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Budgeting As Worship with Dr. Shane Enete

Faith And Finance / Rob West
The Truth Network Radio
January 20, 2025 3:00 am

Budgeting As Worship with Dr. Shane Enete

Faith And Finance / Rob West

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January 20, 2025 3:00 am

"The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty." - Proverbs 21:5

That verse is often used to encourage people to avoid “get rich quick” schemes and other risky investments. However, it also conveys a message about budgeting. Dr. Shane Enete joins us today to discuss why budgeting is a form of worship.

Dr. Shane Enete is an Associate Professor of Finance at Biola University and the author of the brand new book, “Whole Heart Finances: A Jesus-Centered Guide to Managing Your Money with Joy.”

Why Do People Dislike Budgeting?

Many people react negatively to the idea of budgeting. A CNBC article titled "People hate budgeting" spotlighted a financial professional who observed that over 60% of her clients felt as though they were "literally going to suffer" at the mere mention of budgeting. The misconception that budgeting is about reducing spending or losing freedom often drives this aversion. In reality, budgeting is a tool for aligning financial resources with personal and spiritual goals.

Look at King David, for example, during his preparation for building the temple in 1 Chronicles 28–29. David’s detailed planning and joyful devotion in allocating resources for God’s temple exemplify budgeting as an act of worship. He saw his financial planning as a way to serve God and inspire others to do the same. This narrative offers a powerful reminder that budgeting can be a means of glorifying God and building His kingdom.

Budgeting as Intentionality
  1. A Plan for Worship

    Budgeting is not about limiting joy but enhancing it by intentionally aligning financial decisions with God’s purposes. As stewards of God’s resources, we are called to manage money in ways that reflect His generosity and character.
     
  2. Daily Acts of Gratitude

    Tracking expenses can become a form of worship. We develop a heart of gratitude by regularly acknowledging God’s provision—even mundane payments like utility bills or DMV fees. This practice shifts our mindset from entitlement to stewardship, deepening our reliance on God.
     
  3. Aligning with God’s Heart

    Regularly reviewing and planning financial decisions enables us to grow closer to God’s heart. As stewards, we are responsible for managing resources according to His will. This intentionality creates financial margins that foster generosity, resilience, and a greater impact for His kingdom.
Breaking the Power of Money Through Generosity

Budgeting also unlocks the potential for generosity. As Ron Blue has said, “Giving breaks the power money can have over us.” By setting financial priorities, we can intentionally allocate resources to support others and further God’s work. 

William Wilberforce, a British politician, philanthropist, and movement leader to abolish the slave trade, once said, “By careful management, I should be able to give at least one-quarter of my income to the poor.” This kind of strategic generosity reflects a heart fully surrendered to God.

A Transformative View of Budgeting

Budgeting, when seen through the lens of worship, shifts from being a dreaded task to a joyful act of devotion. It enables us to live intentionally, reflect God’s character, and manage His resources wisely. By embracing this perspective, we not only honor God but also experience the freedom, joy, and resilience that come from living as faithful stewards.

If you’d like to dive deeper into this topic, check out Dr. Shane Enete’s article, Budgeting as Worship, in the quarterly publication Faithful Steward. You can receive this resource by becoming a partner at FaithFi.com/give.

On Today’s Program, Rob Answers Listener Questions:
  • I waited until full retirement age to start collecting Social Security, and I still work full time. My wife is past full retirement age but has not started collecting her Social Security yet. If she collects from my Social Security, will that interfere with my benefits now or in the future?
  • If I retired at 67 and got the full Social Security benefit, our only significant expenses would be our first and second mortgages. Would it be worth withdrawing big chunks from the inheritance money my mother left me and my brother so we could free up and live on $1,200 extra dollars a month?
Resources Mentioned:

Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000. Faith & Finance is also available on the Moody Radio Network and American Family Radio. Visit our website at FaithFi.com where you can join the FaithFi Community and give as we expand our outreach.

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That's faithfi.com and click give. The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty. Proverbs 21 verse five.

