Seeing Investing Through God’s Eyes

Isaiah 55 proclaims, My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. I'm Rob West. With our finite minds, we can never fully understand God's, but can we gain some understanding of his view of things like investing? I'll talk about that with Jason Meyer today of Eventide, then it's on to your calls at 800-525-7000.

Call it 24-7-800-525-7000. This is MoneyWise Live, biblical wisdom for your financial decisions. Well, our guest, Jason Meyer, is with Eventide, an underwriter of this program. He's a founding member of Eventide and spends a great deal of time encouraging folks like us to be a part of God's plan with our investments, aligning your Christian values with your role as an owner of the investments you have in your portfolio. Jason, welcome back to the program. Hey, thanks, Rob.

It's really great to be with you again. Jason, investing is one of those topics that can feel far away from our faith, perhaps even completely disconnected. You know, we look at numbers and charts and wonder how it all connects with the Bible and God's purposes.

So I'd love for you to unpack this a bit for us. How can we see investing as a part of God's plan? Oh, man, such a great question. And I think this kind of question is central to what it means to live the Christian life. Our task as believers is to really try and see all of life through God's eyes, as it were, including such seemingly mundane things as investing. You know, one of my favorite quotes here that I like to think about comes from Ralph Winter, who founded the U.S. Center for World Mission. And he said, quote, unless we see the whole world the way God sees the world, every decision we make will be flawed, close quote.

Every decision. And that obviously includes things like investing. And so asking how God sees investing, I think it's an important, if often overlooked, question in our lives.

Yeah, because even if we've gone there, Jason, mentally, and we've thought there should be a connection. I want my faith to intersect with every aspect of my life, including my investments. It was very challenging to even find investments that could reflect your faith appropriately, perhaps even just a few years ago. Isn't that true? Yeah, absolutely. And for the longest time, investing has been really about just seeking a profit and seeking to generate an attractive rate of return that can help us make progress toward our financial goals.

And planning is a good thing and saving is a good thing. But it leads these questions about what's actually taking place. What are the businesses I'm investing in and how does just the stuff of investing connect with God's purposes in the world?

Yes. And there's been incredible advancements. I'd love for you just to touch on this because you and I have had a front row seat the last five years or more to see the growth in what we call faith-based investing with companies like Eventide that exists specifically to create investments that make the world rejoice.

It's been incredible to watch the developments, hasn't it? Yeah, for sure. I think there's certainly space in the market for an alternative vision of investing where, instead of treating it as this kind of human development separate from God's ways and God's purposes, to actually start with the Bible as the foundation and to say what should investing look like in light of the way in which God made the world and made human work to function and business to function and how do we build an investment approach from the Bible instead of working backward from just the world of finance and trying to fit it in with our faith. Exactly.

And that can look differently. In fact, in the faith-based investing space, Jason, as you know, there are investments that allow you to embrace companies making a positive impact in the world, avoid companies that don't align with your Christian faith, and even engage as a shareholder or as an owner with companies to let your values be known. And we're seeing developments in all three, right?

Yeah, that's right. Back, I would say, a couple of decades ago, it was really just about trying to invest while avoiding some of these problem areas that we can come into in investing. And so screening companies out was the primary approach, but I'm delighted to see that we've taken and built upon that and are actually seeking to embrace companies that we believe are well aligned with God's heart and his design for work, culture, and business in the world today.

Very good. Well, we're going to continue to unpack this just around the corner. In fact, we'll look at the creation story and talk about how business and investing are meant to contribute to the goodness of creation. That and more with Jason Meyer around the corner.

Stay with us. Welcome back to MoneyWise Live. Our guest today is Jason Meyer with Eventide, an underwriter of this program. We're talking about how faith and investments intersect. How does it all connect with the Bible and God's purposes? Just before the break, Jason was sharing that with us, how our faith doesn't have to be disconnected from our investing and business. And in fact, this really takes us back to the creation account. Jason, how do we put all of this into action and really learn to see investing through God's eyes?

Right. You know, we could start with the present day and talk about ethical issues or impact opportunities, things like this. But I think actually the best way that we can frame up investing is to do it within the biblical story and to go back to the very beginning of the story, to the book of beginnings, the book of Genesis. Because as it turns out, Genesis provides us with glimpses of a vision for business and investing as a part of God's story.

