October 14, 2025 • 42 mins
Our faith is meant to guide every area of life, including how we invest. When our hearts are set on God, our investing reflects His priorities—caring for creation, serving our neighbor, and letting what we treasure shape how we steward His resources. On the next Faith & Finance Live, Rob West and Tim Macready (Mah-KREED-ee) talk about a “Theology of Investing.” Then, it’s on to your calls. That’s Faith & Finance Live, where biblical wisdom meets today’s finances—weekdays at 4pm Eastern/3pm Central on Moody Radio.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
S1 (00:08):
Investing isn't just about returns, it's about reflecting what we
truly value. Hi, I'm Rob West. Our faith is meant
to guide every area of life, including how we invest
when our hearts are set on God. Our investing reflects
his priorities. Caring for creation, serving our neighbor and letting
what we treasure shape how we steward his resources. Tim
(00:30):
McCreadie joins us today to talk about a theology of investing.
And then it's on to your phone calls at 800
525 7000. That's 800 525 7000. This is faith and finance. Live.
Biblical wisdom for your financial decisions. Well, our guest today
(00:50):
is my friend Tim McCreadie, head of global Multi-Asset investing
at Bright Light, part of the Eversource Wealth Advisors team. Tim,
great to have you back.
S2 (00:59):
Rob, it's a joy to be with you and your
listeners again.
S1 (01:01):
Thank you. Tim, I've been looking forward to this. You
have written an incredible article, the first of probably many
that will do on this topic in our magazine. Faithful
steward on a Theology of Investing. Now, many in our
listening audience may not be familiar with that term. So
why don't we start with a definition?
S2 (01:20):
Yeah, I mean, theology can be an intimidating word, Rob.
But like, we're just talking about studying God and and
then learning about how our study of God can then
be lived out in certain areas. Our faith is not
just about belief or conviction, but also about lived action.
And theology enables us to kind of transfer this, what
we believe about God, to lived action in different areas
(01:42):
of our lives. That might be art, that might be work,
it might be suffering. In this case, we're talking about
a theology of investing, bringing our heart, our head and
our hands together to reframe investing as an act of stewardship,
of love, of even spiritual formation and character development, not
just the physical act of putting a certain amount of
dollars into a certain company or a certain instrument. And
(02:05):
so with this theology, we're trying to move beyond just
money management into discipleship and even into, yes, worship.
S1 (02:13):
What a beautiful picture you paint there, Tim. And perhaps
a brand new idea for many. And that's why I'm
so excited to unpack this. Let's go back to the beginning, literally,
and begin with the story of creation and how it
relates to investing.
S2 (02:28):
Yeah. I mean, what we see in Genesis one and
two out of God's divine goodness, he creates something good.
And then he entrusts to mankind, to humanity, the cultivation
and development of what he has created. And we could
talk for hours about this, Rob, but it boils down
to what? What does investing do? Well, investing takes the
resources that God has given us and reallocates them so
(02:50):
that they become productive. It's a way of fulfilling this
creation mandate of Genesis one and two to bring abundance
and human flourishing. Uh, and then the financial returns come alongside.
Even out of what we do is we steward creation
for God's glory and for our joy.
S1 (03:06):
Yeah, that's exactly right. And God gives humanity this mandate
to work. We're co-creators with him. He creates out of nothing.
We create out of his creation. But then we're also
to steward creation as well. So, Tim, how does that
shape then our perspective on investing?
S2 (03:24):
So I think again, going to Genesis one and two,
God calls us to work and to keep the garden. I,
I like to think of humanity's role as both farmers
and gardeners. The the farming part of our role tends
the earth. It stewards it so that it can be productive. Uh,
and the gardening part of our role is to preserve
and expand the beauty and the blessings of God outside
(03:46):
the garden to the whole earth and to humanity. Our
our work. Uh, in economic terms, our labor and our
capital are part of this stewardship of creation. And so
investing is part of this. It's a means of enabling
men and women to expand and enjoy God's blessings through creation.
We use the resources he has given us to create technology, infrastructure, medicine, education,
(04:09):
all kinds of other goods and services for human flourishing.
