Christian Financial Perspectives

Christian Financial Perspectives

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Christian Financial Perspectives episodes

  • 202 – 10 Non Cash Giving Ideas to Lower Taxes
    Click below to listen to Episode 202 – 10 Non Cash Giving Ideas to Lower Taxes
    10 Non Cash Giving Ideas to Lower Taxes

    Learn about 10 non-cash giving ways to lower your taxes this year.

    More episodes >>

    Tired of your precious metals and valuables just sitting around collecting dust? Want to make a difference while also lowering your taxes? In this episode, Bob and Shawn explore 10 creative non-cash giving ideas that can help you bless others, leave a legacy, and reap the rewards of generosity.

    They cover ideas such as giving precious metals, real estate, stocks and bonds, as well as miscellaneous valuables and collectibles. If none of these non-cash giving ideas work for you, then you can always volunteer your time to bless others. Giving your time is something beyond donating cash or resources in order to help nonprofit organizations succeed.

    HOSTED BY: Bob Barber, CWS®, CKA®

    CO-HOST: Shawn Peters

    Mentioned In This Episode
    Christian Financial Advisors
    Website
    Bob Barber, CWS®, CKA®
    Shawn Peters
    Bible Verses In This Episode
    ACTS 20:35

    In everything I showed you that by working hard in this way you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

    Want to ask a question about your specific situation? Schedule a complimentary 15 minute phone call.

    SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENTDid you enjoy this episode? Sign up for email updates and never miss an episode.
    EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

    Shawn:

    Tired of your precious metals and valuables just sitting around collecting dust? Want to make a difference while also lowering your taxes? In this episode, we’ll explore 10 creative non-cash giving ideas that can help you bless others, leave a legacy, and reap the rewards of generosity. Let’s get some perspective.
    Welcome to Christian Financial Perspectives. We’re so glad you joined us today while we cover “10 Non-cash, Giving Ideas to Lower Taxes”. Now giving releases, selfishness, giving helps people, giving creates a legacy. Giving is a blessing, and giving lowers taxes, which I’m sure is probably half or more of the reason why people might’ve tuned into this video episode.

    Bob:

    Well, they might’ve tuned in also Shawn, because non-cash giving, most people don’t think about that, but yet 90% of what we have possession of is not in cash.

    Shawn:

    That’s right. And that’s even more so the older you are.

    Bob:

    Yeah, it sure is. So we’re going to cover some really unique ideas today. And there’s an old saying when it comes to giving, “You reap what you sow,” and giving is a principle where you can sow into helping others while also lowering your taxes, which is a benefit and doing something of great significance in reaping those many benefits from it.

    Shawn:

    That’s right. So before we go any further, we’re going to go over our first scripture, Acts 20:35, “And everything I showed you that by working hard in this way, you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus that he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.'”

    Bob:

    Shawn, many, many blessings come from giving. People don’t realize that, but it does. Try it. You’ll see it. It’s amazing what happens. So today we’re going to look at these 10 non-cash giving ideas for lowering taxes and for helping others. And you’re hearing this correctly. This is not about giving from what you have in cash, but it’s from the other 90% of what you could control to help others.

    Shawn:

    That’s right. And it’s crazy. Some of the numbers and statistics, I know we in one of our recent Kingdom Advisors Bible studies that it was actually talking about, what was it, 80-90% of giving is from cash, but yet cash as in your income, not your other assets only accounted for, what was it like 10 or 20% of available assets? It was crazy how flip flopped the numbers were that almost all the giving is coming from cash, but yet cash represents such a small percentage of potential assets.

    Bob:

    Alright, so here’s the first idea. The first idea is how about giving some of those precious metals that’s been sitting around doing nothing, not making anything, it’s not making any dividends. How about giving some gold or some of that silver or even some old diamonds away and helping somebody, a food bank or helping your church or a local senior citizen center. There’s just so many things, Compassion International, which we love around here.

    Shawn:

    That’s right. And if you are going to do that, we would definitely recommend for the gold, silver, the diamonds, whatever it might be. Definitely check around with multiple brokers because you might get a good broker that’s only charging you 3-5% commission or you get one that’s charging you a whole lot more, 10% or more. So that would be the first thing is definitely shop around.

    Bob:

    Like that story. And this one of our clients, he said, I could tell the story, I’m not going to say his name, but he inherited right at a million dollars in gold from his dad that his dad had bought about 15-16 years ago or more.

    Shawn:

    He inherited what his dad paid a million dollars for.

    Bob:

    And this was 15 or 16 years ago. And he’s gone to five or six different brokers and not been able to get over $900,000 to $950,000 for that. Okay.

    Shawn:

    Now for those of you at home that don’t have their calculator handy, that’s not a positive return.

    Bob:

    No, It’s not. Yeah.

    Shawn:

    It’s not even close to keeping pace with inflation either.

    Bob:

    You have to look at that. If you are going to give away gold or silver, definitely do it in a way that… maybe set up a donor advised fund and give it to the donor-advised fund and let them find the best buyer for it.

    Shawn:

    Right. So number two, on these non-cash giving ideas, giving any type of real estate, any type of land you own from say a quarter of an acre or maybe a hundred acres or more, you can carve some of that off to help others and to lower taxes.

    Bob:

    And I know a lot of people, they would’ve bought an old lot somewhere and it might just be that quarter of an acre and it’s just sitting there doing nothing. It’s costing ’em taxes every year. And they could turn this into living water.

    Shawn:

    You could also look at for real estate, residential homes, condominiums, apartments on the commercial side, if you have office buildings, professional office buildings, and the final one really would be like farm and ranch.

    Bob:

    Yeah. And you could carve off just a tiny bit of that, too. You don’t have to carve off the a hundred acres you might own, maybe just a half acre or an acre.

    Shawn:

    Well Bob, don’t you do Number three?

    Bob:

    Number three is highly appreciated stocks or bonds. And we’ve been in a pretty strong bull market the last couple of years, especially with all the stimulus package that has been given to us by our politicians. You could just carve off one share, 5 shares, 15, 20, and we will help a church. We’ll open a brokerage account up for them and put that in there and sell it and we won’t charge them anything. No commission, no fees.

    Shawn:

    Well, because for a church and we want to do things to try to help them out. And if you’re trying to give those stocks or bonds, whatever it might be, well hey, well let’s hope you do that and benefit that church.

    Bob:

    And you want to carve that off. You don’t want to sell it and then give it away.

    Shawn:

    Right. Exactly.

    Bob:

    Because then you’ll have to pay the tax on it, but you’ll get the full tax advantage by…

    Shawn:

    Basically transfering. You’re just transferring it.

    Bob:

    That’s right. Transferring that stock.

    Shawn:

    That’s right. And number four, give miscellaneous valuables and collectibles.

    Bob:

    Most people don’t think about the things like this.

    Shawn:

    So maybe you have some art or antiques just sitting around collecting dust that you’re not really getting any joy from. It was, I think it was Marie Kondo or something that if this thing doesn’t give you joy anymore, just say thank you and let it go.

    Bob:

    I like that.

    Shawn:

    So another one might be a classic automobile or maybe you have one you just really don’t need anymore. It’s kind of been sitting around and the final one is maybe a boat you have that you don’t need and has been sitting in a storage unit collecting fees for years on end. And there’s ways to do this, right? So of course at any time, feel free to pause this, text us, call us, whatever you want.

    Bob:

    You always hear that advertisement. I’ll be going home and I’ve got satellite radio and it says Kars for kids. KARS, Kars for kids. They sing that little tune to it. It’s kind of catchy.

    Shawn:

    There’s some really cool organizations and nonprofits that effectively help with these types of things – the art, collectibles, boat, cars. And that way you make sure that you get the tax benefit and they kind of handle the getting it to whoever needs to get it or getting it sold to generate that cash.

    Bob:

    They’ll help you. The charities will help you do this. Yep, exactly.

    Shawn:

    Alright, number five, Bob.

    Bob:

    Well, number five is a big one here in Texas where we’re located is mineral rights, especially down in south Texas. There’s a lot of oil and natural gas that people have mineral rights, and even water mineral rights or water rights are very valuable and you can carve off a portion of that also to help others and also create that tax deduction that you may need now.

    Shawn:

    Exactly. And number six, giving out of your estate.

    Bob:

    Most people don’t think about this for some reason, but maybe this comes later, but it could also come now. The average inheritance is spent in two to three years on things that will rust and rot that might’ve taken you 30 plus years to accumulate.

    Shawn:

    That’s right. And those numbers on spent within two to three years, that’s not based on, oh, well for less than $500,000 or between this amount and this. No, just in general, it doesn’t matter if you passed on multiple millions of dollars to your beneficiaries or $50,000, two to three years is about the average, which is sad.

    Bob:

    Some ideas here with your estate is make a charity, or charities, a beneficiary, a partial beneficiary of that estate, maybe 10 or 15, 20, 30%. Some people that are single and have no children, I’d make 100%.

    Shawn:

    Yeah, why not.

    Bob:

    Of your estate that’s going to go at your death. You can also give a percentage of your estate right now to charities and get to watch the benefit of that right now.

    Shawn:

    Bob, just for an example for our viewers and listeners, but I believe for you and Rachael’s estate it’s what? 20%?

    Bob:

    That’s right. It’s 20%.

    Shawn:

    Because you’ve got the three girls and then it’s the 20% off the top, if you will. And then what’s remaining is evenly.

    Bob:

    We’re using the donor advised fund for that. So we call it the Barber family giving fund. Another thing in your estate, a lot of you have is IRAs and that is IRA money when it’s inherited, you have to pay tax on all of it. But if that goes to a charity, they don’t have to pay tax on any of that. If you’re going to give away anything out of your state and you look at it, maybe the IRAs are a really good choice for giving to an estate.