So let's remind ourselves of some of the key features of that story. So Genesis opens up with God's great work of creation. God is a worker. He creates the heavens and the earth and everything that fills them.

And everything that God makes, He declares good and very good. As the crowning work of creation, God makes us humanity in His very image. And what this image means is that we are given God-like capacities. So, for example, to love like God, to be creative like God and so on, as well as a sacred responsibility to actually reflect God's very nature, character and attributes to the world and the rest of creation. Being made in God's image, God then commands us to rule in Genesis 128 over the entire creation and to exercise dominion as God's earthly representative.

I mean, what an awesome sense of responsibility. And then finally, we come to the part of the story where I think we can begin to reflect on business and investing. And it comes in Genesis 2.15, where we learn that God gives humanity the gift of work. So just as God was a worker in creation, God intends for humanity from the very beginning of the story to participate with Him in this work of creation. Now, what God makes is obviously to make things out of nothing, but what we do is we take God's good creation and we develop it further and to discover the potential that He has built within the created order. And so, for example, we take the grain that God has made and we develop it through human ingenuity and labor and we make what?

Bread. We take the grace that God has made and develop it through human innovation and work and make wine. And we could describe all manner of culture making in keeping with God's goodness and creation.

So art, architecture, scholarship, technology and business and investing. And so here at the beginning, we can see that our labors are a participation with God in the work of creation by further developing its goodness and furthering God's glory in the world. And so I think it all adds up to everything we do in business and investing should be to develop and cherish God's good creation in ways that meet human needs and bring glory and honor to Him.

That's incredible. I love the picture and the beauty of God's design and how it applies to our lives today. Let's put a finer point on the business and investing aspect of it. And how is that meant to contribute to the goodness of creation? And perhaps even a second question. How is that different from the story we often hear in the world today? Yeah, the story we hear in the world today is pretty easy.

We talked about that at the beginning. And that's that, hey, business is just about profit and investing is just about getting a return. But I think if we saturate our minds with this biblical story and are shaped by it, we can have the confidence to set aside these rival stories about business and investing. Both business and investing, like all work, are meant by God to provide for the needs of the world and bring glory and honor to Him. And so if we think about this, humanity through business is therefore meant to image God's attribute of provision for the world by creating goods and services that the world needs to flourish. In fact, we call the products of business goods and services because the products are intended to be good and are intended to be a service to humankind.

So that is true calling. Profit is necessary. But here in the biblical story, it's secondary. And investing as well has a different story, and that is that humanity through investing is meant to resource business with the capital that it needs in order to accomplish this work of provision. So investing financial returns are good, but again, they're secondary. To kind of put it together, what I like to do is I like to picture investing as looking out over the Garden of God at all the various business work that's taking place and then to strategically make decisions about the kinds of business work I want to further with my capital, or God's capital, rather. Investors are like master planners over the Garden of God who are strategically allocating capital in ways that yield the highest return for the world and the maximal return to God's glory.

Wow. What a beautiful picture of what investing can be. Of course, Jason, there's a problem. Sin enters the world and right into God's perfect creation. So how does sin specifically affect this work of investing?

Right, man, I wish the story had ended there. But unfortunately, sin enters into the world. And what that means fundamentally is that investing takes on a different level of stakes. So if sin had never entered into the world, then the work of investing would be rather easy, right? Because everything would be good and every investing decision would enhance the world and bring God glory and honor. In a sin-free world, investing decisions would be yes, yes, yes. But the sobering reality of sin means that not every decision today can be a yes. And there are sadly many investing decisions today that I think we should say no to.

The fall means that humanity can now use that God-given creativity in business and in investing to create things that harm our neighbor and bring dishonor to God. And so great care must be taken, I think, with every investing decision. We need always to be asking, hey, is this investing decision going to enhance the beauty and provision of the garden that God made? Or is this investing decision going to diminish it?

Wow. Yeah, and that is a great way for us to turn to the value of faith-based investing as we begin to wrap up today. Jason, it really offers us a way to intentionally say yes to businesses that we believe are developing God's good creation in ways that serve our neighbors and honor God.