I am Rob West. That verse is often used to encourage folks to avoid get rich quick schemes and other risky investments, but that verse also carries a message about budgeting. Dr. Shane Enid joins us today to talk about why budgeting is a form of worship. 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. Well, we always look forward to having Dr. Shane Enid with us on the program. He's an associate professor of finance at Biola University and the author of the brand new book Whole Heart Finances, a Jesus-centered guide to managing your money with joy. Shane, great to have you back with us.

Thanks so much for having me. You know, I should also mention, Shane, that you have a great article on budgeting as worship, today's topic in our new quarterly publication, Faithful Steward, and we can talk more about that in a bit. But first, let's talk about budgeting in general.

Just the idea seems to irritate a lot of people. Is that your experience? Yeah, you know, I think the word budget really is a lot like the word diet.

You know, it grades against the ears. When you hear it, there's a bit of a repulsive kind of reaction, you know, and I went to church one day and I met someone new and they asked me what I did and I said I teach personal finance and finance and they immediately repulsed a bit back from me and said, you mean budgeting. I hate budgeting. And, you know, anecdotally, I see it, but then it kind of, I came across a CNBC article that was titled People Hate Budgeting and it really kind of confirmed this idea that budgeting is definitely something that people dislike. And in that article, they observed that over 60% of this article's author's clients felt that they were literally going to suffer whenever a financial advisor mentioned was going to talk about budgeting. Yeah, so there's a real problem here, but I think at the crux of the misconception chain is this idea that budgeting reduces the amount of money you can spend and nobody wants that.

In reality, it's just a way to decide in advance what you're going to spend with that same amount of money. And what's really cool is we see a lot of examples in God's word. And that's what I appreciated so much about this article you wrote called Budgeting as Worship.

So share maybe one or two of those. You know, one of my favorite passages in the Bible is out of 1 Chronicles 28 and 29. And it's a one big budgeting passage. And I don't think most people view it that way, but it's David, King David, he's just pumped. I mean, the entire chapter, he's so excited about what he's doing. And what he's doing is he's creating a strategic budgeting plan for building God's temple. And, you know, just to quote one of the verses, David says, all this I have in writing and God enabled me to understand all the details of the plan.

The task is great because this palatial structure is not for man, but for the Lord God. And then he talks about in my devotion, I now give, I now do this, I now set aside this. And really it's in his devotion he's doing this budgeting process. And it's this incredible tool he's using to bring about God's will. And David can't help but just rejoice.

And then he's so pumped that he gets the whole congregation, the whole of God's people rejoicing over this budgeting process. Who would have thought King David in his devotion, making his plan, the details of the plan that would result in the temple of the Lord. Now make the application though, Shane, to us as we think about our role in managing God's money. So like King David, we are all sons of the King.

So we are all royalty in many ways. And King David wanted to build this structure, this temple for God. And now the temple is our bodies. And so for us, when we're receiving money from God, as we go about planning for that money, how it's spent, we're actually helping to build God's kingdom through making our temple more useful for God's kingdom. And so yeah, so us as royalty, us as a temple, we get to do the same thing. We get to, in our devotion, go about building God's kingdom. And I think I came across a William Wilberforce quote that really helped summarize this well. And he said, by careful management, I should be able to give at least one quarter of my income to the poor. And so he was, in his devotion, budgeting so that he could go about bringing God's kingdom to the world, which he was pumped about. What a different picture of a budget that we're presenting today. Shane Enad is here. Shane is Associate Professor of Finance at Biola University. Much more on budgeting as worship right around the corner.

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. In rural Malawi, baby Esther was taken in by her grandparents when her mother died. Resources were scarce and Esther suffered from malnutrition for years until God transformed her life. Today, through Cross International, Esther receives nutritious meals, drinks clean water, and is taught about the hope found only in Jesus.

But other children are still waiting. Make an eternal impact on a child now with a $62 gift at crossinternational.org slash faith. Is budget a bad word for you?

Well, it is for a lot of people. We're going to try to dispel that today as we talk about budgeting as worship. That's right. Dr. Shane Ened is here with us today. He's Associate Professor of Finance at Biola University. He's also the author of the incredible book Whole Heart Finances that came out in 2024, a Jesus-centered guide to managing your money with joy.