    Shawn:

    Alright. And then number seven, make those RMDs, the required minimum distributions, a QCD, which is a qualified charitable distribution. If you’re in your seventies, it is the law that you take those certain required minimum distributions. It is age adjusted every year. There’s whole bunch of fun factor stuff. It’s not as easy as a certain percentage. But anyway, whatever that RMD happens to be each year, instead of giving cash to your favorite charities, like your local church, give them a qualified charitable distribution because it’s a lot more tax efficient because otherwise if you take the money out as a required minimum distribution, you have to pay income tax on it. And then you give money to the church, well you do that qualified charitable distribution. For example, maybe yours was $5,000. Well, depending on your tax bracket, you might have what, $4,000 or $3,500 left over. But if you do a qualified charitable distribution, the QCD, the full $5,000 goes to the charity.

    Bob:

    This is Christian Financial Perspectives. And I tell a lot of our clients, because they’re tithers and they give to their church, instead of giving cash, give from your IRA if you’re in your seventies in the required minimum distribution stage. Now, you can’t do this out of an IRA unless you’re into that, into the RMD requirement.

    Shawn:

    For me personally, that’s kind of a bummer that you have to be in your seventies to even take advantage of that. Hey, once I’m in my sixties, if we don’t need all of it, I’d rather donate that way. But anyway. Alright, well number eight.

    Bob:

    Number eight is giving a business interest. That would be like I own a business and that would be carving out some of your business. And for many business owners, plumbers or electricians, heat and air people, that’s their biggest asset is their business. And they want give, but they don’t have the resources possibly. Well, they could make God a part owner in their business or just a minute owner, a charity. And they can donate non-voting interest in their business to a charity and they’re going to get a substantial tax deduction for doing that. But it still allows you to manage the business and to maintain the management oversight of the company. And you have the majority of voting interest in that.

    Shawn:

    Yeah. It’s similar to publicly traded companies where there’s different classes of stocks and so you have your normal voting, common stock, but then you might have a preferred stock that doesn’t have the right to vote, but maybe receives dividends. So you could do something similar to that for even your own private business. And one of the benefits to that as well is not only the tax deduction now, but you also have the benefit of still being able to pass on that business. Maybe you have one of your kids or in-laws that ends up working with you and they want to take over the business as you start to retire. Well, they can still do that even though you gave away some of the interest to a charity.

    Bob:

    Okay, number nine, I thought of your dad. Okay. Because you tell everybody what your dad does.

    Shawn:

    He’s a farmer. So giving agriculture, livestock, crops, cow, goat, horse to charity, whatever it might be.

    Bob:

    But I was thinking about some of the crops and that actually goes back to scriptural, the first fruit of your crops as well. There’s just all kinds of neat things you can do if you’re a farmer or rancher or you own any agriculture.

    Shawn:

    That’s right. Okay.

    Bob:

    We’re down our last one or 10th one.

    Shawn:

    I’ll let you do number 10, Bob.

    Bob:

    Alright, well if you don’t have any of the above, you don’t have the land, you don’t have the gold, you don’t have the IRAs, you don’t have any of the above. How about this one? Give up your time.

    Shawn:

    That’s right. Give of your time because we all have time regardless of how much money we do or don’t have.

    Bob:

    Some people think you may not have the time, but think about how much time you spend on your smartphone per day. You have the time. Go on a mission trip, a medical one or educational one, maybe even one that’s about construction, volunteer construction, Habitat for Humanity is in most communities.

    Shawn:

    And they’re real good at, even if you’re not that great at doing stuff, they’ll help. Yeah, exactly. They’ll find something for you to do to help.

    Bob:

    Exactly. Volunteer time at a local food shelter, your church, or any local charity. So that’s one thing that all of us can do. You may not receive the tax deduction from that, but you’ll get the benefit.

    Shawn:

    I think a great example, especially your local church is that I know our church, we’re constantly trying to get more volunteers and when your church is 500 to 600 people and it seems like the same 20-30 people are doing setup and tear down, they’re helping with the kids every week and all that stuff. It’s like, come on guys. I know there’s a whole bunch more of you that could volunteer. Maybe every other month you help on a Sunday. If every single member did that kind of a thing, there would never be an issue of lack of volunteers. It’s extremely helpful. You’re blessing other people in your church or if you’re working with the kids, you’re blessing those kids and you’re doing it for the Lord.

    Bob:

    There you have it. There’s 10 ideas. I hope that you can grab out one or two of these, maybe even two, three or four of them.

    Shawn:

    Feel free to do all 10 if you want.

    Bob:

    Because it is such a blessing to be giving and blessing others and yourself. And of course it can lower your tax burden because remember what we said in the beginning, Acts 20:35, “It’s more blessed to give than receive,” and I really believe that.

    Shawn:

    Amen. Okay, thanks again as always for joining us and God bless.

    [DISCLOSURES]

    * Investment advisory services offered through Christian Investment Advisors Inc dba Christian Financial Advisors, a registered investment advisor registered with the SEC. Registration as an investment advisor does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Comments from today’s show are for informational purposes only and not to be considered investment advice or recommendations to buy or sell any company that may have been mentioned or discussed. The opinions expressed are solely those of the hosts, Bob Barber and Shawn Peters, and their guests. Bob and Shawn do not provide tax advice and encourage you to seek guidance from a tax professional. While Christian Financial Advisors believes the information to be accurate and reliable, we do not claim or have responsibility for its completeness, accuracy, or reliability.

    16 min
  • Breaking the Chains of Materialism
    Are you feeling trapped by the chains of materialism? Always longing for more, but never finding true contentment? In this episode, we'll explore how to break free from the grip of greed and discover the joy of a Christ-centered life filled with purpose and generosity. Bob and Shawn provide Biblical perspectives on materialism and its negative effects on relationships, physical health, and overall well-being. We encourage listeners to seek God's help, find contentment in what you have, and prioritize meaningful relationships over material possessions.
    18 min
  • 201 – Breaking the Chains of Materialism
    Click below to listen to Episode 201 – Breaking the Chains of Materialism
    Breaking the Chains of Materialism

    Learn about finding contentment outside of material things.

    More episodes >>

    Are you feeling trapped by the chains of materialism? Always longing for more, but never finding true contentment? In this episode, we’ll explore how to break free from the grip of greed and discover the joy of a Christ-centered life filled with purpose and generosity.

    Bob and Shawn provide Biblical perspectives on materialism and its negative effects on relationships, physical health, and overall well-being. We encourage listeners to seek God’s help, find contentment in what you have, and prioritize meaningful relationships over material possessions.

    HOSTED BY: Bob Barber, CWS®, CKA®

    CO-HOST: Shawn Peters

    Mentioned In This Episode
    Christian Financial Advisors
    Website
    Bob Barber, CWS®, CKA®
    Shawn Peters
    Bible Verses In This Episode
    1 TIMOTHY 6:10

    For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

    LUKE 12:18-20

    Then he said, “This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain.” And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?”

    PHILIPPIANS 4:4-13

    Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

    Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it.

    I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him(Christ) who gives me strength.

    PROVERBS 23:4-5

    Do not wear yourself out to get rich; do not trust your own cleverness. Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.

    Want to ask a question about your specific situation? Schedule a complimentary 15 minute phone call.

    SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENTDid you enjoy this episode? Sign up for email updates and never miss an episode.
    EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

    Shawn:

    Are you feeling trapped by the chains of materialism? Always longing for more, but never finding true contentment? In this episode, we’ll explore how to break free from the grip of greed and discover the joy of a Christ-centered life filled with purpose and generosity. Let’s get some perspective.
    Welcome to another episode of Christian Financial Perspectives. My name’s Shawn Peters. I’m joined as always by my father-in-Law, Bob Barber. And today we have, I would say, a difficult subject. I know from Bob’s testimony to me that this was not easy to write, and I know it may be a little harder to hear, but at Christian Financial Perspectives, we always want to make sure that we don’t cover things just because they’re easy or because they’re popular right now, but we want to make sure that we’re providing value and truth based on Biblical principles. And sometimes it’s hard to hear, but as we know, it says in scripture that, “The truth shall set you free.”

    Bob:

    Amen, brother. And I tell you, Shawn, like I was saying, and I think it’s good for our listeners and watchers to know, you’ll hear me say many times that I can come up with a subject matter and the content, and then we tweak the content over just 15 or 20 minutes. But this was one that I’ve worked on for a month or two because it’s such a hard subject, and the subject is “Breaking the Chains of Materialism”. And when you say that in America, as materialistic as America has become, and I had different titles in front of materialism, and I think I’ve come down to this one, this is the correct one. I think about it as a big chain that is around all of us here in America because we have become so materialistic. I especially see it, Shawn, where I live, I live in a place where it’s pretty expensive to live there. They’re big acreage tracks. Just so you know, I live on 17 acres and my neighbors probably have like 50 acres and…

    Shawn:

    Most of it being what? The wildlife thing. So you have it, but you don’t do anything with it at least.

    Bob:

    Yeah. Exactly. It’s a wildlife exemption. And we are in between Austin and San Antonio in the beautiful Hill Country, but I see materialism consuming people all the time.

    Shawn:

    Well, I know Bob from personal experience, a lot of my peers and friends that are in their thirties and some of them from the gym and other places that are in their twenties, there’s such a pressure, especially for us that we grew up with – well, my parents are around your age and we grew up seeing the success of our parents, and then we kind of get thrown out into the world. And most of us went to college, or a large percentage of us go to college, and many people have student loan debt still, and they’re trying to live the life that they saw their parents living. And there’s pressure because they’ll see other people doing it, but many times they don’t know, well, is that person leveraged to the eyes? They’re just burdened with all this debt or are they’re actually doing well. But it’s that I don’t want to get left behind and well, I’m trying to do this for my wife and my kids and it’s hard.

    Bob:

    It’s hard. You’re never going to get there. And materialism, greed, and the need for always more has been consuming the thoughts of mankind ever since Adam and Eve.

    Shawn:

    Yep, that’s true.

    Bob:

    And the fall in the garden.

    Shawn:

    You can have everything except don’t mess with that tree. Then of course it…

    Bob:

    What’s the one thing they want?

    Shawn:

    That’s the one thing they want.