Yeah, I think that's spot on. In my view, the real value of faith-based investing is that it offers us a way to intentionally invest in companies that we believe have products and practices that are enlarging the beauty and provision of God's good creation, that are developing it in line with this story that we looked at. And I believe that faith-based investing not only allows us to just see investing through God's eyes, but actually to practice it and to seek to bear his image in the very way we invest today. And Jason, you all are finding those companies, and I know others are as well, and you're excited about the stories that you're able to participate in with your investing dollars and that of your clients, right?

That's right. If you think about the way in which this view would transform investing, most of us are saving, and the only purpose we have is reaching a financial goal. But when we connect investing to the story of God, we find meaning in the day to day as we're directing dollars to real businesses that are adding real value to God's creation. And so that, I think, gives us a new sense of purpose in investing and can transform our identity as investors. Wow, that's powerful.

Well, that's all the time we have for today, Jason. Thanks for bringing us a fresh biblical perspective for investing, my friend. My pleasure.

Thanks for having me. Jason Meyer of Eventide. You can get more information at investeventide.com. That's investeventide.com. Your calls are next, 800-525-7000. Stay with us. We'll be right back. Welcome back to MoneyWise Live.

I'm Rob West, your host. So glad to have you along with us today as we take your calls and questions on anything financial. We've got some lines open today. On a Friday, here's the number, 800-525-7000. That's 800-525-7000. We want to take whatever you're dealing with today, apply biblical principles, and see if we can help you move forward with confidence as we're found to be faithful as stewards of God's money. Again, the line to call, 800-525-7000.

We're going to begin today in Lake Worth, Florida. Bruce, listening to WRMB. How can I help you, sir? Hi. Well, good afternoon. Thanks for taking my call. My wife and I are trying to decide about $60,000 in savings and how much of it we should try to put back in a savings account that would pay more than just the 0.05% that we're currently receiving.

Sure. Let's talk about the money that you have. Where did it come from, and how do you plan to use it in the future?

Well, you know, it's really just kind of a safety net. We have our IRAs, and I'm 67, retired. My wife is 63, working part-time.

So I'm waiting until 70 to get my Social Security. So as far as meeting our budget, you know, we're doing that without a problem. So it's just hard to leave that much money just sitting there and not really doing anything. And my question was whether or not it's worthwhile having it there as a safety net, or should we take some of it away?

Yeah, very good. What are your monthly expenses all in, roughly? I guess probably about $3,000 a month, something like that. So even in this season, if we were to say, let's have a full 12 months' worth of expenses, you're still quite a bit beyond that, because that would only be $36,000.

I mean, I think that's the first question, Bruce, is to decide what is that right amount. Typically, during your working years, we would say three to six months' worth of expenses in an emergency fund for the unexpected. And then beyond that, you could have separate savings accounts for known expenses that don't come certainly every year or even every two, but you need to plan for them. A good example would be a home repair fund. You could look at 1% of the home's value annually, putting in a home repair fund for things that just wear out.

A roof needs to be replaced over time, or all the wood around all the windows, or the windows themselves. I mean, these are expenses that wouldn't be unexpected, but they can be bigger ticket items, and they come down the line every several years. So, I think first we've got to decide how much in that emergency fund, and again, three to six months is a starting point, but during retirement, we may want to bump that up to as much as 12 months' expenses. Then beyond that, what are those other savings buckets we need related to the house, maybe a car replacement, and then any other kind of medium-term savings goals.

So, what do you feel most comfortable with regarding those items I just mentioned? Well, yeah, our house is 30 years old, so that's really good advice, keeping funds out for home repairs and things like that. But you're saying about 12 months' worth of expenses. Yeah, plus that home repair fund. So, let's say you put $40,000 away. You seeded the home repair fund with four, and we did 12 months of expenses at 36. So, then we'd have an additional $20,000. Now, for that $40,000, I'd use a high-yield savings account.

