What Ecclesiastes Teaches Us About Life and Money

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Just click Sign Up. Now let's dive into the podcast. One book of the Bible reminds us that life is short and we should make the most of every moment.

Hi, I'm Rob West. If you guessed Ecclesiastes, you're right. This book emphasizes that our time here is fleeting, but what lies beyond is eternal. Today I'll explore this profound truth as we introduce a new Faithfi study on the book of Ecclesiastes, 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, as we dive into Ecclesiastes, we'll discover a recurring theme that challenges us to think deeply about life's purpose.

Let me give you a powerful illustration. Mount Everest is the highest mountain on earth, rising to over 29,000 feet, or nearly the cruising height of a modern jet. Anyone standing at the top is higher than every other person alive on the face of our planet. The allure of the climb attracts many climbers every year, but the trip is of course dangerous, expensive, and lengthy.

No summit attempt was ever successful until the 1950s. Life-giving air is notably absent. At 26,000 feet, climbers are said to enter the death zone. Above, there is simply not enough oxygen to sustain human life, no matter how well-trained the climber may be. Oxygen bottles are typically required to survive long enough to summit and return. For the final stage, the climber's body is fighting for life and will lose that fight if enough time passes at such extreme altitudes.

They generally have just five minutes, or 300 seconds. So how do you think a climber ought to spend that precious five minutes? Well, you can imagine one climber complaining about their injured ankle, which still hurts, then mentioning that they hate this thin air. Another wiser climber faces the situation differently.

They praise God for the beauty of creation and the rare chance to conquer something so huge, which climbers spent their moment the right way. Well, Ecclesiastes teaches us that your life is like having five minutes on the summit. You just got here, and you aren't going to be here long.

Many have come before you, and many will come after. But right now, you're here. Sometimes, your brief stay is blessed with sunshine and calm. Other times, you'll face icy wind and cloud cover. Sometimes, you're able to cherish the moment. Other times, conditions don't allow for it.

You might feel great, or you may be nursing an aching injury. But in any case, you're alive. You're on the summit for five precious minutes, and you get this one chance to live.

You don't get any do-overs. Ecclesiastes reminds us to embrace every single moment we're given. Very soon, the expedition leader, God, is going to tap each of us on the shoulder and say, I know you might want to stay here longer, but it's time to leave now.

Ecclesiastes reaches out to grab our face with two hands, looks us in the eye, and urgently implores, my friend, you have just five minutes. Stop wasting time. Stop being distracted by what doesn't matter. Take it all in. Fear God. Love others.

Enjoy this moment. In Ecclesiastes chapter 12, Solomon writes in verse one, remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near, of which you will say, I have no pleasure in them. And picking up at verse six, before the silver cord is snapped, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, and the dust returns to the earth as it was, the Spirit returns to God who gave it.

Vanity of vanities, says the preacher, all is vanity. Ecclesiastes asks us to think about death honestly and carefully. Surprisingly though, we're to remember death so that we can be more joyful in life.

If I know I have to leave the summit soon, I'm going to treasure every moment. If I know death is coming, I'll be thankful to be alive. The book continually reminds us that we will age, decline, and die. In fact, death is mentioned in eleven out of its twelve chapters.

Have you ever considered that? If you haven't already, you will one day face the challenges of aging and dying. Ecclesiastes reminds us of this with colorful creative metaphors in the poem found in chapter twelve, verses one through eight. It describes with humor and realism how our bodies decline in their function as we approach the end of our time on earth. The goal of this focus on our future decline is not to make us feel depressed, but rather to help us realize that today is a gift.

If you're alive and hearing these words, you are still enjoying your five minutes on the summit. Well, we've only scratched the surface here of the new Faithfi study, Wisdom Over Wealth, twelve lessons from Ecclesiastes on money, which will be released next month. You can learn more at faithfi.com. Just click shop. That's faithfi.com. Click shop.

Back with more after this. Fixed income and balance strategies. They are led by industry veteran Bob Doll, CFA, a regular guest on the faith and finance program.

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Find more information at kingdomadvisors.com. Hey, thanks for joining us today on faith and finance. It's almost time to begin taking your calls and questions here in just a moment. So this is a great time right now to call.