He's a regular contributor here. And speaking of his contributions, Shane's got an article titled Budgeting as Worship in our brand new quarterly publication, Faithful Steward. If you'd like to receive this beautiful 52-page digest each quarter when you become a Faithfi partner at faithfi.com, you will be on the list. And Shane, I loved what you shared before the break, this idea of budgeting as worship. And you took us into God's Word and shared with us what we heard from King David as he was talking about the details of the plan.

And in his devotion, the allocation strategically of his resources to build the temple is a whole new way of looking at the role we have as literal sons of the King of the universe as we manage God's money. But I want to turn the corner and talk practically for a moment. You know, we don't often hear budgeting explained quite this way. So I'd love for you to unpack this a bit more in terms of what this looks like in the day to day. Sure.

Yeah. For me, a budget is a plan of intention. It's planning to do more of what I want to do. And what I want to do is largely informed by God and who He is and my closeness to Him.

I'm in relationship with Him. And so as I draw near to Him in His Word and try and pay attention to the Holy Spirit's guiding, I'm going to have desire to do things. And so the budget then is me sitting down, making a plan to do more of what I want to do. And so I get to worship because what I'm wanting to do is worship. And really, when things get practical, one of the best ways of worshiping is just to imitate God as a generous God. And so as I'm receiving money, now I want to make a plan to be generous myself. But there's all sorts of organization I need to do in order to make that happen. And that's the budget.

Yeah. You know, we often say here, and I know I've heard Ron Blue say many times that giving breaks the power that money can have over us. You know, if something's going to compete with our hearts for devotion to God, it's most often going to be money. And there's a real connection here to giving and budgeting.

What have you experienced in that? So I would say that budgeting is this incredible tool in our tool belt. And what it does is it helps us manage all of the complexity of our financial lives. If we're not using this tool, then we're going to kind of have a shabby home that ends up kind of falling apart, and we usually end up getting into debt. And so what the budget does is it helps organize things a lot more neatly. It helps us consider who we are in Christ as we are generous people. And so then we avoid all the pitfalls of spending. We avoid all the pitfalls of all the advertising, all the consumer culture. And the budget kind of lets us kind of have a clean house so then we can operate better, which, you know, that's how I feel like it just enables a greater capacity to give overall.

Yeah. You know, Shane, we've talked a lot about just the idea to establish financial finish lines. And, you know, if we look at the various areas that we allocate money, living, giving, owing and growing, you know, the lifestyle area is that area that is most often going to prevent us from giving at a maximum level, and is often when it gets out of control, what leads us into debt. Budgeting is really the thing that dials us into our lifestyle spending so that we're doing it with intentionality and in a way that intersects with our values. Isn't that true?

It's so true. And instead of viewing budgeting as a restriction, it's really a leaning into doing more of what you want to do. And so, you know, it's the new year. I tend to go through the Bible in a year. And so in January, you start with Genesis. And when you see God in Genesis, he's creating and he's organizing and he's going about with such great intention. And so I think in the same way, you know, the new year starts, we should sit down, make a plan, be intentional about who we want to be. And really, we want to be like God.

And God was just so generous for God to love the world he gave. And the budget can really unleash our giving because it helps us understand, you know, where we should trim, where we should lean into, how we should spend. And I love having a plan because in terms of worship, I get to present the plan before God and he gets to lead me and guide and direct my steps with that plan. So it's kind of a journal of the heart. And again, that's not a traditional way of thinking about budgeting.

But where your treasure is there, your heart is, as Matthew 6 21 says. And so this budget to me is like what I do with my wife. Once a year, we go to a fancy dinner.

I print out all sorts of pie charts. We look at our year and we just talk about how do we want to live this next year. And we can do the same thing with God. And in that is a type of devotion, a type of worship.

And that can happen on an annual basis. But I know you've shared with me, Shane, before that this actually comes out, this worship comes out in even your weekly rhythm of reflecting on how God has provided, which is allowing you to provide and to give. And so even the most simple payment is a way to celebrate God's provision. So you could make the payment, right?