Now, it says high-yield, and unfortunately today, high-yield means a half of 1%, but that's going to be headed up. The key is you want that safe. You don't want that at risk. You don't want it invested where it could lose value. You need it accessible, FDIC insurance, but I'd get it out of your checking, link it electronically through a high-yield savings account. At least you're going to earn some interest. Beyond that, you could look at either some additional giving opportunities or perhaps you put that $20,000 to work. Maybe you put it through a robo-advisor or some high-quality mutual funds in a balanced portfolio with a mix of stocks and bonds where this could grow over time. If you didn't have any other specific items that you've targeted for that money, but I think clearly you've over-accumulated in terms of what just needs to stay straight in savings. You need to bring some definition to that based on our conversation, but then the balance, you could look to invest in stocks and bonds, but give me your thoughts on that though. Well, we have everything pretty much in place as far as our IRAs and ROC IRAs, so we have investments out there. Our home is free and clear and the cars are paid for, so we have no debt at all.

I'm thankful and praise God for that, but there was just one last question. There is a bank, I don't know if I should name names, but we were in there last week and the manager said that he has a premier savings account where they have a target rate of 5%. When I look online and I see 0.05, it makes me doubt as to whether or not they're accurate with this 5% target rate. I know it's a target, but I think they also charge 1% or 1.5, so if I win or lose, they still get paid. I can't see how they could come anywhere close to that 5%. Are you aware of any banks offering a 5% return?

No, I'd want to understand what they're doing there. The fact that there's a management fee tells me it's going to be a portfolio constructed of stocks and bonds that has absolutely the ability to lose value. Typically, we would look to generate about a 4% return in retirement using predominantly fixed income with a smaller portion of stocks to provide a little bit of growth over time. If the market was down, you wouldn't touch that portion, but that's certainly not guaranteed. A 1% fee would be typical.

It sounds like to me you guys have really defined your finish line. I think at this point you could look to do some additional giving right now because you've already accumulated for retirement and you've got more than you need in savings. I think that might be a great next step is to look at additional giving opportunities. Hopefully, this is helpful to you, Bruce. 800-525-7000. Thanks for tuning in.

This is MoneyWise Live, biblical wisdom for your financial decisions. I'm Rob West, your host. Heading back to the phones, we do have some lines open. We'd love to hear from you.

800-525-7000. In just a moment, we'll talk about whether you should tithe before or after tax. That comes from David in Florida. Christina wants to know about property tax acquisitions. We'll talk about that and then refinancing with Tammy, but first from the Quad Cities. Hi, Bob.

How can I help you today? I just sold my house and actually had bought another one on contract. I still have equity in the contract one, but I cashed out to the tune of about $40,000. My past history financially is this is not a good idea to just have a bunch of money laying around.

So what I was wondering is there any direction I can take with this to make it work for me a little bit? It's part of my retirement, hopefully, and reinvested or what I should maybe do with it. Yeah. So this $40,000 specifically is what we're trying to target. Is that right? Yes.

Okay. And what do you believe you'll use this for? And what is the time horizon on that? It's really got to go towards my retirement at some point. I'm 60 years old, almost 60 years old.

So I would just like to make it work. I thought about reinvesting in another flipped property, but I'm not real certain with the housing market if it's going to hold on much longer. Yeah. Have you already paid the capital gains on this or set that aside? Yeah.

I lived in my house for 20 years, so there's no capital gains. Oh, okay. So this was from a primary residence? Yes. Primary residence and it is, yeah, that was my total clearance. Okay.

So you're going to move into another property that you own? Yes. Yes, I already did. Okay.

Very good. And are you still working at this point? Yes, I am. And I'm self-employed, so I'm just the one man, just one man working for myself. So sometimes income can be way out of there.

Yeah. And what do you have set up in the way of a retirement account? Do you have any SEP IRA or an individual case, something like that? I don't, but I do have a half of a retirement coming from the union.

I didn't get my full time in there before I moved away from the Chicago area. Okay. Well, I think that's going to be your best option. Now, if this is going to be a part of your retirement, we want to get this growing on a tax deferred basis. And as a self-employed individual, probably your most cost effective, least amount of administration in terms of setting up a retirement account would be what's called an SEP, a SEP IRA. And these are for self-employed individuals. You can put in up to 25% of your total compensation or a maximum of around $57,000.