We've got lines open. If you want to ask a question today, something going on in your financial life, this is the opportunity to do it. 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000. Any financial topic in play today from credit scores to investing, even aligning your values with your investments. What does that look like? Maybe it's paying down debt or giving generously, whatever's on your mind today.

The number to call again, 800-525-7000. In the news today, it comes as no surprise, but many of the best job opportunities in 2025 will be in the health sector. That's according to a new ranking by Indeed, the job search portal. In the top 25 jobs based on salary, six are in the health field, including veterinarian, physician, clinical psychologist, radiologist, registered nurse, and director of clinical services. Analysts say these professionals are in extremely high demand and command large salaries, as you might expect. That demand is expected to grow disproportionately higher than other job sectors in the years ahead. Of course, health professionals are in such high demand due to what analysts call barriers to entry.

You have to have advanced medical degrees to qualify for them, and they take a lot of time, effort, and money to acquire. But if you're thinking about entering the job force and perhaps considering as you're maybe a high school senior or one is in your life, or maybe you're looking to make a transition to a new career, this might be something to think about as you consider not only what is a great job opportunity today, but what will be into the future, assuming that aligns with your passions and skill set that the Lord has gifted you with. All right, let's turn to your calls and questions. Again, that number 800-525-7000. You can call right now, and we'd love to chat with you today.

We're going to begin in Virginia with Dan. Go ahead, sir. Thank you for taking my call. My question is that I'm 73 years old. I'm self-employed, have for 40 years. And five years ago, we moved out of our house and left a house that we own completely for my daughter and her kids because of the fact that she had thyroid cancer.

Thyroid was removed. And as a result, we were hoping that she could help us somehow or another, but it seems like she has just absolutely no energy. So the house should be generating probably up to 3,000 pounds a month in rent if I would have done it, but I'm not getting a nickel out of it. So it's costing me quite a bit of money.

And I was just wondering if there's any way I can use, have some type of deduction, tax deferment or deduction with this situation on this house. Yeah, it's a great question. And I'm grateful that you're able to provide that assistance. But I realize that can be a drain. Absolutely.

And so any, you know, help along the way would go a long way to a long way to helping you to continue to be able to do this. You do need to check with a tax professional. And so I would connect with the CPA if you'd normally do your own taxes, maybe this is the year to just get some advice or perhaps even have somebody do this for you. If you're providing just generally speaking here for a second substantial support for an adult child who's not living with you, there are potential tax benefits available. You could claim them as a dependent under the qualifying relative category. And so, you know, they have to be your child, which clearly they are, the child has to have earned less than, you know, $4,700 and that changes yearly, and then you have to provide more than 50% support. And unlike a qualifying child, a qualifying relative does not have to live with you.

And then they can't be dependent anywhere else. So that would be, you know, one option. You know, you could also look at other potential tax breaks as well. And I think that's where exploring this with a tax professional would probably, you know, go a long way in helping you explore everything that could be available to you. Okay. Well, I will pursue those, that avenue and see what we can get, you know, what the outcome of that.

Yeah, I do have a CPA that does take care of my professional, my business books every year. Okay. And so and we he knows my situation, and he hasn't offered any type of ideas or anything like that. Okay.

Yeah, well, it's gonna be limited, but it's at least worth exploring. And I talked to him about whether or not, you know, there is an opportunity with the qualifying relative category, but keep up the good work, Dan. And I realized this is a season with expenses up across the board, not the least of which, you know, is the support you're providing can be a real challenge. But I know it makes the Lord smile when we help those that we care about and who are going through a difficult season. Call back anytime if we can assist further. God bless you, sir. 800-525-7000 is the number to call with your financial questions today to New Hampshire.

Rebecca, go ahead. I have a question about credit scores and how they're determined. A few years ago, I got divorced, and we had to sell the house. And six months later, I had no credit. But thankfully, I always pay my bills on time, and I kept my records. So a kind bank helped me buy a house or condo. So I have a, I do have that towards my credit, and I always pay on time.

And I pay all my bills on time. But I have found over the last several months, that my credit score, which I see on my bank statements, is gradually going down. It was like at 780.

It's down to like 720. And I was trying to figure out why. And the only thing that I've been able to ascertain, because there's no complaints or anything on my credit report, is that I don't have enough credit, which is doesn't seem right to me, because having a mortgage, especially since my mortgage and my HOA, half my income should be enough.