And that reflects the faithful engagement that we have with
the work that God gives us to do. Uh, from
the very beginning in Genesis.
S1 (04:21):
Yeah, it sure does. And, you know, Tim, we often
get the question here on this program, isn't investing akin
to gambling? And, you know, we point back to even
the parable of the talents, and we see that investing
is modeled. But this idea of starting with creation and
seeing our role in living out this work and stewardship
mandate that God has given us, it takes investing to
(04:44):
a whole another level, doesn't it?
S2 (04:46):
It does. It's exciting, and it enables us to more
clearly distinguish between what is investing and what is gambling.
Investing takes these resources and uses them for good. Gambling
is speculation. It's a zero sum game. It's not contributing
productively in the way God asks us to.
S1 (05:02):
That's exactly right. We're talking with Tim McCready today. A
theology of investing, perhaps a brand new idea for you.
We'll continue to unpack this just around the corner, including
what practical next steps you can take. This is faith
and finance live. I'm Rob West, and we're just getting started.
A lot more to come. Stay with us. Thanks for
(05:33):
joining us today on Faith and finance. Live with me today,
my good friend Tim McCready. Tim is head of global
Multi-Asset investing at Bright Light, part of the Eversource Wealth
Advisors team. He's also the author of an article in
the most recent edition of our magazine, Faithful Steward on
a Theology of investing, and this may be a brand
(05:54):
new idea. In fact, Tim, you know, this is not
something that the typical person hears when they show up
at their local church and listen to a message on
Sunday morning. Why do you think that is?
S2 (06:05):
On many topics. Uh, the Bible has very little to
say directly. It doesn't necessarily give us instructions about how
to manage an IRA account, or how to save with
a local bank or community finance institution. This is hard
work to think about the timeless principles that Scripture gives us,
and translate it faithfully in ways that are relevant for
(06:27):
us today with modern investing. The the way that we
invest today looks nothing like the way that money was
used 2000 years ago. That doesn't mean the Bible doesn't
have a lot to say. It really does. We just
have to do that work of unpacking those principles.
S1 (06:40):
Yeah, and you've done such an effective job at that. Tim,
you also point in this theology of investing to this
idea that we can use investments to love our neighbor.
Talk about what that looks like in practice.
S2 (06:54):
I think much of applying biblical wisdom comes down to
Jesus greatest commandment in Matthew 22 to love God with
all your heart and soul and mind and strength. And
then the second greatest commandment to love your neighbor as yourself.
And I think investing is an act of neighbor love.
It takes capital that would otherwise be unproductive, and it
(07:14):
puts it in places where, uh, businesses can be fueled
to create jobs and to meet needs, where goods and
services can be created that delight the heart of people
and gives them joy and contributes to flourishing. In many ways,
investing is a choice to place our capital at risk.
We know investing can come with losses as well as gains.
Investing is this choice to place our capital at risk
(07:37):
so that others can benefit, and so that the community
can be built up through this mutually beneficial economic activity.
Now that's an idealized understanding of investing. I get that
it doesn't always work that way in the real world,
but I think when we dig down into it, that's
what's happening. We're placing capital at risk so that we
can love our neighbor in our community can benefit.
S1 (07:55):
Yeah, that's exactly right. Now, we've talked about this idea
that God gives humanity a mandate to work and to steward.
We've talked about investing as a way to love our neighbor.
There's a third relationship you mentioned, and that is investing
as an act of spiritual formation. Since Jesus taught that
our hearts follow what we treasure, how should that reality,
(08:16):
Tim guide the way we think about investing?
S2 (08:19):
Yes. I mean, Matthew six is one of the verses
I think all of us in the financial industry and
all of us who've been entrusted with assets, need to
understand and wrestle with. And we rightly understand that parable
that Jesus tells us in, in Matthew six to to
mean that if you show me your balance sheet, if
you show me your bank statement, I can probably understand
what you treasure. It shows up in the way that
(08:41):
we use the money that God has entrusted to us.
But there's another principle, I think, in that parable that
we often miss. And that's the principle that our heart
is shaped by the way that we use our treasure.