And this is going to be a great opportunity to get some money working for you. What I would be looking to do is, perhaps as you are able to, go ahead and try to get up to the limit as much of this as you can going in on a tax deferred basis. It's going to give you the deduction in the year of the contribution and then it's going to grow tax deferred. And I think beginning to move this $40,000 into a SEP as you're able to, gets it in that tax deferred environment and then you could begin investing it.

The question is where? And I think you could visit with our friends at soundmindinvesting.org. They'd give you some wonderful mutual fund suggestions that you could use or you could look to one of the robo-advisors if you want to take more of an indexed approach to investing where you capture the broad moves of the market using indexed ETFs, very low cost. And it would be a mix of stock and bond ETFs that's consistent with your age, goals and objectives. It's a passive kind of autopilot approach, but some very smart algorithms go into determining what your portfolio makeup should look like and then rebalancing it over time. And as you add money to it, it would automatically be reinvested in that strategy without any transaction costs. So I think one of those would be great, but I'd love for you to go ahead and set up that SEP to get that money working for you and growing on a tax-advantaged basis. Does that make sense though, Bob? Yes, it does actually. Not that I'm a financial genius, but it does make sense.

Yeah. Well, if you wanted to do the robo-advisor approach, I'd look at the Schwab Intelligent Portfolios or Betterment. If you wanted to check out our friends at soundmindinvesting.org, you could just open a SEP at one of the big brokerage custodian Schwab, TD Ameritrade, Vanguard, and then use the Soundmind Investing newsletter to help you select the mutual funds to invest in every time you make a contribution.

You'll find them at soundmindinvesting.org. And Bob, we appreciate your call today. We've got some lines open, 800-525-7000, south to Davie, Florida. Hi, Tammy. How can I help you?

Hi, Beth. Thank you. My question is, should I or shouldn't I? I have a home loan, 3.875, as of two years ago, and I just applied for another one at 2.65, no closing costs, but I was gathering information, but actually it went through. The title company called me today, and I just know I don't know what to do because... So when I'm looking at the figures, it says cash due is 138. The loan is going from 167 to 172, and then it's like 3800, I guess, with one of the... So I guess I didn't understand what no closing costs meant at this point. And this is a 10-year loan. The other one was 15, so it's at 13 years now, but I pay extra hundred a month on it.

So should I just go ahead and keep the loan I have and just add two more hundred dollars to that every month, or should I take this loan? I don't know. Yeah.

Well, it's a great question. So you have a 15-year mortgage you've been paying on for two years, so you've got 13 remaining. You're going to save more than a point, actually 1.2%, if these rates are correct.

That's good. I'd want you to save at least 1%. What is the value of the mortgage? What do you owe on it today? 167. It should be 169, but I've been paying an extra hundred dollars a month, so it's at 167.

All right. And the total closing costs are under 4,000, is that right? Yes, 3800, 132 at closing or something like that. So that's in line. So I think the closing costs are right.

I like that you're shortening the term. That's good. I like that you're saving at least a point on the interest rate.

That's good. The only remaining questions are two. Number one, are you going to stay in the home long enough to realize the true benefit?

And that needs to be at least five to seven years. And then two, are you able to absorb a higher monthly payment? Because I suspect the monthly payment is going to be slightly higher than what you're currently paying plus the hundred dollars. Yes and yes. Okay. All right. So it fits into your budget and you're planning to stay in the home.

So I like this. I mean, if everything you're telling me is correct, less than 4,000 closing costs, 10-year loan, you are going to get the 2.65% rate and it fits into your budget. You're going to be there for a while, hopefully till it's paid off and beyond. I'd say go for it, Tammy. You're going to save some money over the life of this loan. And if you can continue to put more on it, great.

It'll be even better. Does that help? That helps a lot.

Still there's my confirmation. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

All right. God bless you, Tammy. We appreciate your call today. Folks, that's what it's all about. You know, we want to know that we're doing the right thing and there's so many choices and we're managing God's money. So it's a big responsibility. And sometimes we just need some reassurance.

I know I do. And that's what we're here for. So if you have a question today, here's the number 800-525-7000. We're going to pause briefly, but we'll come back and talk to some wonderful folks with some great questions.