Yes. Well, there's a couple of things going on here. It's not likely do at least the primary reason to you not having enough credit. You know, that would have prevented you from getting a mortgage in the first place.

It could be any number of things. If you've had any closed, long standing credit accounts that can have an impact on your score, because it reduces your credit history, which is one of the pieces of this, it also could have to do with your credit mix. So the credit scoring algorithm benefits those who have different types of credit all in good standing. So if you have revolving accounts, like a credit card alongside an installment account, like a car loan alongside a mortgage, I mean, these different types of credit, at least based on the algorithm would indicate to the lender that you can manage various types of credit for various purposes and, you know, be an on time payer. And so that credit mix benefits you as well. If you've applied for credit recently, perhaps even in a shorter, you know, period of time in the recent past, those hard inquiries where you authorized a lender to check your credit could also be affecting your score. Usually the primary issue related to credit would be what's called credit utilization, where you're carrying balances, whether you charge them up, and then pay them off at the end of the cycle, or you're carrying them month to month and paying interest, if those balances go above 30% of the limit, either per individual account or in the aggregate, that's going to pull down your score.

So I think your next step is to pull all three credit reports at annual credit report calm, just to make sure there's not anything there that's erroneous or inaccurate. But, you know, I think if you can prioritize keeping those balances low and being an on time payer, that's the very best opportunity for you. Hope that helps.

Thanks for your call. This is Faith and Finance. Our goal on this program each day to help you see God as your ultimate treasure, to be theologically sound, to be encouraging, even helping and encouraging you if you're in a difficult spot right now, to provide wise counsel, but also to be expert in the advice that we give because we know that it's rooted in truth, because our source for that God's Word. We're going to be back with much more just around the corner.

So don't go anywhere. We're just getting started today. We'll be right back. Faith and Finance is grateful for support from Soundmind Investing. If you have money in an investment account, you know, sometimes the stock market can seem like a roller coaster, but it's possible to enjoy both profit and peace of mind as a do it yourself investor, no matter what's happening in the market. A short video webinar about that is available at soundmindinvesting.org. Financial wisdom for living well, soundmindinvesting.org. Thanks for joining us on Faith and Finance. We're taking your calls and questions, that number to call 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000. We'd love to hear from you today with your financial questions. Back to the phones we go. Let's go out to Michigan. Hi Carol, go ahead.

Hi, thanks for taking my call. I had a question about independent living after you turn a certain age. I'm 58 years old right now. I'm on disability.

I only get about $1300 a month and that's before Medicare is taken out and I'm able to work part-time right now out of my home. I guess what I'm wondering is, and I'm married, wondering if something would happen to my husband or if I was left alone, what would be the best option for me? Obviously, I would probably sell my house and I believe I could wind up with maybe $200,000 or so after taxes and realtor fees and whatnot, but I'm wondering where would be the best place for me to go, what the steps would be, and how I would handle a situation like that. Yeah, I think it's a great question and I'm glad to hear you thinking about that now. We know that the data says that as men we will pre-decease our wives and I think so often, at least I hear from so many widows on this program, that find themselves after a husband passes away, especially if he's been the one, and this certainly isn't always the case, but if he's been the one who's managed the financial affairs, a lot of times widows will feel, just have a lot of questions and feel ill-prepared to manage their finances moving forward. And so I think leaning into that right now, Carol, and having a plan to understand not only what assets has the Lord entrusted to you, but kind of what would your next steps be.

I think the first thing would be just to establish a reasonable budget to determine what you have available to you. Did you say you're both collecting social security right now? No, neither one of us are. I'm only 58, he's 61, I have disability. Yeah, if I ever wound up getting his social security, it would be a little bit more than mine.

Mine's 1,300, it would probably go up to maybe 2,200, but that's another nine years away from me. Yeah, okay. And is he continuing to work? Yes, yeah. Okay, yeah. And are you all putting money aside every month toward retirement? It's really hard to do that. I hardly make anything and he doesn't make a lot, and I have a lot of medical expenses, so it's almost impossible. And then when we do, we need to use it for car repairs and whatnot. Okay, and so other than the 200,000 you think you could net from the house, what other assets do you have currently?