    Bob:

    Yeah. The tree of knowledge and materialism is truly one of the destroyers of a content life in Christ. It destroys families, it destroys relationships. It’s a direct opponent to a content life in Christ. It’s like the opponent of Christ.

    Shawn:

    Scripture warns us many times of the dangers of materialism and greed. We’re going to start out with 1 Timothy 6:10, “For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil. And some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” And that’s something I’ve heard people misquote many times. They talk about money is the root of all evil. No, no, no. The love of money. Money is just a tool. It’s an item. No different than any other tool, but the love of money that is the root of all sorts of evil.

    Bob:

    And there’s another scripture from Matthew 12:18-20.

    Shawn:

    Luke, sorry, Luke 12:18-20.

    Bob:

    Luke, you’re right. Luke 12:18-20. Okay, Shawn, I’ll let you read that since I got that little fumble there.

    Shawn:

    “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain and I’ll say to myself, you have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy, eat, drink, be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘You fool this very night, your life will be demanded from you then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'”

    Bob:

    So how is materialism defined? And I looked up some definitions of it. There were a lot of different definitions, but I think this definition that I found pretty much fits America. It is a desire for wealth and material possessions with little interest in ethical or spiritual matters. And it’s a philosophy that stems of nothing exists except matter, its movements, and modifications. Okay, modifying. Yeah. As we’ve seen around here, we’ve seen beautiful hill country modified all over the place for materialistic reasons. God’s creation just blipped and now it’s in the form of concrete.

    Shawn:

    Yep, yep. A lot of politicians and developers and other people that the idea of, well, all growth is good growth. There’s no concept of sustainable, so you don’t lose the very soul of the area. Well, let’s not get into entire episode on how we feel on that, but…

    Bob:

    Materialism, it hurts people and it coincides with greed. And there’s several points that we need to think about when we think about being materialistic. It makes you greedy and there’s always a need for more.

    Shawn:

    And people overwork themselves for materialism.

    Bob:

    It hurts relationships with others.

    Shawn:

    It causes physical harm from stress.

    Bob:

    It can make you think you never have quite enough. Does that just really ring a bell? It’s never quite enough.

    Shawn:

    Yep. That’s why we ask our clients how much is enough, because there is an answer to that.

    Bob:

    Yeah. That’s a famous saying by Ron Blue that was instilled in my head many years ago. How much is enough?

    Shawn:

    And it can eventually destroy you and everything around you.

    Bob:

    Now, I remember Family Life Ministry and Dennis Rainey who I loved following many years ago, and this was a saying that I heard him say that he had never met anyone on their deathbed that says they’d wished they’d worked more and made more money over they wished they’d had those meaningful relationships with their family, their children, and grandchildren. And you see how materialism can take away from those relationships because you’re striving so hard and working so hard, you don’t have time for those that you love.

    Shawn:

    And the idea is, well look at all the things that I’m able to provide because of working all these extra hours and look at all the stuff I brought home for the family. And if you ask any young kid, do you want more of these random toys or do you want to spend time with mom and dad? They’re going to always say, spend time with mom and dad. Just play with me.

    Bob:

    At least we hope they say that. Yeah.

    Shawn:

    Yeah. Well, when they’re teenagers, no, but when they’re younger.

    Bob:

    Because we got to be careful that our kids can become materialistic also.

    Shawn:

    That’s true. That’s true.

    Bob:

    By actually you can give too much in material possessions. Absolutely. Materialistic people just always seem to say, I need just a little bit more. I need, I get there and I need more. It’s never quite enough. They never quite catch what they’re looking for to fill that emptiness that’s inside them.

    Shawn:

    That’s because the materials can never fill that emptiness as, I don’t remember what pastor I first heard this from, but it’s the God shaped hole that we have in our hearts. You can’t fill it with materials, with consumer stuff, buying things. It just doesn’t work.

    Bob:

    Changing from that self-absorbed, materialistic perspective that America pushes on us, it does. It requires a conscious effort and heart change to the ways of Jesus Christ.

    Shawn:

    Yeah. Amen. I think Paul in the Bible describes it best when he talks about contentment, which is the opposite of materialism. Philippians 4:4-13, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again, rejoice. Let your gentleness be evident to all the Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your request to God and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me or seen in me, put it into practice and the God of peace will be with you. I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it.”

    Bob:

    I want to do this emphasis on these next few scriptures. Okay. The emphasis in this scripture passage of Philippians 4:4-13, emphasis on verses 11 and 13. It says, “I’m not saying this because I’m in need.” This is Paul saying this, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want, I could do all things through him (Christ) who strengthens me.”

    Shawn:

    Amen. Are you ready to tackle materialism and put a stop to it? Well, the first thing, ask God to help you.

    Bob:

    Shawn, as I was writing this, I’m just as guilty as anybody, and I prayed even this morning, I was asking God, God forgive me for being materialistic and I need your help in this.

    Shawn:

    That’s right.

    Bob:

    And it kind of hit me because I was like, I don’t want to be a pointing a finger at anybody. I’m not pointing a finger at you, at anyone. I’ve got three pointing right back at me and ask God for help and learn to find contentment in the things you do have, not in the things you don’t have.

    Shawn:

    That’s right. Yeah. This is not a one and done thing either. Just because you’ve been doing better with not succumbing to materialism doesn’t mean that you’ve won the fight. It reminds me of the analogy where inside of us we have these two warring wolves. You have the white wolf and the dark wolf, the evil wolf. Neither one of them ever die, but whichever one you feed more probably going to win.

    Bob:

    Yeah, that’s true.

    Shawn:

    So it’s an ongoing thing. Put your faith in things of eternal value, not a high net worth or temporary material things that rust, rot, and decay that they eventually find their way into a junkyard or a trash dump or a recycling bin, maybe. Depends on what it is.

    Bob:

    Give it to God spiritually and physically. Start giving materialism up to Almighty God and watch your perspective on materialism change.

    Shawn:

    Go visit the poor, the sick, and the downtrodden and get a different perspective.

    Bob:

    Boy, it will. It certainly will. Put your energy into forming meaningful relationship with others, overusing people for selfish, materialistic gain.

    Shawn:

    Daily, start asking yourself, “And then what?” once you hit another financial milestone or goal.

    Bob:

    This has been the biggest thing for me, Shawn, once you get to that next point, and then it’s always just a little bit more, and I’m learning to be content with what I have and when I’ve hit that goal, I’m good. I don’t need to be going any farther. Seek that relationship with God. Get out of the mindset that just a little bit more will always make me happy.

    Shawn:

    Learn to live life with a purpose greater than yourself, not with what only money can buy.

    Bob:

    This next one is yours. Dump the fear of missing out.

    Shawn:

    FOMO mentality. Just think about how stupid FOMO really is anyway.

    Bob:

    It is, isn’t it? Isn’t that the biggest thing that the advertisers want us to think? That we’re missing out? You’re missing out if you don’t get that brand new car. You’re missing out if you don’t remodel your kitchen and go from gray to white countertops because…

    Shawn:

    That’s the color that’s in.

    Bob:

    Yeah. Exactly. HGTV is going to continually change. So whatever you think is popular today, just wait two or three years from now, it’s going to be past and you’re going to want to redo it again. So don’t. Get rid of that FOMO idea.

    Shawn:

    Yeah. Realize that more money can only buy temporary happiness. It can never buy everlasting real joy and contentment. Only a personal relationship with Jesus Christ can do that.

    Bob:

    And the allure of new cars, clothes, vacations, and stuff always wears off.

    Shawn:

    And then you need more.

    Bob:

    And then you need more. Give away that attitude and mindset. Get away from it, give it away, and watch your perspective on life change. Giving really breaks that chain of materialism as well.

    Shawn:

    That’s right. So start giving now and come up with a long-term giving plan. So do you ever think if I can just make a little more than I can give?

    Bob:

    Yeah. And I think…

    Shawn:

    A lot of us.

    Bob:

    I’ve been guilty of that in my earlier years. If I could just make a little bit more. And you just really need to drop that thought and start coming up with a plan now to find how much money and material possessions are enough for your living lifestyle, your expenses, your debt, tax, and savings. And stick to it and make it reasonable. And don’t raise it just a little bit higher every time you get there. Find contentment in what you have, not in what you don’t have.

    Shawn:

    Yep. Start with a giving plan of just $100 a month or a week depending on your situation, and increase it from there. Before you know it, and maybe $1,000, maybe even $10,000. Then you’ll start to see the real joy of giving what God can do with what you have.

    Bob:

    Amen.

    Shawn:

    I remember the widow with the pennies. The penny. Basically the pennies.

    Bob:

    Yeah. It’s not looking at an amount, but start small and you start letting go then. You start opening your hand and let it go. Become a financial giver and sower in the eternal and lives of others instead of in material things that rust or rot or break down. That will break those chains.

    Shawn:

    And write down the most essential things in life not associated with money, like personal relationship with God, health, love and kindness, spouse, children, and friends.

    Bob:

    And start practicing an attitude of thankfulness and contentment in Christ with what you do have. So I want to end today on this scripture, Proverbs 23:4-5, “Do not wear yourself out to get rich. Do not trust in your own cleverness. Cast but a glance at riches and they are gone. They will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.” So in our next episode, we’re going to look at all the different ways a person can give and the many giving tools that can be used today to help break the chains of materialism.

    Shawn:

    And that’s all for today. Thank you for joining us and God bless.

    [DISCLOSURES]

    * Investment advisory services offered through Christian Investment Advisors Inc dba Christian Financial Advisors, a registered investment advisor registered with the SEC. Registration as an investment advisor does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Comments from today’s show are for informational purposes only and not to be considered investment advice or recommendations to buy or sell any company that may have been mentioned or discussed. The opinions expressed are solely those of the hosts, Bob Barber and Shawn Peters, and their guests. Bob and Shawn do not provide tax advice and encourage you to seek guidance from a tax professional. While Christian Financial Advisors believes the information to be accurate and reliable, we do not claim or have responsibility for its completeness, accuracy, or reliability.