Exactly. I talk about the basic action of tracking your expenses as worship because it's a financial gratitude journal. As you go into the Faithfly app or any other type of budgeting system and you just see an expense come through, one of our basic actions is to categorize it and just note it so that we can keep track. That act alone is a reminder, is a visible demonstration of how God's providing for us, whether it be electricity or, you know, most people get very mad when I say DMV fees are God's provision. And you can get to that place of seeing this and receiving it as gratitude and as daily bread. And if you don't kind of regularly see how God's providing, you kind of take it for granted and you actually get into more of an owner entitled mentality. But really, the daily tracking of your expenses is a daily moment.

I get to just receive what God has provided and it's vision. I see it. And then I'm also acting like a steward, which feels better versus naturally moving towards the ownership role when you just kind of think it's your money.

Yeah. Well, we're well aware as stewards. We have stewardship responsibilities, not ownership rights. And that's a game changer because that's a different role. If I'm a household manager, I walk into the home knowing that none of this is mine and yet I'm accountable to the master. So the only way we're going to be able to carry out our job as stewards is to know the master's heart, which means we have to be in God's word, right? Exactly.

Yeah. And really, I love what the budget does. As you track, there's something really natural. So you're moving towards God's heart.

You're acting more like a child that's receiving from the father, a good father, and then you're growing in your stewardship skills. But then a natural benefit is you start to spend less than you earn and a surplus emerges, a margin emerges that allows you to be more financially resilient and manage more of God's money over time. That is so good. Well, Shane, I'm so thankful that you joined us today to give us a whole new perspective on budgeting. Thanks for being here, my friend.

Thanks so much for having me. That's Dr. Shane Enad, author of the great article Budgeting as Worship in Faithfi's brand new quarterly publication, Faithful Steward. If you'd like to check it out, become a Faithfi partner today at faithfi.com. Just click Give.

We'll be right back. Are you a financial advisor or CPA seeking to build your practice on biblical wisdom? Not only does the certified Kingdom Advisor education provide you with deep biblical insights, the CKA designation sets you apart. Each year, almost 50,000 people search for a Christian financial advisor. Join our community and share your expertise with clients looking for someone who shares their faith and values.

Find more information at kingdomadvisors.com Get certified. We are grateful for support from Crossmark Global Investments. They are a faith based firm with a goal of offering values based investments to help align financial choices and faith, ensuring a portfolio that reflects what matters most. Crossmark does this through investment solutions that span the capital market spectrum from large cap to small cap strategies, including equity, fixed income and balance strategies. They are led by industry veteran Bob Doll, CFA, a regular guest on the faith and finance program.

More information is available at crossmarkglobal.com. Great to have you with us today on faith and finance. We're taking your calls and questions. 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000. Well, let's round out the broadcast today with your questions.

To Alabama we go. Hi, Ralph. Go ahead, sir. Thanks for taking my call. I have a couple of social security questions.

All right. One is I waited until full retirement age, started collecting social security and I still work full time. My wife, she's past full retirement age, still works full time, has not started collecting her social security. I heard she could collect off of mine.

I just want to make sure if she does that, it does not interfere with mine in any way now or even in the future. Yeah. I guess it's a spousal benefit or whatever.

Right. So your wife cannot collect spousal benefits on your record and not collect her own benefits. So for her to be eligible for spousal benefits, you have to be receiving social security benefits, which you are, and then she has to apply for her own benefits and then she would get the higher of the two.

You can't switch back and forth like you used to be able to do. So it doesn't affect you at all or your benefits, but she would have to decide, you know, to go ahead and begin collecting and then she could earn the higher of the two. Oh, God. Yeah. Now, if you pass away first, I will say your wife would be eligible for survivor's benefits.

So as a surviving spouse, she would receive a hundred percent of your benefit amount as long as she's at full retirement age. So she will get that. Oh, okay. Yeah, that was my second question. Okay. I appreciate it, Rob. All right.