It's this virtuous cycle or this unvirtuous cycle, depending on
how we approach it, of heart shaping the way we
use our treasure, and then where our treasure is shapes
(09:01):
our heart. This is what Jesus is saying. Our investment choices,
our spending choices. These flow from what we value most.
And if our hearts are anchored in Jesus, we will
see investing not just as growing wealth, but as stewarding
resources for his purposes, and our hearts will be shaped accordingly.
Every dollar we invest participates in building something, whether it's
companies or industries or communities, that reality presses into our hearts.
(09:25):
What are we finding that honors God and serves our neighbor?
What are we investing in that undermines God's plans and
purposes and serves our neighbor? And all of that leads to,
I think, this spiritual formation of Christ like character that
as believers and followers of Jesus, we all long for.
S1 (09:42):
Yeah. Now, Tim, that requires that we understand what we're
invested in. And because of the the rise of passive investing,
a lot of folks listening right now may be invested
in an index or a mutual fund and have no
idea the companies they're invested in. That idea of being
kind of once removed from our investments makes this difficult,
(10:02):
but it doesn't change the opportunity that we have, does it?
S2 (10:06):
That's that's right, Rob. And I don't want to place
a burden on any of our listeners today to, uh,
to feel like they have to act in a certain way.
This is about wrestling with what God's inviting us into, uh,
through this spiritual formation. And I also think we need
to remember that fundamentally, what investing does is it creates
a relationship. This was obvious 400 years ago, when I
(10:27):
might go down to the local market and lend to
a grocer or a shoemaker, and there was a direct
personal relationship between me and the person that I've invested in, um,
the what markets do wonderful things, but one of the
downfalls is it it obscures that relationship that's being created.
But every investment represents a relationship between people at both
(10:49):
ends of the chain, no matter how many kind of
pieces of paper and screens and intermediaries lie in between us.
S1 (10:55):
Yeah, that's well said. Tim. In your article, you also
note that wealth brings its own set of temptations. So
let's talk about that for a moment. What specific dangers
should believers be mindful of here?
S2 (11:08):
Yes. And I mean, this has been well covered by
many Christian thinkers over the years. C.S. Lewis reminds us
that when you have all the things that wealth brings,
it can be very difficult to rely on God because
you have in, in his case, a checkbook. In my case, now,
a piece of plastic that magically, uh, enables me to
take goods home with me. It's very easy to just
(11:29):
come to rely on that as our source of security.
Where does the next meal come from? Uh, where does, uh,
everything that we need for life and flourishing come from? Well,
it comes from God. Um, and it's very tempting to
us to think that it comes from that little piece
of plastic in our wallets. Wealth always tempts us to
trust itself, to trust money instead of God. And if
(11:49):
we listen to it, it will create this false sense
of security. The Bible warns against greed because it says
greed is idolatry. Idolatry is just the act of trusting
in something other than God. We today think it's perhaps
ridiculous that people would ever trust in carved idols or
things that they have made. Um, but our temptations are
in this often in this area of wealth, um, which
(12:12):
can blind us to the reality that we are constantly
dependent on God every second of every hour of every
day to provide that which we need. He is our provider,
and that's what wealth tries to lie and say that
it's not.
S1 (12:25):
Yeah, that's exactly right. I love that. Uh, Tim, in
practical terms, what does it look like then to invest
with God's purposes at the center? And you've just articulated
that beautifully, uh, rather than focusing only on returns, which
is our typical default.
S2 (12:42):
Yeah, I think this looks like different things for different people. Um,
some investors have access to the types of investments that
others don't, but ultimately, we can make the choice, uh,
whatever's available to us to invest in ways that align
with biblical values towards flourishing and away from exploitation. Sometimes
we might even accept lower returns at times to serve
(13:05):
the greater good. I'm sure many of our listeners will
have had the experience of making a loan to a
friend or a family member. Um, with all the risks
that come with that, but choosing to do so on
very concessional terms to reflect the reality of the relationship.
And as that is one way of seeing investing as
a way to love God and love neighbor rather than
(13:26):
just accumulating wealth. And we can take that principle elsewhere
in our lives as well. And I think just even
reframing our thinking from a profit being just numbers on
a page to profit, Representing faithful stewardship in this mutually
beneficial economic exchange that creates goods and services that enable
human flourishing.