    18 min
  • The Best Of Our 199 Episodes
    Do you know the difference between popular financial advice and essential Bible-based financial wisdom? On this 200th episode celebration, Bob and Shawn reveal the top seven most crucial financial topics from our first 199 episodes. Christian Financial Perspectives began with the goal of providing timeless Biblical wisdom and education to our audience. Over the years, some of our most educational topics have included sudden wealth syndrome and investing in gold. We hope to continue providing financial advice from a Christian perspective for many more episodes to come!
    19 min
  • 200 – The Best Of Our 199 Episodes
    Click below to listen to Episode 200 – The Best Of Our 199 Episodes
    The Best Of Our 199 Episodes

    Look back at our top, most informative episodes over the past several years.

    More episodes >>

    Do you know the difference between popular financial advice and essential Bible-based financial wisdom? On this 200th episode celebration, Bob and Shawn reveal the top seven most crucial financial topics from our first 199 episodes.

    Christian Financial Perspectives began with the goal of providing timeless Biblical wisdom and education to our audience. Over the years, some of our most educational topics have included sudden wealth syndrome and investing in gold. We hope to continue providing financial advice from a Christian perspective for many more episodes to come!

    HOSTED BY: Bob Barber, CWS®, CKA®

    CO-HOST: Shawn Peters

    Mentioned In This Episode
    Christian Financial Advisors
    Website
    Bob Barber, CWS®, CKA®
    Shawn Peters
    Episode 48: Sudden Wealth Syndrome
    Episode 192 – Are Rental Homes The Worst Way To Invest In Real Estate?
    Episode 186 – 7 Things to Do Before Buying your next car
    Episode 122 – Gold Fever: Is it worth it?
    Episode 127 – Annuities 101: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly
    Episode 162 – Using Emotions As An Investment Strategy
    Episode 125 – The Basics of Estate Planning
    Episode 169 – Financially Handling The Loss Of A Spouse
    Episode 134 – The #1 Reason For Financial Failure
    Episode 177 – What God’s Word Says About Money Part 1
    Episode 178 – What God’s Word Says About Money Part 2
    Bible Verses In This Episode
    HOSEA 4:6

    My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge

    Want to ask a question about your specific situation? Schedule a complimentary 15 minute phone call.

    SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENTDid you enjoy this episode? Sign up for email updates and never miss an episode.
    EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

    Shawn:

    Do you know the difference between popular financial advice and essential Bible-based financial wisdom? On this 200th episode celebration, we’re revealing the top seven most crucial financial topics from our first 199 episodes. Let’s get some perspective. Welcome to our 200th episode of Christian Financial Perspectives. I cannot believe we have now done 200 episodes as of this recording. I haven’t been here for all of them, I guess about half. And I want to start us out with a scripture. Hosea 4:6, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”

    Bob:

    And that was my goal here when I started this, Shawn, four years ago, was to bring knowledge to people and we started it with two main objectives for Christian Financial Perspectives. Our first objective was to bring an ongoing educational timeless resource for our clients first and friends of Christian financial advisors.

    Shawn:

    Right. Timeless meaning we’re not covering too many current events or this particular tax code just changed right now, but try to keep it more applicable for now and 10 years from now.

    Bob:

    And its Biblical principles are timeless. Okay. And then our second objective was to think beyond just Texas and New Braunfels, our community here in the Austin, San Antonio area. And that was to educate our brothers and sisters nationwide across the country about how to handle their finances from a Christian perspective in a Biblical worldview. And Shawn, I never wanted to measure the success of Christian Financial Perspectives by appealing to the masses. I wasn’t about, this wasn’t about being this big popular program and I wasn’t about providing get rich quick schemes or making gamblers and day traders for people. I just wanted to bring them good Biblical knowledge, and I was going to measure that success one person at a time. That’s the kind of person I am. And that’s the way I wanted to do it. Never being swept into telling our audience what they wanted to hear, but I wanted to tell them what they needed to hear for long-term financial success based on time proven Biblical principles.

    Shawn:

    That’s right. And really this all comes back to, for Christian financial advisors with our mission and purpose, the purpose really is to expand God’s kingdom through the area of finance.

    Bob:

    That’s correct.

    Shawn:

    And so this program fits right along with that. Obviously some people might find us on here and think, Hey, I might want to work with them as a firm. That was never going to be how we measure this as successful. Again, like you said, one person at a time. We’re trying to expand God’s kingdom.

    Bob:

    Shawn, I love to teach, it’s just my mom was a teacher, her dad was a teacher and a superintendent of schools. We have teaching also, a lot of teachers own my dad’s side of the family. So I just think it’s in my genetics to teach. I love teaching people and you know that from sitting across the desk and hearing how I love to educate people on what they’re doing financially.

    Shawn:

    Which I think fits right along with this program. So today, with this being our 200th episode for Christian Financial Perspectives, we decided to look at the top seven most essential financial topics that have been covered over the last four years, not necessarily the most popular. So we’re not going off of YouTube views or audio listens from the different podcast directories. This is again, what we feel are the most important topics. So here they are in order of importance, starting with number seven.

    Bob:

    So we’re going to get to the first, the most important one at the end.

    Shawn:

    Yes. So in order of importance, starting with number seven and ending with what we know is the number one most crucial financial topic that we’ve covered over the last four years. So number seven, episode 48, “Sudden Wealth Syndrome”, sometimes called SWS.

    Bob:

    That’s correct. And this happens when someone gets a large inheritance, maybe a lump sum payout. I’ve seen this as well from…

    Shawn:

    Insurance.

    Bob:

    Well, that could be. Or even a major corporation you’ve been working for and all of a sudden you get a lump sum payout when you retire, an oil and gas discovery, or even winning a lottery. We’ve not had any lottery winners, but that would be a definite sudden wealth. And sudden wealth is known, unfortunately, Shawn, for making people arrogant. When I looked arrogant up: an unpleasantly proud person that behaves like they’re more important than anyone else and they know more than anyone else because now they have all this new found wealth. And you got to be very careful of that.

    Shawn:

    It is a danger, it’s a kind of a natural human tendency that if you have a lot of money, especially if it comes very quickly, that you get that arrogance that comes along with it where, well, I have all this money, therefore I’m more important and know more than everybody. And it’s different when you have someone that has built wealth over time through a lot of hard work, that they actually tend to be less arrogant, typically, because they know that where they got here was with hard work. It wasn’t that they were somehow special.

    Bob:

    Exactly. Being humble is such a good virtue, which was in our Lord and Savior of Jesus Christ. He was humble. When sudden will syndrome comes about, that’s the most important time when you need a fee-based fiduciary, Christian financial advisor more than ever.

    Shawn:

    That’s right, to help you navigate that. So number six, episode 192, “Are Rental Homes The Worst Way to Invest in Real Estate”.

    Bob:

    And we’ve made some on real estate, and I think this last one was really one that went well and there just seems to be in real estate, a big misunderstanding of the net return and the real yields after all the expenses associated with owning residential real estate.

    Shawn:

    And our rental home worksheet is a must to get, if considering buying a rental home, which we did go over that a little bit in the episode.One rental home and just one geographical location is never wise because it lacks diversification for the amount of money it takes.

    Bob:

    Yeah, it does. You think about that, you’re putting maybe three, I mean here in New Braunfels, you can’t buy anything for less than $350,000 or $400,000 or you’re going to go borrow that much money.

    Shawn:

    And rates are horrible right now.

    Bob:

    Really knocks the yield down. You just don’t have a yield. So in this episode 192, “Are Rental Homes the Worst Way to Invest in Real Estate”, we discussed alternative ways to easily buy real estate using a portfolio of publicly traded real estate investment trust. Not private. Yeah, not private ones. And this is across many real estate sectors such as apartment complexes, commercial real estate, retail stores, storage units, hospitals, medical facilities, cell phone towers, and even cloud-based computing storage facilities. So when we came up with this alternative type of portfolio that we’re offering now to people, you don’t have to go to any title company. It’s completely liquid and there’s no sales commissions involved in it. And many times these REITs, they give better yields than one single rental home. More diversification, total liquidity, like I say, no sales charges or title company fees.

    Shawn:

    And as I know you like to talk about, no worrying about broken water heaters or leaky roof or broken AC unit, dysfunctional renters, you don’t have to deal with any of that.

    Bob:

    When you think anybody that’s thinking about real estate, HDTV is on every day, have them go listen to that episode.

    Shawn:

    Yeah. So number five, episode 186, “7 Things to do Before Buying Your Next Car”. We thought this one was a good topic because it’s the largest expenditure typically next to or right behind buying a home for most people. So of all the things you’re going to buy, probably the second most expensive/ largest, but it also happens on average every three to four years with absolutely guaranteed negative returns and losses.

    Bob:

    Yeah. Would you want to buy an investment that had a guaranteed negative return and significant losses every single time? Well, that’s when you buy a vehicle, that’s what you’re doing.

    Shawn:

    It is a necessary expense, but don’t ever look at it as an investment because it is guaranteed to go down in value no matter what you do.

    Bob:

    In this episode, it talks about how most people overpay 90% of the time when they buy a car. So we give you seven great ideas to literally save thousands of dollars when buying that next car. So I would invite you to go back and listen to that one if you didn’t hear that one.

    Shawn:

    Alright, and number four, we have episode 122, “Gold Fever. Is it Worth it?”

    Bob:

    Oh, another big one, right?

    Shawn:

    Yep. We get this kind of questions all the time.

    Bob:

    I’ve had two calls in the last week about buying gold again.

    Shawn:

    We cover the fact that there’s no regulation, there’s absolutely no regulation. It’s the wild, wild west when it comes to buying physical gold, manipulative sales tactics are very common within the industry. You really have no idea if you’re getting the real value that you’re purchasing because again, there’s no standards, regulatory requirements. So you might think you’re getting a hundred thousand dollars worth of gold, but in reality, because of the change in the markups and what they’re wanting to get paid in the commission, you got $50,000 to $75,000.