Lord bless you, sir. Thanks for being on the program today. 800-525-7000 is the number to call. You know, this whole area of social security is really challenging for folks. I will say that in case you missed it, there was a big change that just recently took place with the Social Security Fairness Act. If you're somebody who's been subject to a provision called windfall elimination, or the government pension offset, those have been repealed. Those are long standing provisions that reduced benefits for decades for teachers, firefighters, police officers and other public sector workers who also receive pension income. The windfall elimination impacted around 2 million beneficiaries by reducing their benefits, because they were receiving a pension from a job that didn't withhold social security.

But even if they paid into social security through another job, they were not able to get those benefits. The government pension offset impacted about, well, nearly three quarters of a million spouses, widows and widowers by cutting their social security benefits if they also received their own government pensions. So this repeal will result in about two and a half million Americans receiving retroactive lump sum payments to address benefit shortfalls for 2024. And then the law will additionally boost monthly social security benefits for those affected households, starting with payments again after December 2023. So retroactive to the beginning of last year and then moving forward, of course. Now, while Social Security Administration has not yet released the details on implementing the changes, this new law is a significant financial relief for public servants and their families who again, paid into social security, often through a job beyond their teacher job or their public service job.

But they were not able to get those benefits because of this provision. It's now gone. And this is going to allow millions of workers to see a bump in their check. I believe the average bump is around $360 a month.

That's the average could go higher than that, depending on your situation, but certainly some welcome news for folks out there who are impacted by it. Let's go to Georgia. Hi, Kee, how can I help?

Hi. Well, first of all, I want to give a shout out to Christian Credit Counseling. Me and my husband did that about two years ago. They freed up a lot of money for us. And then we paid it off early. That's incredible.

Yeah, it's awesome. But my question is when my mother passed away, she had quite a bit of money that was divided between me and my brother. And I already have annuities and everything.

So I have an advisor that did everything that needed to be done. But my question is I'm 65. I cannot take early retirement because I can't take the cut in the Social Security. But if I retired at 67 and got the full benefit, the only big bills we have would be our first and second mortgage. So I am wondering, would it be worth withdrawing the big chunk out of what my mother left us so that we could free up and live like on twelve hundred extra dollars a month?

Yeah, very good. So what you're saying is you want to be able to go ahead and retire. And in order to do that, you'd have to go ahead and take care of these mortgages out of some of the inheritance money? Yes, if I retired at 67, I mean, we probably could make it, but it would be a struggle.

Yes. OK, very good. How much do you have left on these mortgages? On the first mortgage we have about thirty five thousand. The second mortgage is fifty seven thousand. OK. And how much do you have in inheritance money? We have no credit cards. And I got about two hundred and I guess two hundred twenty thousand.

OK. All right. And is that in a taxable account or in a retirement account pre-tax? Well, it's in accounts where I'm not being taxed.

And my current adviser wanted me to take some one of them. I have life insurance. My husband has life insurance. My policy would pay out about one hundred thousand. My husband would be, oh, I don't know, fifty, sixty thousand. He's nine years older than me. OK, but you're going to have to pay tax on the money as you pull it out to pay off the mortgage?

I guess. OK, you're going to want to check with your CPA. I like this plan key because it allows you to get out of debt, drop your biggest expense and wait to take Social Security.

Those are all good things. What you're probably going to want to do is pay one of them off this year and one of them next year. And that way you spread the tax over two tax years.

But I would check with your CPA on that, have him or her guide you in how to do this. But generally speaking, I like the plan a lot. I think you're on the right track. Thanks for your call. God bless you. Well, folks, thanks for being along with us today. So thankful for your comments, your kind remarks about the program. You know, it's my high calling and privilege to be able to come alongside you each day and tell you you can do this.

You can be that wise and faithful steward that you want to if you're thoughtful about it, if you lean into God's word, if you heed the counsel of scripture and not the consensus of this world. And we want to help to encourage you to that end. Big thanks to my team today, Brent, Adam, Jim, Taylor, and everybody here at Faithfi. We'll see you tomorrow. Faith and Finance is provided by Faithfi and listeners like you.
Whisper: medium.en / 2025-01-20 04:14:47 / 2025-01-20 04:24:28 / 10

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