I mean, that's pretty much, that would be it. I don't have any like retirement accounts. I mean, I took my retirement out and I have, well, actually I had 30,000 in gold and silver, so I guess that would be another asset.

Yeah, yeah, very good. Well, here's the reality is, I mean, you know, the key would be for you all to wait as long as you can to take social security, you know, and I think the key for him is the longer he can work, the better. And the same, you know, I know you're on disability, but I think the extent to which you all can delay collecting social security, even if he could wait all the way to age 70, that would be ideal because he could get his checkup 25% or thereabouts higher than what he's scheduled to get as at full retirement age, which would help because if he's, you know, scheduled to get 2200 a month at full retirement age, that would, you know, might take that up to $2,750, which could be a pretty significant game changer for you just to have what you need to cover your bills. And you would get that as survivors benefits. And then obviously, if you sold the home, you'd have the couple hundred thousand dollars. And you know, that could be converted to an income stream, as well, you know, which would be, you know, probably you could pull 8000 a year or about $650 a month. So if you put all those together, you know, that's 650 a month. And then if you were to add 2700 from his social security, if he waited to 70, that gives you 3300 a month.

So that would give you an option. I mean, if you ended up spending those assets down, because you needed some sort of care, whether that's in home care, or full nursing care or something in between, you know, then that's where Medicaid would kick in. And you could go to a Medicaid approved, you know, independent living or nursing home facility, you know, if you needed care, and they would, you know, cover that once your assets have been spent down. So I think the key for you all is just to delay as long as you can keep your lifestyle is at a minimum, try to save when possible. I realize you have, you know, a lot of expenses, including medical expenses, but, you know, getting that social security up as high as possible, and staying out of debt or getting out of debt, if you have some debt now, and then ultimately liquidating that that home, you know, would probably give you the ability to at least either stay there and cover your bills from social security or loan, or sell the house, use that plus social security, you know, to live and if at some point you needed some additional care, you could get that. Does that make sense? Yeah, it does.

And I was just curious to one quick question. You had mentioned reverse mortgages before I think on here, and you gave a number and it was movement.com or something like that. So movement is an underwriter of this program and they do specialize in the area of reverse mortgages and that could be an option as well where if you wanted to stay there, essentially, you could convert that to an income stream and then stay there for the rest of your life. As long as you pay the taxes and the insurance, you'd never have a payment.

And that would be another way to boost your income. The website is movement.com slash faith, movement.com slash faith. Thank you for your call today, Carol. We appreciate you being on the program.

Well, folks, as we round out the broadcast today, first of all, thank you for your time, for tuning in and listening to the broadcast each day. I'm grateful for your questions and your testimonies because here's the reality. You know, my experience in doing this for a long time is that our financial journey is one of the key ways that God shapes our spiritual journey.

And you might say, how is that Rob? Well, here's the reality is, you know, the way we handle God's money is one of the most tangible expressions of what we value and where we've placed our trust. And it's that daily demonstration of how we're going to allocate God's resources.

And ultimately these are hard issues. You know, money is just symptomatic of heart. Jesus said, where your treasure is there, your heart will be also. So we know that our money follows, excuse me, our heart follows our money. And so we want to be thinking about the story we're telling with regard to what's most important to us. And if our spending doesn't align with that, we'll take a step back and say, you know what?

Maybe I need to take another look at my budget. Maybe I want to be doing more, giving more, saving more, blessing the people on my path, using money as a tool to accomplish God's purposes, not spending so much on interest on the debt I've accumulated. Well, each day we want to help you make steps in that direction so you can give generously and hold God's money loosely and live simply.

And it's a real honor to be able to come alongside you. By the way, lots of great resources at our website, faithfi.com. Not only can you find a certified kingdom advisor, but you can click on the button there at the top of the page that says app and learn about the FaithFi app and how we can actually help you put in place a spending plan, even a system to manage your money using the envelope system and a modern digital expression. It's all there in the FaithFi app.

You can download it today at faithfi.com. Big thanks to my team today, Devin Patrick, Jim Henry, Sandy Dickinson, and everybody here at FaithFi. I hope you have a great rest of your day and come back and join us tomorrow. We'll see you then. Bye-bye. Faith and Finance is provided by FaithFi and listeners like you.