to move out, be really clear about it, tell him when you're going to do it. So he has notice and can make necessary arrangements for himself, because with his name on the lease, he's going to have to take full responsibility for it or move out himself. And you don't want to catch him off guard with that. But I think, assuming that the outcome would be any different than it's been the past three times at this point, would probably be beginning to deceive yourself. And so I think unfortunately, the handwriting is on the wall here as much as you would prefer not to have to take that step, because I know it's going to add cost and time and, you know, effort on your part just to find a new place to live and, and, you know, make the move, which is not insignificant. And yet, to your point, you're just not doing yourself any favors by continuing to stand in the gap, especially when he's not showing any kind of meaningful effort to rectify the situation. So, you know, once you've made that decision, you sit down with him as quickly as possible.
I wouldn't, you know, be kind of wishy washy on that. I mean, I'd be pretty clear and just say, Listen, I'm grateful for the time we've had to live together, but this isn't working. And I've made the decision. That's where I think you need to be real clear. That I need to move out.
I just can't sustain this. And because as soon as you open the door to, you know, I think I'm thinking about moving out, then all sudden, he's going to jump in there and perhaps put his best effort toward getting you to believe things will be different moving forward. And I think at this point, just given the situation, there's just no reason to expect that. And especially if that's creating a financial hardship for you. So I hate that you have to have that conversation. But unfortunately, things like this do come up.
And they're not easy, especially when they involve money. Josh, we appreciate your call today. Thanks for being on the program. Let's head out to Virginia. Hi, Roy, you've been very patient, sir.
Go ahead. Yeah, well, Roy, I would say he wants to avoid bankruptcy, if at all possible. If he does go through bankruptcy, the impact on his credit to your question depends on the form of bankruptcy. If it's a chapter seven, it's going to stay on his credit report for 10 years, because the debt is completely wiped out. If it's a chapter 13, it's going to stay on for seven years, because he's going to agree to make at least partial payments. on the debt. Now, either way, the credit score is going to begin to improve after a few years, it won't be back to where it was, until the bankruptcy disappears from the reports at seven or 10 years.
But it certainly improves along the way. If all other payments are made on time, because the way the credit scoring algorithm works is the most recent information is that the credit score is going to stay on for seven years. Now, I would say just kind of from a biblical worldview, you know, the Bible is clear, the wicked borrows and does not repay. Now, if he's forced into bankruptcy, for legal protection, you won't find the word bankruptcy in the Bible. But I think the idea is that, you know, as he has the ability, he should make a plan to repay, whether that's through a 13 or 15 year period. where it's through the courts or on his own. But to your question, you know, there is a way out of this in terms of repairing the credit. Over time, it's not going to happen quick, but it will happen. And it'll start a few years following the bankruptcy.
So how would you be able to do it in another way? Well, I think, you know, I don't know his situation, but I think, you know, really dialing back his lifestyle as best he can, contacting each of his creditors, trying to work out a payment plan, you know, I mean, leaning into this in a way that does everything possible, apart from being forced into bankruptcy, which may happen if they're seeking judgments, and he just doesn't have the ability to pay. So I would just say, again, without knowing the situation, the next step would be to contact each of those creditors and try to, you know, get on a plan that, you know, keeps it out of bankruptcy, because nobody wants bankruptcy, he doesn't, they don't. And so if it's at all possible to work something out outside of the courts, that would be ideal, it may not be. And even then he could still work on repaying it through either a chapter 13, or just negotiating directly with them following the bankruptcy. And they may say we can't take it, the debts have been discharged, but he can make every effort to make restitution.
So hopefully that helps Roy, we appreciate your call today. 800-525-7000 is the number to call, we'd love to tackle what's on your mind today and encourage you from God's Word, help you lean into that role that you have of being a wise and faithful steward, but do it with confidence. Because, you know, as we think about our financial lives, there is just an seemingly unending number of decisions that we have to make every day, and we have limited resources.
I don't have to tell you that, you're reminded of that every month, where there's, you know, in some cases, more month than money and expenses are up across the board. I understand you just want to be found faithful, honor the Lord and what He's entrusted to you. And our goal each day on this program is just to come alongside you and say you got this and point you back to Scripture where we find wise counsel.
It starts with the idea that God needs to be our ultimate treasure, not our things. We need to lift our sights and maintain an eternal perspective, not be fixated on the here and now, the temporal circumstances of the day. Trust God as our provider, lean into our role as stewards and realize we have a high calling, but there's help, God's Word and this program to join with you in that. Back with you, more questions after this.
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Please consider becoming a monthly partner at faithfi.com. . Great to have you with us today on Faith in Finance. I'm Rob West. We're taking your calls and questions today. 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000. You can call right now. Let's go to Florida. Hi, Claudine.
How can I help? Hi, thank you for this opportunity. My friend told me about a wealth IRA and I am about to sign the contract. They charge 1.5% and I wanted to know if that is normal.
I'm about to sign a check for $8,000 and I just wanted to have more information about that. Yes, I'd be happy to weigh in on that. You said you had a Roth IRA.