    Bob:

    And like you say, there’s no regulation that governs this. And something else about gold that a lot of Christians have not thought about is just not Biblically responsible at all. It’s environmentally toxic to God’s creation. And human slavery is used many places around the globe and many foreign countries to get the gold.

    Shawn:

    Yeah, the most common, you’ll have some sort of international company that’s partnered with something local. Well, the locals are many times employing human slavery to actually get the minerals and then they just sell it to the corporation. So the corporation, well, they’re not using human slavery, they’re just buying it from people that are using human slavery. Well, okay, that’s not really a good argument.

    Bob:

    And gold also, it has no yield and nothing productive from it.

    Shawn:

    That’s right. It’s just something you hold and hope the intrinsic value associated with it goes up over time. But there’s nothing to create yield from it. It’s not like owning stocks in a company where if that company continues to produce good products and has better cashflow and more profits that the value of the share can go up over time.

    Bob:

    And dividends.

    Shawn:

    And dividends. Exactly.

    Bob:

    That’s what I like. So now we’re getting into our top 3. Top three, remember, of 199 episodes.

    Shawn:

    That’s right. Okay, so number three is episode 127, “Annuities 101, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly”.

    Bob:

    Why do you think I picked this one here? I’ve gotten a couple more invitations with the big steak dinners on them this week.

    Shawn:

    Exactly.

    Bob:

    Literally I’ve gotten two in the last week.

    Shawn:

    We thought the annuities should definitely be in the top three because, similar to the house purchase and the car purchase, the annuity is not something people purchase all the time, but it’s more closer to say a house. Because if you have a decent sized investment portfolio and you get someone trying to take you to the steak dinner and you move all your money into the annuity and then you’re stuck for 10 years. If you take it out earlier than 10 years, then you’re going to have a penalty, usually, is the time period for that.

    Bob:

    Very manipulative sales tactics are used to sell annuities also kind of like gold. And there’s a considerable misunderstanding of returns by comparing them to the guaranteed withdrawals of your own money. So I’ve seen this many times where you say, well, you’re guaranteed a 5% withdrawal, and that’s nice. I’m guaranteed to take 5% of my own money every year. Well, you’ll get back 100% of your money in 20 years. Yeah, you will. You take 5% a year times 20 years, you’re going to get back 100% of your money. Boy, that’s a big return, isn’t it? And high commissions in annuities really result in conflicts of interest for those that sell them.

    Shawn:

    Yep. Because they’re not acting as a fiduciary. They do not have your best interests at heart. They have their highest commission to pad their own pocket is the primary goal.

    Bob:

    And most people don’t realize that these annuity companies, they’ll offer incentives to, if you sell enough, to the salesperson. If you sell enough of this annuity, we’re going to give you a free cruise or you’re going to get a golf vacation or something like that. They never say that. And I remember seeing this way back in my earlier years, how you get these monthly contests going and I’m like, it’s kind of like on the last day of the month when you want to buy a car, you got to sell that certain amount of car.

    Shawn:

    Yeah. There’s a lot of push, a lot of incentive. Alright, definitely go check that one out. We cover the types of annuities. We cover there are some situations where certain kinds of annuities might play a part and might be a good fit, but it’s just things to be aware of. So definitely check it out. Number two.

    Bob:

    Top two now.

    Shawn:

    Episode 162, “Using Emotions as an Investment Strategy”.

    Bob:

    And I’ve always said this, emotions and finance, they mix together like oil and water. They should not go together.

    Shawn:

    That’s right. Which we understand and recognize that as human beings made in God’s image that we have emotions. So it can be difficult to set your emotions aside, but that’s why when we’re looking at making decisions on behalf of clients, if we’re meeting with clients, we always try to get as much as possible, get back to the math, get back to the principles, the objective things that we can look at to try to help us at the very least more better, more better control our emotions.

    Bob:

    We teach how to use your emotions in a positive way, not a negative way. This is done by actually going the opposite way the crowds are heading when the markets are getting overbought or oversold, and we do that here. And when everybody’s getting frantic and you’ve seen that market go up for two or three years in a row and it’s at all time highs, it’s probably time to go the other direction.

    Shawn:

    Not at all any kind of solicitation or advice. But just as a somewhat recent example, during 2020, towards the end of 2020, I believe the technology sector was up like 70, 80 something percent and then energy was down 50%. And so that was a good example at that time where you could possibly look at, all right, well I’m not going to buy technology because it’s already up so much and everybody thinks it’s going to go to the moon. But then energy, well, is anyone expecting energy to go away?

    Bob:

    I think we’re going to continue to use gasoline. And if you remember, that’s one of the things that we did. That was a strategy we did here.

    Shawn:

    So again, not a recommendation for now, but just I thought that was a good example of what we’re talking about.

    Bob:

    Well, this episode teaches all about learning how to buy low and sell high, not buy high and sell low using other people’s emotions. And the markets are emotional, too. Very emotional. Alright…

    Shawn:

    We’re going to have three quick honorable mentions that we’re not really going to discuss much before we cover our number one. But those three, they didn’t quite make the top seven. Episode 125, “The Basics of Estate Planning”. Every family needs a will or a trust, period. And the time to get that set up is yesterday.

    Bob:

    Episode 169 was “Financially Handling the Loss of a Spouse”. That’s never fun. It’s never easy, very painful. And finances spend any time are the last thing you want to deal with during a time of loss.

    Shawn:

    That’s right. And then episode 134, “The Number One Reason for Financial Failure”. I’ll give you a hint. Procrastination. This episode we cover all the financial areas where we procrastinate that costs people tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of dollars. Alright. And so our number one top recommended topic over the years by far is episodes 177-178. It was a two-parter, but it covers “What God’s Word Says About Money”. This was actually a remake of the very first episode before my time as co-host. But need we say more, the Bible should be the primary guidebook for how Christians manage what God puts into our possession.

    Bob:

    My kids have always said, and I’m kind of a Proverbs nut. I love Proverbs.

    Shawn:

    That’s a good book.

    Bob:

    It’s a great book. And it is the owner’s manual for managing our finances. And I want to make this statement, and this is a very, very powerful statement. I want you to hear it. Okay. I have never seen anyone hurt financially by following Biblical principles, BUT I have seen many people and families hurt by not following Biblical principles.

    Shawn:

    Amen. So there you have it, our top seven financial topics that we’ve covered over the last four years and the first 199 episodes plus our three honorable mentions. But today’s 200th edition was just one we thought to go back and maybe listen to a few times. We’ll make sure we put stuff in the description depending on where you’re consuming this content so that way you can reference these seven financial topics and the honorable mentions. But we are committed to continuing to bring you financial topics from a Christian perspective for hopefully many more years. I know Bob doesn’t have any intent on retiring anytime soon. He loves doing this, loves teaching. And we just want to thank everyone who has listened or watched over the years, the comments, suggestions, keep them coming, by the way. We love getting feedback or suggestions on topics that you’d like us to cover and help you with. So if you’d like to learn more about Christian Financial Advisors, please visit our [email protected] or call or text us at (830) 609-6986 during business hours. Thank you so much and God bless.

    [DISCLOSURES]

    * Investment advisory services offered through Christian Investment Advisors Inc dba Christian Financial Advisors, a registered investment advisor registered with the SEC. Registration as an investment advisor does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Comments from today’s show are for informational purposes only and not to be considered investment advice or recommendations to buy or sell any company that may have been mentioned or discussed. The opinions expressed are solely those of the hosts, Bob Barber and Shawn Peters, and their guests. Bob and Shawn do not provide tax advice and encourage you to seek guidance from a tax professional. While Christian Financial Advisors believes the information to be accurate and reliable, we do not claim or have responsibility for its completeness, accuracy, or reliability.

    19 min
  • Biblical Viewpoints Of Money And Wealth Part 3
    Are you ready to dive deeper into God's design for generosity, giving, and leaving a lasting legacy? In this final part of our series, Bob and Shawn explore Biblical perspectives on using wealth to bless others and how to properly pass on an inheritance that impacts generations to come. “Biblical Viewpoints of Money and Wealth” emphasizes the importance of stewardship and giving from a Biblical worldview. In this episode, weeks 6 and 7 are summarized, which includes the ripple effect of giving and the proper way to leave an inheritance and legacy for future generations.
    17 min
  • 199 – Biblical Viewpoints Of Money and Wealth Part 3
    Click below to listen to Episode 199 – Biblical Viewpoints Of Money and Wealth Part 3
    Biblical Viewpoints Of Money and Wealth Part 3

    Learn about the final weeks of a Bible study on financial stewardship.

    More episodes >>

    Are you ready to dive deeper into God’s design for generosity, giving, and leaving a lasting legacy? In this final part of our series, Bob and Shawn explore Biblical perspectives on using wealth to bless others and how to properly pass on an inheritance that impacts generations to come.

    “Biblical Viewpoints of Money and Wealth” emphasizes the importance of stewardship and giving from a Biblical worldview. In this episode, weeks 6 and 7 are summarized, which includes the ripple effect of giving and the proper way to leave an inheritance and legacy for future generations.

    HOSTED BY: Bob Barber, CWS®, CKA®

    CO-HOST: Shawn Peters

    Mentioned In This Episode
    Christian Financial Advisors
    Website
    Bob Barber, CWS®, CKA®
    Shawn Peters
    Biblical Viewpoints of Money and Wealth
    Bible Verses In This Episode
    MATTHEW 25:34-40

    Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

    Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

    “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

    PROVERBS 20:21

    Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing and benefits those who see the sun.

    ECCLESIASTES 11:2

    Invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight; you do not know what disaster may come upon the land.

    MATTHEW 6:19-21

    Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

    Want to ask a question about your specific situation? Schedule a complimentary 15 minute phone call.

    SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENTDid you enjoy this episode? Sign up for email updates and never miss an episode.
    EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

    Shawn:

    Are you ready to dive deeper into God’s design for generosity, giving, and leaving a lasting legacy? In this final part of our series, we’ll explore Biblical perspectives on using wealth to bless others and how to properly pass on an inheritance that impacts generations to come. Let’s get some perspective.
    Welcome back to another episode of Christian Financial Perspectives. My name’s Shawn Peters. This is Bob Barber. we’re going to be covering part three of a series that we’ve been doing. Six years ago, Bob wrote a seven week bible study called “Biblical Viewpoints of Money and Wealth”, and we’ve been giving this brief overview of the Bible study over the course of three videos with today being that final video. So if you’ve not heard parts one and two, we would definitely encourage you to listen or watch those first. So we’ll wait for a sec. Alright, if you’re still here, we’re assuming you watched, you listened to the first two. So this seven week Bible study explores God’s design for money, stewardship, and creating a lasting legacy. If you want a copy of this Bible study for you or for a small group, just click the link that we have in the description, or you can search on Amazon for Biblical viewpoints of money and wealth. So Bob, why don’t you give our viewers and listeners a little bit on what exactly is the foundation of this study? What are we looking at?

    Bob:

    Okay, so the foundation of the study looks at how wealth comes from belongs to and should honor God, as well as how wealth should be distributed wisely to the next generation. Using wealth Biblically is providing for those that God has entrusted to us, like our family, supporting the church, spreading the gospel, supporting missionaries, providing for God’s family, feeding the hungry, clothing to poor, sheltering the homeless, healing the sick, educating the homeless, protecting the innocent, and providing for widows and orphans.

    Shawn:

    Is that all?

    Bob:

    Yeah, so that’s truly a synopsis of the entire study just right there in what that is, what the study is about. It is a very deep study that gets into God’s word. You are going to be going from scripture to scripture and seeing what God’s word has to say about stewardship because as many Biblical scholars agree, there’s over 1500 to 2000 scriptures on stewardship, and Jesus spoke on stewardship more than any other subject, even more than heaven and hell combined. So stewardship was very important to our savior.

    Shawn:

    That’s right. And a lot of this really comes down to the mind and heart of the individual. And so this book is very much a Bible study. This is not a book with a whole lot of writing and occasionally there’s a Bible verse.

    Bob:

    Well, you can see right here if you’re watching the video, it’s not that thick, but there’s a lot of looking up of scripture.

    Shawn:

    It’d be a lot thicker if we already put every single scripture in there.

    Bob:

    It would probably be an inch thick if that was the case.

    Shawn:

    That’s right. So really what this goes into is again, the heart and mind of each one of us and helping us look at it from that Biblical perspective. So there’s not a bunch of tips on budgeting and cash flow and investing and things like that because if you get your heart and mind right first, then you can start looking at that.

    Bob:

    This is the foundation.

    Shawn:

    That’s right. So the seven viewpoints that we go through in this Bible study over typically a seven week period, you can go faster if you’d like, but number one, the difference between a Biblical and secular worldview, this is the foundation for the rest of the Bible study and being able to handle wealth from a Biblical perspective.

    Bob:

    We look at the difference in the second week of an owner and a manager. We take an example of a restaurant owner, you have a restaurant owner and you have the manager that’s running the restaurant. Could be both.

    Shawn:

    Very different roles.

    Bob:

    But they’re very different roles. They are.

    Shawn:

    Number three or week three, we go through the Biblical worldview of work and retirement. For those of you who maybe have not listened to any of our previous podcasts, we have definitely talked about this before, but work is mentioned a lot.

    Bob:

    Over 500 times.

    Shawn:

    That’s right. And how many times is retirement mentioned?

    Bob:

    One time.

    Shawn:

    Once and it was for the priest. Very specific situation.

    Bob:

    But they will teach the younger.

    Shawn:

    That’s right. And they didn’t retire from work, they retired from that particular position.

    Bob:

    And they go into a teaching mode. So that’s the way I look at it.

    Shawn:

    And then chapter four or week four, what are we covering there, Bob?

    Bob:

    The difference between secular and Biblical counsel, and we got pretty deep into that a couple sessions ago, but you’ll really have your mind open to this where you’ve never thought about the counsel that you’re getting because it’s coming to you from a secular worldview or a Biblical worldview, all of it.

    Shawn:

    Chapter five, week five, money and wealth from a Biblical worldview, also a very good one. And number six…

    Bob:

    Giving and blessings, which we’re going to cover today. We’re going to give you a little short part of that. And then the last one is properly leaving an inheritance and legacy for the following generations, which is so important because the word in there, the keyword is properly leaving that inheritance, not just throwing it to them.

    Shawn:

    Right. So today we’ll be giving you a brief overview of what the last two weeks of this study covers as we’ve done in our previous two episodes covering the first five weeks of the study. So let’s get started. Week six, giving and blessing from a Biblical worldview. One of the scriptures that we dive deep into for this week of the study is Matthew 25:34-40. Do you want me to go through that scripture?

    Bob:

    You got it. Go for it. Go for it.

    Shawn:

    “Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come you who are blessed by my father, take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you invited me in. I needed clothes and you clothed me. I was sick and you looked after me. I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ The king will reply, ‘Truly, I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'”

    Bob:

    So when you think about giving from a Biblical worldview, this is a very good scripture to look at. And what we do in this study as a small group is we list up to 10 ways that we can use the resources that God has blessed us with to help others and bring glory to God. So some examples of that would be providing shelter. You can see where it talks about providing shelter, providing food and shelter for the homeless and mentally ill. Most people don’t realize that the homeless have mental illness. That’s one of the main causes most of the time of homelessness, volunteering at a local food bank or ministry like Habitat for Humanity, which helps build homes for those that are not so fortunate, ministering to the sick in a hospital or a nursing home. That is such a great way that we can help give of our time and resources.

    Shawn:

    That’s right. And what’s interesting too, of the three examples you gave, Bob, volunteering at the local food bank ministry, ministering to the sick and a hospital nursing home. Both of those two are something that basically any of us can do because neither of those really require monetary resources, just our time and willingness to serve.

    Bob:

    That’s right.

    Shawn:

    So other areas that are covered in week six are the four different ways of giving.

    Bob:

    Which most people don’t think that there’s four different ways of giving, but we go into that in detail.

    Shawn:

    And the ripple effect of giving. So why don’t you go ahead and give us the example.

    Bob:

    Well, the examples of the ripple effect. So you think about when you throw a rock into a pond, what happens? You have this ripple effect that goes out, it’s all the way around 360 degrees. So God gives to us and when he gives to us, we’re receiving. But when we take that and we give to others, they are receiving. So it carries the ripple effect and this giving multiplies when it flows from God through us to others. So look at us like a vessel. It’s coming through us like a pipeline.

    Shawn:

    Yeah, that’s right.

    Bob:

    We mentioned this in the study, the Dead Sea. Why is the Dead Sea dead?

    Shawn:

    It doesn’t have any outflow.

    Bob:

    Exactly. Everything goes into it, but nothing outflows. That’s what can happen in our lives if we’re only just take, take, take, but we’re never giving to others generous giving. When we’re generously giving, it’s teaching others, our children are seeing it, our grandchildren are seeing it, others are seeing it, as well as the following generations, and we want to teach them to be generous givers. And that’s this week six of this study talks about is giving really from a different perspective and looking at it from a Biblical worldview.

    Shawn:

    Well, and as it is said, it’s better to give than to receive.

    Bob:

    Yes. And most people don’t realize that it’s more blessed to give than receive because like you say, you’re not all stopped up kind of like the dead sea.

    Shawn:

    Exactly. So then in the last week of the seven part series we go into or it goes into properly leaving an inheritance and legacy for the following generations.

    Bob:

    Again, not talked about much, is it Shawn? When you hear about money, it’s always talked about budgeting or debt. But this is very important, especially for parents and grandparents. This is a good Bible study for them.

    Shawn:

    And I would guarantee you, Bob, that most people, unless maybe they’ve gone through a study like this or gotten to some of the same conclusions, but most people would look at when you leave an inheritance, oh well okay, if you have two kids, then 50/50. If you have three kids and you divide it into thirds. If you have whatever the case may be, it’s like, oh yeah, every kid gets an equal share air. And honestly, that’s a terrible method to use for a number of reasons, which we do go into, but it doesn’t need to be equal. And the thing that we definitely encourage our clients here and anyone who’s watching or listening, remember that there’s at least one extra party, the church, missionaries, expanding the Kingdom of God. Your inheritance to your descendants does not have to be all directly to them. So anyway, without further ado.

    Bob:

    An inheritance left that’s not thought about through the eyes of scripture can hurt so much more than it can help. People don’t realize that. And Proverbs 20:21 is the scripture we look at in this Bible study, “An inheritance claimed too soon will not be blessed in the end.”

    Shawn:

    That’s true.

    Bob:

    And that’s a very strong scripture. And what does that mean? How do we take that and apply that? I believe it means that inheritance given to the next generation can be given slowly. It doesn’t have to be all given at once. And today with the tools that we have, setting up a trust. And you can give a percentage, a 3%, 5% a year out to the next generation. There’s nothing wrong with it going slowly over the next 10 or 15 years while they learn to handle it.

    Shawn:

    Exactly. That also has the added benefit of if you’re setting this up, instead of it just being a X amount of dollars after taxes and everything but X amount of dollars that goes to your kids, well you could set up that trust where only a certain amount goes out. So then your kids and their kids and their kids would continue to see a benefit from this and that over time it could continue to bless multiple generations instead of what is it on average if an inheritance is received as a lump sum, it’s what, 18 to 24 months on average?

    Bob:

    Yeah, about 18 to three years, it’s gone. Yeah, I mean that’s not everyone.

    Shawn:

    No, it’s not.

    Bob:

    But that is a large percentage of inheritance is spent what the parents and the grandparents spent 20 and 30 years saving and putting together can be spent in literally three or four years, and it’s gone. And I’ve seen it in my 35 years in this business many, many times. But Ecclesiastes says, “Wisdom like an inheritance is a good thing and benefits those who see the sun,” is what it says. But you realize what it says first it says wisdom. And if we’re passing down a financial inheritance without passing down wisdom, that’s a recipe for disaster.