So you don't go anywhere. Stay here. And more to come on MoneyWise Live. Biblical wisdom for your financial decisions.

We'll be right back. Thanks for joining us today on MoneyWise Live. I'm Rob West, taking your calls and questions on anything financial. Hey, are you a part of the MoneyWise community?

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800-525-7000 to Chicago, Illinois. Hi, Christina. How can I help you?

Hi, good afternoon, gentlemen. Thank you so much for this topic. I'm very excited to hear your thoughts on this question.

Sure. And so at this juncture, I would love to know your thoughts on the biblical principle of purchasing property in this format specifically. It's coming with kind of an intersection between, you know, someone else not being able to pay on their own property and then someone like me who would like to own and do the upkeep and the maintenance and not being able to purchase something that's already ready and set to go.

Yeah, yeah. I've got to tell you, I'm not a big fan of this type of investing. Basically, as you described, Christina, a tax lien is just a claim against somebody's home to secure the payment of, in this case, a tax debt. So those are pays placed on the home by or the property by the city or county. The federal government can also do that with IRS payments that are owed, and then the homeowner who has the lien attached to their property won't be able to refinance it or sell it until that tax debt is paid and the lien is removed. And then a lot of these cities or counties will sell these to generate funds.

And in order to collect those funds more quickly, they put them on auction, as you said, to the highest bidder. You get the tax lien certificate, and that lien is superior to most other liens, with the exception of the federal government. And so it actually gives you a way to invest in real estate at a price, as you said, that's lower than most other forms. You know, the downside, though, is your money is going to be tied up. So the owner typically has 12 months to redeem the property, which means your money could be sitting for that long and you can't touch it. There could be other higher priority liens in place, so if they had a bankruptcy or something else that could cause you to lose your investment, or you could end up, if the property is abandoned and not worth the time or money to renovate it, you could be wasting money in that respect. So, you know, if you have limited capital, I can see why this might seem like it's attractive. But, you know, again, it's just because of the reasons I mentioned, it's not my favorite approach. So what I might do is just consistently put money aside, either to build up more money over time so you can actually make direct ownership in real estate, or, you know, have you built up or are you consistently funding an investment plan through a retirement plan at work or something like that?

Yes, I'm doing all of the above. I've actually just been in prayer about the entire scenario because I am young and I've been researching and no multifamily units are a great way to start in property ownership and real estate. However, I'm getting beat out and traditional lending options are going for those who have invested before or who, you know, have that sort of track record. So it's just a little challenging.

Yeah, and I imagine discouraging. But I think you're in an interesting time right now, too, where, you know, the housing market tends to be red hot right now. It's clearly a seller's market. There's been real inventory constraints and lots of demand for good reason. People are moving out of the into the suburbs to single family and the millennials are now buying homes because they're having kids. And, you know, there's just a number of factors coming together, not to mention people are working remotely, which means they want a little more space. So all those things have led to the housing market we're in. I think that's going to correct itself.

We've already seen a pretty significant jump in inventory just in the last several months. So I think if you continue to save and you go in and begin accumulating your portfolio, perhaps a bit more down the road where you can go in with a more down payment in a market that's a little more friendly to you through direct ownership, you could do very well. You know, if you want to do the tax lien approach, I think the key is in order to get consistent returns, you really need to do this on a regular basis and you need to have time to vet the properties and you need to really kind of know what you're doing. And for that reason, I tend to stay away unless you really want to make this something that you become somewhat of an expert in. So I pray through it and as you proceed, I'm confident the Lord will give you some wisdom in where you should invest.

But I'm glad you're thinking about this at a young age that will serve you well. Let's head to West Palm Beach, Florida. Hi, David. How can I help you, sir? Hello.

Thank you for taking my call. So my whole life I've been tithing before taxes, but as I get closer to retirement, I'm thinking that whatever money I get, I didn't tithe on the gains, right? So then I was thinking that maybe it would have been easier to just tithe after taxes and then just continue to tithe, you know, as I get money during my retirement.