What's the balance in that roughly? No, I'm starting. Okay, so you're just opening a brand new Roth and you're making an initial contribution, correct?
Yes, yes. Okay, and who is it that would be? Is it like a robo advisor, a technology solution that would be managing it or is it an actual individual advisor, a person?
It's a firm. Okay, and so they're willing to manage a brand new Roth IRA with only $8,000 and they're willing to do it at 1.5% a year? Yes. Okay, so that would not be inordinate by any means. In fact, that's pretty good just given how small the account is because you're just starting out.
So I think that would be fine. The other option would be just to use more of what we call a robo advisor where they use indexes. So you would just capture the broad market indexes. So you might have the broad stock market index and then you might have a bond index and you could do that for about one quarter of 1% a year, not 1.5%. And I would recommend like the Schwab Intelligent Portfolios at Charles Schwab. That's their robo advisor.
Or there's another one called Betterment. Either of those would be a low cost approach that would just allow you to capture the broad moves of the market with a mix of stocks and bonds that's appropriate for your age and risk tolerance. And a lot of people will do that when they're just starting out.
But if you've found a firm that you feel like will serve you well and give you more of the management that you're looking for and you want to establish a relationship and you plan to continue to add to this, I don't think 1.5% is out of line for that type of management. You just don't typically see that with a very small brand new account. Does that make sense? Okay, I understand. Can I ask you another question?
Yes. Can you tell me about annuity? I don't know much about it. They also spoke to me about it.
Yeah, I'd be happy to. So an annuity is basically an insurance contract that allows you to put the money with the insurance company, and they will provide you a guaranteed rate of return. And that's with a fixed annuity with a variable annuity, which is another variety of annuity, they will invest you in the stock market, and they'll give you a certain percentage of the upside, and they'll give you a floor on the downside so you can't lose money. But I don't like annuities when we're talking about retirement accounts for sure.
Just because there's not really any need for it. I mean, I would rather see you just invest in a Roth, put it into the stock market and get 100% of the upside, even if you had to take the downside with it. Because where we get those average annual returns for the market that are very attractive, is because in the big up years like this past year, we've had where market was up over 30%. You know, if you were in an annuity, you may have only got 10% of that and the insurance company takes the rest. And they do that in exchange for providing the downside protection. But I just think when you're investing for retirement, I'd rather see you just invest directly into the market as opposed to using an insurance product, like an annuity that's complicated and expensive, and limits your upside potential. That's just my opinion.
I mean, it may be a good fit for you if you're very risk averse, but it's not my first choice. Thank you so much. Thank you for your help.
Yes. So, um, I, when my grandmother died in her will, she left your house to me and my aunt pending her husband's death. Well, before her husband died, he ended up giving the property to somebody else. And now me and my aunts are just left out.
There's nothing. And I was wondering what the chance of legal channels I have. Well, it just or two, and I'm not an attorney, so you're going to need to talk to an attorney about this.
But just generally speaking, I mean, the way that normally would happen is through what's called a life estate. Do you know if that's what you had here? Yes. Yeah, that's correct. Okay. Yeah. So with a life estate, basically what happens is it goes to the initial beneficiary, which in your case would be your grandfather, correct? Yes.
Okay. And so then it would be his during his lifetime. And then after he dies, beneficiary a, the house passes to beneficiary b, the second beneficiary, the secondary beneficiary, that's you. So it with a life estate beneficiary, a has the right to live in the house, or use it for their lifetime. And then beneficiary b, you is the remainder men, that's what the legal term is, who inherits the full ownership after beneficiary a dies. And you can state that in your will. Now, if beneficiary a gave the property away, he doesn't have the right to do that, because they can't give it away or sell it or transfer ownership without the agreement of the remainder men, you.
So what do you do? Well, you would your rights are protected. So you would have to pursue a legal remedy on that. So I think bottom line is, I would contact an estate planning attorney to represent you have them review the deed and the will and the structure. And if in fact, it was transferred or given away, and you were the remainder men entitled to the ownership after his death, then the court could rectify that and put that back in your name. I hope that helps Dan, we appreciate your call. Quickly to Chicago, Donna, I've got just about a minute and a half left.
How can I help? Just want you to confirm for me if it's true that you have to pay interest in the end to federal government if you open up a high yielding savings account. Yes, interest is taxable for a savings account for sure. And so you would pay that at tax time when you file your taxes, you know, they would send you the necessary documentation to tell you exactly how much interest you earned for the year.
And then you would include that on your 1040. Thank you. That's all needed. Well, very good.
That was a quick one. Thank you for being on the program today. Lord bless you. Hey, don't miss our brand new resource. It's a 21 day devotion called Look at the Sparrows that will help you move from fear to faith in your financial life. If there's something that's been weighing on you, perhaps refocusing on God's word, renewing your mind with scripture is just what you're looking for. Go to faithbuy.com slash sparrows to learn more, and we'll see you tomorrow. Bye bye. Faith and Finance is provided by Faith Buy and listeners like you.
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