    Shawn:

    That’s right.

    Bob:

    And I love this last one, Matthew. Go ahead.

    Shawn:

    Matthew 6:19-21, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moths and vermin destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where moths and vermin do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal for where your treasure is there, your heart will be also.”

    Bob:

    So in this Bible study, what we do, we take these scriptures and you’re going to write down three things that you would most like your heirs to inherit that’s not associated with money, wealth, or anything that can rust, burn, or deteriorate over time. Let me say that one more time. You write down three things that you would most like to pass down to your children, your children’s children, not associated with money, wealth, or anything that can rust, burn or deteriorate over time. That takes away all the material possessions because I want to pass down to my children things like wisdom, faith in Jesus, and a good name. I want to pass me having a good name and reputation and I hope that they do the same.

    Shawn:

    One of the last things that you’ll do in this final week of the study will be how to leave an inheritance and legacy for the following generations properly. And we will give you three thought provoking examples of how your heirs, or how to determine if your heirs are ready, to inherit money and wealth wisely. Things like they are responsible with their earnings.

    Bob:

    Yeah, they’re not in a bunch of high credit card debt.

    Shawn:

    You have seen them regularly save and budget wisely, and you notice that they are givers to worthy causes, church, missionaries, other non-profits. Yeah, those are just some examples of things to look for to see are they ready to inherit money and wealth.

    Bob:

    So there you go. That’s our three part series on this Bible study. We have literally, hundreds of churches in Texas and South Texas have gone through this study. The first part of it was called “Seven Pillars of Biblical Stewardship”, and then this is the revised edition, which is much easier to follow. We really hope that you get excited about this. I think once you’ve gone through it, you will see the excitement. We’ve seen changed lives, and we just pray that God will use this Bible study to renew your mind and transform how you think and how you view and other people view how they handle money through God’s lens.

    Shawn:

    That’s right. And if this study does sound exciting or beneficial to you, please consider purchasing your own copy for yourself or for your small group, Bible study group. You can click the link in the description or search on Amazon for Biblical viewpoints of money and wealth. Also, don’t forget to share this episode with others who might find it beneficial. Feel free to reach out to us by phone or text with any comments or questions at (830) 609-6986. As always, thank you and God bless you.

    [DISCLOSURES]

    * Investment advisory services offered through Christian Investment Advisors Inc dba Christian Financial Advisors, a registered investment advisor registered with the SEC. Registration as an investment advisor does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Comments from today’s show are for informational purposes only and not to be considered investment advice or recommendations to buy or sell any company that may have been mentioned or discussed. The opinions expressed are solely those of the hosts, Bob Barber and Shawn Peters, and their guests. Bob and Shawn do not provide tax advice and encourage you to seek guidance from a tax professional. While Christian Financial Advisors believes the information to be accurate and reliable, we do not claim or have responsibility for its completeness, accuracy, or reliability.

    17 min
  • Biblical Viewpoints Of Money And Wealth Part 2
    Do you struggle with aligning your view of money and wealth with the Bible or are you looking for a deeper Biblical perspective? For several episodes, Bob and Shawn are diving into a study examining God's design for wealth and work. In part 2 of 3, they delve into the differences between secular and Biblical counsel, and the Biblical perspective on money and wealth. We recommend you to go back and listen to part 1 before digging deeper into this episode of “Biblical Viewpoints of Money and Wealth”. The book can be found on Amazon, and we encourage listeners to engage in the study and to share the episode with others who may find it beneficial.
    18 min
  • 198 – Biblical Viewpoints Of Money and Wealth Part 2
    Click below to listen to Episode 198 – Biblical Viewpoints Of Money and Wealth Part 2
    Biblical Viewpoints Of Money and Wealth Part 2

    Learn about the first 3 weeks of a Bible study on stewardship.

    More episodes >>

    Do you struggle with aligning your view of money and wealth with the Bible or are you looking for a deeper Biblical perspective? For several episodes, Bob and Shawn are diving into a study examining God’s design for wealth and work. In part 2 of 3, they delve into the differences between secular and Biblical counsel, and the Biblical perspective on money and wealth.

    We recommend you to go back and listen to part 1 before digging deeper into this episode of “Biblical Viewpoints of Money and Wealth”. The book can be found on Amazon, and we encourage listeners to engage in the study and to share the episode with others who may find it beneficial.

    HOSTED BY: Bob Barber, CWS®, CKA®

    CO-HOST: Shawn Peters

    Mentioned In This Episode
    Christian Financial Advisors
    Website
    Bob Barber, CWS®, CKA®
    Shawn Peters
    Biblical Viewpoints of Money and Wealth
    Bible Verses In This Episode
    PROVERBS 15:22

    Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.

    ECCLESIASTES 4:9-12

    Two are better than one,because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?Though one may be overpowered,two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

    ECCLESIASTES 11:2

    Invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight; you do not know what disaster may come upon the land.

    DEUTERONOMY 8:18

    But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.

    Want to ask a question about your specific situation? Schedule a complimentary 15 minute phone call.

    SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENTDid you enjoy this episode? Sign up for email updates and never miss an episode.
    EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

    Shawn:

    Do you struggle with aligning your view of money and wealth with the Bible or are you looking for a deeper Biblical perspective? We’ll dive into a study examining God’s design for wealth and work. Let’s get some perspective. Welcome back to Christian Financial Perspectives. Today we’re going to be covering part two of our Biblical Viewpoints Bible study. I’m going to pass it over to Bob since this is something that he worked a lot on and figured it’d be better let him kind of introduce it, especially for those who may be missed the last episode.

    Bob:

    Sure thing, Shawn. So about six years ago I wrote a seven week Bible study called Biblical Viewpoints of Money and Wealth, and last week, this week, and next week, what we’re doing is we’re quickly giving a brief overview of what this Bible study is about. And the nice thing is if you’d like a copy of it, you can go to Amazon and just put in Biblical viewpoints of money and wealth and you can get a copy for yourself. And a lot of people like to teach this in a small group. It’s been taught many times in small groups. This is also a revised edition of Seven Pillars of Biblical Stewardship, which was taught in hundreds of churches 10 years ago, 10, 12 years ago, something like that.

    Shawn:

    This is more, a little more, no, no, I wouldn’t say simplified, but I guess you set this one up in a way that someone could pick up the book by themselves and go through it. Or they could pick it up for the first time and go through it with their small group. Seven pillars, just the way that you guys had set it up before, I know there are other people that were part of that process. It was took more, I don’t know how else to say that.

    Bob:

    Well…

    Shawn:

    They needed to be trained on how to go through it.

    Bob:

    They did. They had to be trained on it. So this is a seven week Bible study that really digs deep into what God’s word says about money. And I would emphasize if you didn’t get to hear last week’s program covering what’s being covered in the first three weeks of the study, that you would go back and listen. We encourage that. Either listen to it or view it on YouTube.

    Shawn:

    This is a great study. I know I’ve been through it I guess a couple times now because I’ve gone through it once and then we went through it again not that long ago as a staff.

    Bob:

    About a year ago.

    Shawn:

    And very, very beneficial. It’s very Bible heavy. So there are a lot of different kinds of books that you can go through in a small group setting, and some of them are a page of writing and then there’s a scripture verse kind of a methodology, which there’s nothing wrong with that, but this one is more of here’s a question, read these 2, 3, 4 scriptures, and then maybe there’s a follow-up of, okay, great. So now from what you read, here’s a question, write down what you got from that. And so I really like that personally because it allows the scripture to lead the person who’s going through a study like this. It allows scripture to lead more than just what you as an author or someone else as an author is specifically trying to say. So I think it’s really good.

    Bob:

    Yes, it’s truly a Bible study and you’ve got to have your Bible to go through it.

    Shawn:

    Or the Bible app. I know a lot of…

    Bob:

    Okay. Yeah. So the foundation behind this study is that Biblical wealth comes from, belongs to, and should honor God, as well as that wealth, how it should be distributed to the next generation wisely. Okay.

    Shawn:

    The Biblical wealth is here’s a, I guess you’d say a definition, is providing for those God has entrusted to us, supporting the church, spreading the gospel, sending out and supporting missionaries, providing for God’s family, feeding the hungry, clothing the poor, sheltering the homeless, healing the sick, educating the hopeless, protecting the innocent, and providing for widows and orphans.

    Bob:

    Straight from scripture.

    Shawn:

    That’s right.

    Bob:

    These seven viewpoints that we cover over this seven week period are the first week we cover the difference between a Biblical and secular worldview. And that forms the foundation for the rest of the Bible study how to handle wealth from a Biblical perspective. Then week two covers the differences between an owner and a manager. And that’s an interesting one. What does that mean? Well, we’re managers and God is the owner. So we go through the scenario of like a restaurant owner, you own the restaurant, but what if you were the manager of the restaurant? How would those differ?

    Shawn:

    How would you act? How would you treat the assets and the things that you have differently if you were a manager versus an owner? And then week three covers the Biblical worldview of work and retirement. So we’re going to be covering, starting today, we’re going to be starting with week four. And then we’re also going to talk a little bit about week five for the Bible study. Week four looks at the difference between secular and Biblical counsel. Week five then covers money and wealth from a Biblical worldview.

    Bob:

    And then week six and seven, week six covers giving and blessings from a Biblical worldview. And week seven covers properly leaving an inheritance and legacy for the following generations.

    Shawn:

    That’s right. Okay, here we are. We’re going to get into starting with, for today, week four and diving into the differences between secular and Biblical counsel and a few of the scriptures we’re going to look at. We’re going to start first with Proverbs 15:22. Bob, you want to read that one?

    Bob:

    Well, I know that one, I don’t even have to read it. That’s one of my favorite scriptures in all the Bible is that, “Plans fail from lack of counsel, but with many advisors they succeed.”