So anyway, I just want to get your opinion on that. Yeah, it's a great question. You know, I think the starting point on that question is to recognize you can't outgive God and it's all from him. And giving is an opportunity to be connected to his work with a portion of his resources. And I'd love for us to be increasing that over time, using the tithe kind of as a beginning point. But at some point you've got to decide how much and certainly with the tithe you want to give off of your increase. I would approach it the way you have, recognizing, you know, we want to give based on God's full increase before we start divvying it up to other people. And so I would say tithe on the gross. I know when the late Larry Burkett was asked that question, he would often say tongue in cheek. It depends on whether you want to be blessed on your net or your gross.

He would have some fun with that. But I think the bottom line is you've taken the right approach. Now, as we get into perhaps collecting Social Security, you're right, you're going to have a difficult time determining what's actually being returned to you based on what you paid in versus what was the increase. And so, you know, I would just say from whatever source you get your provision, apart from maybe an insurance settlement where they're, you know, making up for a loss or a tax refund where, you know, as you've been tithing gross, you've clearly already tithed on that money. Apart from that, I would just say it's all part of God's provision, and I just continue giving the tithe. And I don't think you can go wrong with that, and I'm confident God will bless those efforts. But at the end of the day, David, I believe that's between you and the Lord.

And so I would just come up with a process for deciding how you want to approach that moving forward on the additional income you're receiving as well as when you start collecting those Social Security benefits. And I'm confident you'll come up with the right choice. Okay? Yes. Thank you.

That helps. All right. God bless you, bud. Appreciate your call today. We have a few minutes left.

Let's head to Chicago. Hi, Tammy. How can I help you? Hi.

How are you today? Thank you for taking my call. Sure.

I love your show very much. Thank you. I just have a simple question. I wanted to get some information on loan companies that will lend money to people who have a case, like a legal case. And I just wanted to borrow, see if it's okay to borrow against my settlement. It's not a big settlement, but it's something that I've been contemplating because I kind of need some money to kind of get out of the pandemic strain I've been in. So can you help me with that? I can.

Yeah. And, you know, I would try to stay away from this. I mean, essentially, it's a cash advance on an expected settlement. But these, you know, like a cash advance on your paycheck, you know, are going to have high interest rates, you know, sky high.

It could be 20 to 60 percent. You know, lawsuits can take years to settle, so you could be stuck paying interest charges and fees for a long time. And these lawsuit loans are not heavily regulated. So, you know, you've got to really be careful as to what you're getting into. So for that reason, you know, I would stay away. I mean, some people need them, I guess you could say, because they've been injured or can't work and, you know, they're falling behind on their bills.

And so they look at this as kind of a way out. But I think for the reasons I mentioned, it's just something that would I would just stay away from is the bottom line, just because, again, you could pay exorbitant interest rates and really eat into all that money that you're ultimately counting on. So I think the key is what other options could you find? You know, could you call your creditors and tell them what's coming and work out a payment plan or see if they'd put it on the back end or, you know, really do the hard work to see what could be done without you having to take advantage of one of these because that just really is not going to be in your benefit.

It might be a short-term fix, but that's all it is. And at the end of the day, you're going to end up with very little once this is all said and done. So, Tammy, let's just pray the Lord will give you some wisdom here as you seek some other options, and I would stay away from the pre-settlement loan funding. But I appreciate your call today and your kind remarks. Unfortunately, we're out of time.

Josephine, you stay on the line and we'll talk a bit more off the air, but that's going to do it for us today. You know, folks, as we think about being faithful stewards of God's money, it comes down to first recognizing God owns it all. Next, that money is a tool to accomplish His purposes, and we're the stewards of the managers. So if we live within our means and avoid the use of debt and give generously and set some long-term goals and, yeah, have some savings or margin, then we've put ourselves in a position to experience God's best and with contentment and freedom.

And that's our goal here on MoneyWise Live. Thanks for being along with us today. I want to say thank you to Aaron and to Amy and to Deb and to Jim. Couldn't do it without them, my wonderful team. I also want to say thank you to Moody Radio.

MoneyWise Live is a partnership between Moody Radio and MoneyWise Media. I hope you have a great weekend, enjoy church on Sunday, and then come back and join us on Monday. We'll be here, Lord willing, and we'll look for you then. Bye bye.