S1 (13:46):
Mhm. Wow, what a picture of God's design for investing.
Perhaps one that we haven't considered before. Tim I love
this article. We've just scratched the surface, so we're going
to have you back. Thanks for your time today.
S2 (14:00):
Great to be with you, Rob.
S1 (14:01):
That's Tim McCready. You'll find more in our recent edition
of Faithful Steward. By the way, if you'd like to
find a seeker who specializes in faith based investing, go
to find a seeker. Com. All right, back with your
questions after this. 800 525 7000. I'm Rob Weston. We're
just getting started. Don't go anywhere.
S3 (14:32):
The opinions offered during this program represent the personal or
professional opinions of the participants, given for informational purposes only.
Any information provided is not intended to replace advice from
a financial, medical, legal or other professional who understands your
specific situation.
S1 (14:57):
What a treat to have Tim McCreadie here today. You know,
that is a vision that Tim just laid out for
what it means to align your faith, your understanding of
God's Word and God's design for not only our lives,
but for money and for economics and for human flourishing,
and yes, for investing, that we have the privilege as
(15:19):
owners of investments, which can confers an ethical responsibility to
think about how our investments, our deployment of capital in
businesses is creating human flourishing and bringing about God's redemptive
work in the world, and that we're a part of
his grand story, not only with our giving and with
(15:41):
how we manage money for his glory and live simply
and hold it loosely. But as we invest, and specifically
avoiding companies that are harming people, investing in companies that
are promoting human flourishing, loving their neighbors, that is their stakeholders,
the environment, their customers, their employers, their suppliers, and others.
Thinking about neighborly love in light of our investments. And
(16:05):
when we do that, not only can we take God's
money and put it to work and be faithful and
stewarding it well, which means growing it, and we can
put it even at risk in the capital markets because
we know God is our provider. It doesn't mean we
take unnecessary, haphazard risk. It means we're thoughtful about it,
and we do it strategically with diversification and time. Long
(16:25):
time horizons. Not a get rich quick mentality, but when
we do that, we're supplying capital that creates a virtuous
cycle that ultimately blesses and loves our neighbors and creates
that human flourishing. That's the way God intended it. And
we have an opportunity to lean into that through faith
based investments. Some of the incredible asset managers you hear
(16:46):
on this program regularly Eventide and Timothy and Guidestone and
One ascent and, you know, Crossmark global and many of
the others praxis that are doing incredible work on behalf
of their investors, but specifically in companies that are aligned
with Christian values. What an opportunity. By the way, if
(17:08):
you go to our new website, Faith Philly.com, click on
the show. You'll see tiles about midway down with all
of our national sponsors, including all of those faith based
investing providers. And when you click on one, it'll take
you right to their website. Perhaps you explore that yourself.
If you're a DIY investor, if you have an advisor,
maybe you introduce your advisor to some of these faith
(17:30):
based asset managers. Or better yet, go find a certified
Kingdom advisor who offers faith based investments, and you can
do that when you go to find a. Com. Of course,
Certified Kingdom Advisor, the only financial services industry designation for
biblically wise professional financial advice. Again the website. Find a.com.
(17:54):
All right. We're ready to take your calls and questions today.
The way to get in on the conversation with what's
going on in your financial life is by calling 800
525 7000. We've got some lines open today. We'd love
to hear from you again. That number 800 525 7000.
Let's dive in. We're going to begin in Idaho nearby. Hi, Willie.
(18:15):
Go ahead.
S4 (18:17):
Hi, Rob. I'm appreciate you taking my call. Um, you know,
you're really helpful. All the information you give for people.
I'll get to the point. I am, uh, right now, 63,
and I'm looking at retiring at 65. They have a
mandatory retirement. I believe I'm eligible at 67. So, um,
(18:38):
I want to take the Medicare benefits is what I'm
trying to get to. So I got the better coverage
under Medicare. Um, what what are your thoughts?