    Shawn:

    And then Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, “Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. If either of them falls down, one can help the other up, but pity anyone who falls and has one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they’ll keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves, and a cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”

    Bob:

    So you got the two, and then the third cord is the Holy Spirit giving you that guidance. So there’s 20 characteristics, also, that’s in 1 Timothy 3:1-12. And we are not going to read that entire passage, but this has to do the difference between a Biblical worldview and a secular worldview. And we also look at what 20 characteristics to avoid. So we look for 20 characteristics of what to look for in Biblical counsel and 20 characteristics of what to avoid in secular counsel that is found in 2 Timothy 3:2-5, and 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, and we list all 20 of ’em. So that’s the neat thing about the study. You do that, remember the first week we did that, we did the difference between a Biblical worldview and a secular worldview. So here it’s side by side. You’re looking at this is the characteristics of Biblical counsel and then this is the characteristics of secular counsel and what to avoid. You can see they go right down the page, come right out at you. And by the end of week four in this study, you’re going to truly see the difference between Biblical and secular counsel and how important it is. And you’re going to see the benefits of Biblical counsel and the dangers of secular counsel.

    Shawn:

    I think that’s a good chapter. Alright, well we’ll just stop there. I’m just kidding. Okay. Alright. And then week five. So coming off of that, and obviously there’s no requirement, too, if you get this book, especially if you’re going through it by yourself, I mean you could do as many chapters as you want. It’s just typically this is set up more as you do one chapter a week.

    Bob:

    Well, you’ll find that it’s going to take you about 30 minutes to do each chapter, 30 to 40 minutes depending on how deep you want to go. And we highly suggest, too, that you pray and ask God’s Holy Spirit to help you interpret scripture in the way that he wants to speak to you.

    Shawn:

    That’s right. So in week five, the study covers money and wealth from a Biblical worldview starting with Deuteronomy 8:18, “But remember the Lord your God for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors as it is today.”

    Bob:

    So we look at this word “wealth” because we’re talking about money and wealth from a Biblical worldview. And that wealth appears in scripture over 100x, Shawn, it’s referred to both positively and cautiously. Wealth can be a great thing, but also it can hurt. It can be a blessing and a curse if not handled with wisdom. And we’ve seen that in so many people. I mean, you just look across society and see how wealth has totally destroyed some people, but others who have handled it correctly and done it from a Biblical worldview. It can be a great blessing.

    Shawn:

    When you get someone that wins the lottery and all of a sudden they have all this extra money and you would think, oh, it’d solve all their problems. But if anything, it typically makes everything so much worse.

    Bob:

    They’re worse off after than before. Now they’re well off for a while, and we call that sudden wealth syndrome and sudden wealth syndrome, we’ve had a program on that because it can come in many different ways, not just through a lottery.

    Shawn:

    It could be lottery, could be relative that passes away…

    Bob:

    Inheritance.

    Shawn:

    Life insurance from a spouse. I mean, who knows? There’s a lot of different ways.

    Bob:

    We’ve seen it many different ways.

    Shawn:

    Oil and gas.

    Bob:

    A lot of oil and gas, especially where we are. We’re within an hour’s drive of one of the biggest oil hits in the world called the Eagle Ford Shell. It’s not the biggest, but it’s very large.

    Shawn:

    It’s big.

    Bob:

    It’s really large. And I drive down through it on our way down to our place in Rockport, Texas on the coast, and I’m always seeing all these oil wells.

    Shawn:

    So that sudden wealth syndrome, it creates a false sense of power and security, or at least it can, that causes a person to make a irrational decisions rejecting any and all wise counsel from others who have experience in handling wealth. Many times what they don’t realize is that that wealth can disappear just as quickly if it is not handled correctly and with wisdom. And I think the most common example of that, Bob, is when someone discovers oil or natural gas or something on their property and all of a sudden, I mean we saw how many times did you see that Eagle Ford Shell? You’d have a household that’s making $40,000-50,000 maybe a year, and all of a sudden they’re making what, a $100,000 a month or more? And it just very quickly then goes down to where now maybe they’re making what, $10,000 a month, maybe?

    Bob:

    Exactly. 10-20k.

    Shawn:

    If that person isn’t wise with that money coming in and they adjust their lifestyle, assuming they’re going to continue to make a million or more dollars a year, you got a bunch of boats and cars and all these houses and stuff that you can’t maintain anymore once the income starts dropping back down, which inevitably happens in that kind of a situation.

    Bob:

    As we look in that week five from Biblical wealth and how to handle that, we use Ecclesiastes 11:2. And that’s a discussion, “Investing in seven ventures, yes, in eight, for you do not know what disaster may come upon the land.” That’s about wealth and how to invest wealth. We take this scripture into the study and we list seven to eight areas. You list it out with your group or by yourself, what did Solomon invest in? And you can go to scripture and you can see it will tell you what Solomon invested in. And then you can look at today, how would you invest?

    Shawn:

    I think one of the things that you got to remember too is that when we look at where Solomon invested, it’s not a recommendation that you go buy a bunch of goats and cattle necessarily. I think the wisdom from that is more in the fact that Solomon didn’t just have all one or two or three things, that he had wealth spread across pretty much whatever was available to him. So there are things that are available now.

    Bob:

    Shipping, there was transportation, there was actually back then it was gold back then.

    Shawn:

    But also there was no fiat currency back then. That’s true. So very different.

    Bob:

    That’s true.That is definitely true. And we don’t use gold now when we go to the store and buy something.

    Shawn:

    Exactly. Yeah.

    Bob:

    We use our debit card.

    Shawn:

    We get more into that in the study. We get more into the study. I just wanted to at least mention that.

    Bob:

    We also, in this instant, we look at a business owner and three different kinds of managers of a business. I’m going to give you some of these scenarios and it’s kind of fun to think about this. Pretend you’re an owner of a business and you have a manager. The first manager never shows up early or ever offers to stay late and help you with anything, even if there’s a major problem.

    Shawn:

    Yeah. Maybe you got inventory that came in and you really got to get it finished before the next day. Well, it’s five o’clock. See you later.

    Bob:

    The second manager, so we got manager, that was manager number one. We got the manager number two shows up on time every day, but only does enough to get by. And then you got manager number three. He shows up early every day, stays late if necessary, not every day, but if necessary, offers suggestions for making things better and goes way beyond the call of duty. So of the three managers, which one would you want to give more responsibility to?

    Shawn:

    And possibly a raise?

    Bob:

    Exactly. And so we ask.

    Shawn:

    Oh, definitely number one. Yeah. Haha.

    Bob:

    So we use a scriptural guideline in this of Luke 16:10-12, and I would invite you to go look that up because it talks about if you’re good with a little, you can be good with more. Okay.

    Shawn:

    Again, it’s never a, it should never be looked at, I feel like, when we’re talking about these kinds of scriptures and principles that you are managing what you have well just because you want more, because then I feel like we kind of miss the whole point. And especially some of these other chapters, you miss the whole point. As believers, as followers of Christ, when we do a good job with what God has blessed us with and entrusted us with, it’s out of respect and reverence and worship for him, not with an expectation of, “Okay, I did a good job. Give me more, please.”

    Bob:

    Oh yeah.

    Shawn:

    But there is that other aspect of it of if you do well, then it’s kind of like this thing of, okay, the Lord does know that should he give you more, He knows you’re going to do well with it.

    Bob:

    You think about the third manager, that third manager that went beyond the call of duty had a humble heart. It wasn’t all about him. It was about helping the business that he was working for. Well, that’s all for today. And don’t forget, if you’ve not heard last week’s program, we’d invite you to go back and listen to that. We’re going to cover this again next week on our three part series of “Biblical Viewpoints of Money and Wealth”. We’re going to cover next week how to handle giving and blessings from a Biblical worldview and how to leave that inheritance for the following generations. All seven weeks of the modules build on each other. Or they could even stand alone, but they build on each other. And our prayer is that God will use this Bible study to renew minds and transform how people view and handle money through this lens.

    Shawn:

    That’s right. This Bible study is very focused on the hearts and minds of people. It’s not specific advice of buy this or invest in this particular thing, or this is how you budget. But we really hope that if this study does sound interesting or beneficial to you, please consider purchasing your own copy, either for yourself or for your own study group. And don’t forget to share this episode with others that you think might find it beneficial. It doesn’t cost anything.

    Bob:

    And you can find the study where?

    Shawn:

    You can find the study – the easiest place honestly, would just be go to Amazon and search for “Biblical viewpoints of money and wealth” and that’s basically it. But feel free to reach out to us with comments, questions by phone or text at (830) 609-6986. God bless.

    [DISCLOSURES]

    * Investment advisory services offered through Christian Investment Advisors Inc dba Christian Financial Advisors, a registered investment advisor registered with the SEC. Registration as an investment advisor does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Comments from today’s show are for informational purposes only and not to be considered investment advice or recommendations to buy or sell any company that may have been mentioned or discussed. The opinions expressed are solely those of the hosts, Bob Barber and Shawn Peters, and their guests. Bob and Shawn do not provide tax advice and encourage you to seek guidance from a tax professional. While Christian Financial Advisors believes the information to be accurate and reliable, we do not claim or have responsibility for its completeness, accuracy, or reliability.

    18 min
  • Biblical Viewpoints Of Money and Wealth Part 1
    Do you struggle with aligning your view of money and wealth with the Bible or are you looking for a deeper biblical perspective? Over the next few weeks, we'll dive into a study examining God's design for wealth and work called "Biblical Viewpoints of Money and Wealth". The study is a seven-week deep dive into what the Bible says about money and how it applies to real life. It covers topics such as the difference between a Biblical and secular worldview and the responsibilities of an owner versus a manager. The study is available for purchase on Amazon, but please don't hesitate to reach out if you are interested in teaching or promoting the study in their churches or small groups.
    14 min

About Christian Financial Perspectives

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Biblical wisdom for financial decisions and goals. Conversations about managing money according to Christian principles, featuring expert insights on budgeting, investing, giving, and building wealth…

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