S1 (18:49):
Yeah, well, a couple of things. Let's just make sure
we're we're talking apples to apples here. So with regard
to Medicare eligibility, you can enroll in Medicare, uh, at
age 65, regardless of whether you're retired or still working.
So that's health insurance, not income. So, yes, you can
retire at 65 and begin receiving Medicare coverage. In fact,
(19:13):
if you don't have an alternative to that, you really
need to enroll in Medicare. So you don't have to
pay a penalty. Now, if you were still working and
you had coverage from your your employer and there's at
least 20 employees there, then you could delay that. But yeah,
I would say you can absolutely enroll in Medicare at 65. Again,
whether you're retired or still working now with regard to
(19:36):
Social Security benefits, that's the income side of retirement. And
because you were born in 1962, you are correct. Your
full retirement age is 67. So if you take Social Security,
not Medicare, Social Security at 65, your benefits are going
to be permanently reduced by roughly 13 or 14% compared
(19:59):
to waiting until full retirement age. So if you were
to go to my ssa.gov right now, pull up your account,
find out based on your what they call high 35
years of earnings, what your expected full retirement age benefit
is at 67. And then reduce that by around 13
or 14%. That would give you an idea of that
(20:19):
permanently reduced amount that you would begin receiving at age 65,
rather than waiting until 67. So, um, what does that
mean for you? Well, you could retire at 65. Start
taking Medicare and then either take retirement, Social Security at
a reduced amount, or delay it until you have, uh,
(20:41):
you know, until you reach full retirement age, assuming you
have other income sources, if you don't and you need
the income, you could start both. You just need to
know that that check is. And that's permanent.
S4 (20:52):
Okay. Okay. Well, that's pretty much what I needed right there.
Thanks a lot.
S1 (20:57):
Okay. All right. Very good. Willie, thanks for your call.
Call anytime. 800 525 7000 is the number to call. Uh.
Let's see. We're going to take a break. When we
come back, we're going to head to, uh, Chicago. Uh, and, uh,
Evie is, uh, waiting, or I believe Evie is waiting.
I probably got that wrong. We'll get that clarified. But nevertheless,
(21:18):
a great question about some debt that's, uh, pretty old
and just wanting to know how to handle that. We
do have room for you if you have some, uh,
question today. Something going on in your financial life? Give
us a call 800 525 7000. Lines are open, calls
are coming in. But we've still got room for you
at the moment. 800 525 7000. A quick break and
(21:40):
back with much more just around the corner here on
faith and finance helping you see God's best for your
financial life as you apply biblical wisdom. Stay with us. Well,
(22:01):
if there's something on your mind today and your financial life,
this is the place. We'll help you think about it
in light of biblical wisdom. I'm Rob West. This is
faith and finance live. Our phone number is 800 525 7000. Hey,
if you love the program, maybe you've found something valuable
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(22:23):
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(22:44):
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the know on what's happening here at Faith five for
issues of our incredible magazine, Faithful Steward. By the way, uh,
(23:05):
Tim McCreadie today, who we started with has an incredible
feature article, uh, that uh, is in the current issue
of Faithful Steward. That's just amazing around faith based investing
and a theology of investing. Uh, that's the kind of
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(23:25):
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(23:47):
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We've got a lot of phone calls stacked up here.
(24:08):
So let's dive in. We'll get to as many as
we can. We'll go to Chicago next. Uh, Evo, thanks
for calling. Go ahead.
S5 (24:15):
Uh, yes, miss, I appreciate your, uh, your work. And
I listen to you every day On Florida. And I
have a question.
S1 (24:24):
That's amazing. Thank you.
S5 (24:27):
Yes. Yes. Uh, I have, uh, a garnishment, um, on
a few days ago on my account, uh, regarding, uh,
a debt. It's, uh, accrued and maybe 25 years ago, um,
for some reason, um, uh, they, uh, they garnish my account, uh, $11,000.
(24:53):
I have, um, they they garnish all of it. And, uh,
they told me I stopped making payments since, uh, July 2007,
and I think, um, due to illness or I wasn't
working for a couple years or something, and, and now
(25:13):
after 19 years and they come after me. So, um,
and they got everything I own, on my account, and
I don't really know what to, uh, what what to
do in, uh, in my call to see if there's anything, uh,
I can any.
S1 (25:35):
Well, it's a great question, and I'm sorry. I know
this is a challenging situation. Are you currently employed at
this point?
S5 (25:43):
No, I'm not. I'm not employed. And I'm looking for work. Uh,
and I haven't. I have a business, but it's not really, uh,
take off on, uh, for about a year and a half,
you know, years old, uh, towing company. But in my city,
(26:04):
it's already established. Businesses not working.
S1 (26:08):
Okay. Yeah. Maybe time as hard as it is. Maybe
time to set that aside and, you know, go work
for somebody else and get some income coming in. Um,
couple of thoughts here. I realize this is a tough
spot to be in. Let's talk about what's likely going
on and what steps you can take. So what's likely
happened is it sounds like a creditor got a judgment
against you at some point. Could have been years ago,
(26:31):
and that's being used to garnish or freeze your bank account.
Old debts just don't disappear. And if there's been a
court judgment, um, they can remain enforceable indefinitely until paid
or settled. So you're going to want to verify the
debt and potentially the judgment, which is likely what's happened here.
So the first step really is to get some clarity.
(26:53):
I would ask the bank that where the account was
that's been frozen, I would ask the bank for details
about who froze the account and which court order it
was tied to, and then I would contact the court
clerk in that county to see if there was a
judgment filed and when confirm the amount owed. And, you know,
(27:15):
sometimes fees and interest make the total grow over time.
And then, you know, since you're unemployed, you could explain
to the court or the creditor, you know the situation,
and sometimes they'll pause the collections or negotiate a settlement.
You could also contact legal aid, especially if you're low
(27:35):
or no income, to see if the if the seizure
was lawful and, you know, maybe the funds were exempt. Um, but,
you know, they could help you. And, you know, I
think that's really your next step to just to try
to find out what's going on, what court order caused
this to be frozen and then reach out and engage
(27:56):
with them, especially just given your situation around not having
any income right now. And see if you know, with
either through legal aid or just on your own, um,
you can work toward a plan to either stop this
or settle it. Um, you know, once you get a
job and get back to a more stable situation. So
(28:17):
we'll ask the faith and finance community here to be
praying for you. Uh, I know this is is difficult,
but I think those really are the next steps, sir. Uh,
thanks for your faithful listening to the program. If we
can help you in the future, don't hesitate to reach out. Uh,
let's go to Plant City, Florida. Hi, Carol. How can
I help?
S6 (28:35):
Hi, Rob. Uh, first of all, I'd like to. I'd
like you to know that I appreciate your faith based
financial advice. Um, I have moved to an independent living facility,
and I'm in the process of selling my condo. It
should close on November 3rd. And, um, I was wondering, what, uh,
(28:58):
am I going to tithe? Um, on the proceeds. I
do need the proceeds to help pay for the independent living. And, uh,
I would appreciate your advice.
S1 (29:12):
Yeah. Well, if you decide to give a tithe, you know,
kind of looking back to the Old Testament principle of
the tithe and and I think that's a great, uh,
you know, place, uh, to start our giving. The idea
that we would give off of the increase 10% is just,
you know, kind of a nice, easy way to give
proportionately as God provides. And clearly, you know, where you
(29:35):
have a profit on an asset that's sold, that would
certainly be considered an increase. So how does that apply
to a condo sale? Well, uh, you know, you would
look at what did you sell it for, and then
you would subtract what you paid for it, and that
would be the profit or the gain. And therefore if
(29:56):
we wanted to tithe on it, that would be the
amount that you would apply the principle of the tithe to.
And then you give a 10th. So did you have
an increase on the selling price minus the purchase price
that you originally paid for it? Did it appreciate in
value Very much.
S6 (30:13):
Yes, I was able to buy it at a really
good price. Should I give you the figures?
S1 (30:20):
Sure. Yeah. That's fine.
S6 (30:21):
Okay. Um, I purchased it at 79,000, and it's selling
for 205,000.
S1 (30:31):
Okay. Got it. Yeah. And so, you know, I mean,
you've got quite a bit of gain in there and,
you know, so that 205, you know, -79, I mean,
that's 126,000. So if you wanted to tithe on it,
that would be 12,000, you know, 600 that, um, you know,
or $1,200. But let's talk about that after the break.
(30:53):
Stay right there. Thanks for joining us today on Faith
and finance live here on Moody Radio. Coming up in
just a moment, Bob Dole stops by. We'll get Bob's
take on the markets in particular on the heels of
that big, uh, peace deal Ill yesterday. Uh, ongoing conversations
(31:13):
with China that's really weighing on this market. We'll get
Bob's take on that straight ahead. But first, before the break,
we were talking to Carol in Plant City. She's selling
her condo. She's moving to an independent living facility. Um,
she's going to have, uh, after, you know, the sale, uh,
the proceeds of that, that really is the gain, if
(31:35):
you will. So the difference between what she's selling it
for versus what she paid for it, she's going to
have an increase of about 126,000 in profit or gain
on the property. And she's wondering should she tithe on that? And,
you know, you know, I think with the principle of
the tithe, I mean, not to go too deep into this.
(31:55):
The word tithe appears 49 times in God's Word. Interestingly,
in the New Testament, in the 21 chapters of Scripture
that have the most rich teachings on money from Jesus
and John and Matthew and Luke and Mark and Peter
and and and Paul. Um, you know, you will not
(32:17):
see a single teaching on the tithe. It's referenced, but
where it's referenced, it's really all, you know, often an
admonition to the Pharisees that were, you know, prideful in
their tithe. And so it's really not a part of
the core teaching of the New Testament. Now, does that
mean we should dismiss it? Not necessarily. I think giving 10%
(32:37):
is a really helpful way to step into faithful, consistent generosity,
starting with your local church. But I think as as
New Testament believers, you know, really what we see in
Scripture is it's it's more about the heart posture than
a specific set of rules. And I think, you know,
my friend Randy Alcorn calls the tithe the training wheels
of giving. Perhaps that's a beginning point. And those of
(33:00):
us who have seen what Jesus has done on our behalf,
we should be givers and perhaps well beyond the tithe.
So what does that mean for your your proceeds from
this condo sale, where you have 126,000 in gain? If
the Lord is leading you to tithe on it, great,
that'd be $12,600. I would say you can't outgive God
and you'll probably never. I'm confident you'd never regret it.
(33:23):
But if you decided that you needed all that money
to go into this independent, you know, living facility. God
is not an accountant. He doesn't need our money. He
wants our hearts. And so I think that's ultimately between
you and the Lord, where you seek his heart for
this and then follow the leading of the Lord. And
that may or may not involve you giving out of
(33:43):
the sale of this condo. Does that make sense, though?
S6 (33:46):
Yes it does. Yes.
S3 (33:49):
Okay.
S1 (33:50):
Um, well, I hope that's helpful. I yes, go ahead.
S6 (33:56):
I do trust him and I want to be in
a right relationship with him. And I do want my
heart to be right.
S1 (34:04):
Yes. Yeah. Well, again, it's not. It's less about checking
a box and it's more about you just being a faithful,
generous giver, holding what God has entrusted to you loosely
trusting him for your provision. It sounds like that's been
a hallmark of your life, something you take very seriously.
And again, I would say, you know, your decision as
to whether or not you do any giving out of
(34:26):
the sale of this condo is between you and the Lord.
There's not a right or wrong decision here, so make
that a matter of prayer and then, you know, proceed.
But I'm confident your heart for for giving and generosity
and and serving the Lord through the the worship in
our giving, um, you know, is is the right one
whether or not you give anything out of this condo sale.
(34:48):
And all the best to you in this next season
of life. Thanks for thanks for your call today, Carol.
Lord bless you. Uh, before we take another call, Bob
Dole is here. Bob. Lot going on in the markets today.
It seems like we've kind of been, uh, started down,
closed up, at least on the Dow. Uh, seems like
China really weighing on these markets. Is that really the
big headline at this point?
S7 (35:10):
China. Plus, I might say it this way a tired market.
The China is a big deal. You've heard me say
many times, Rob, uh, we the US need China and
China needs us. And for the world to be a, uh,
an advancing economic engine, uh, that relationship has to be
(35:31):
better than it's been the last few days. Um, kind
of throwing barbs back and forth by the leaders, um,
is not being helpful at all. But beyond that, the
market is just tired. The advanced decline line is not healthy.
Technology stocks down today almost 2% value, beating growth by
about 170 basis points. That's very unusual for for for
(35:55):
a week sometimes a month, let alone one day. So uh,
lot going on inside the market, as you point out.
S1 (36:02):
Yeah. You know, your commentary this week was really helpful.
As you look back over the third quarter, you evaluated
your annual predictions for the year, but you concluded by
referring to this market. And I've heard you say this
before as a high risk bull market where there's plenty
of reasons to be excited and actually plenty to be
concerned about. So this just all that equals a challenging environment, huh?
S7 (36:26):
Sure does. I mean, the bull market words meaning the
path of least resistance is higher. So investors need to
be involved. The high risk part says but be careful
because speculation is creeping in. Maybe galloping in might be
a better way to put it. And that that is concerning.
So as an investor of my clients money, aside from
(36:48):
focusing on faith based investing, we're focusing on companies that, uh, have, uh,
cheapness as it relates to cash flow and have good
profitability as measured by return on equity. That combination we
think will lead to outperformance once we get into a
sloppy selling squall.
S1 (37:10):
Yeah. And therefore, I assume that means you think that
despite these risks that this economy will continue to expand,
especially if we get, uh, a lowering of the interest rates,
is that right?
S7 (37:25):
I think that's right. Having said that, it's slowing. Uh, Rob,
you see that in some of the labor statistics, and
I think that will spread to other things. And with
valuations so high, the p e ratio well over 20,
you know, that is demanding a near perfect environment. And
you and I both know it's not perfect. So that's
where the risk part comes in. Um if you've made
(37:46):
a lot of money um, think about, uh, selling a
little something and maybe giving it to the Kingdom.
S1 (37:53):
Yeah, I love that. Um, you know, Bob, I know
one of the other comments you had was just around inflation.
Are you feeling like inflation, where it is today is
mostly tariff driven and will fade. Or are you thinking
we're going to be stuck here closer to three than
two for the foreseeable future?
S7 (38:12):
The latter. Rob. Um, look, 2% inflation was an anomaly.
An anomaly that we enjoyed for almost a decade prior
to the last bunch of years. Uh, and the fed
has set a target of getting back to two. And
I say in my weekly commentary, it feels like every
week without a recession, we're not getting back to 2%.
(38:34):
This is a 3% sort of society. And as you
pointed out, we're there. And actually creeping a bit higher.
Tariffs is one of the reasons. But it's not the
only one Rob.
S1 (38:44):
Yeah very good. All right Bob, as always we appreciate
your time sir.
S7 (38:49):
Good luck. Keep your seat belt.
S1 (38:51):
Thank you. Yes, sir. Lord bless you. That's Bob Dahl,
he's CEO and CIO, and our resident market guy joins
us normally on Mondays today, this week on a Tuesday
giving us his market update. All right. We're getting close
to the end here. Let's head back to the phones.
Lynn has been waiting patiently in Ohio. Lynn, I understand
(39:12):
you have a testimony. Go right ahead.
S8 (39:15):
Yeah. I want to express my gratitude for all the
ways that you and, uh, those behind the scenes beautifully,
respectfully and intelligently offer the information so every, every person
is able to take it in and it's critical. And
I am married to someone who's had all those skills.
(39:38):
And she's listening to you further enhances my development and understanding.
And I just want you to know how grateful I
am for that.
S1 (39:47):
Well, I want you to know I'm grateful that you
shared that. That means a lot. And I appreciate you
calling out the the team behind the scenes because they
make all this possible today? The amazing, amazing, uh, group
that we have serving us that includes, among others, uh,
Omar and Tahira and Taylor. But everybody here at Faith
(40:08):
ve that makes this possible. And I appreciate you calling
out the way we care for our listeners, because we
really do. I mean, it's a privilege to be invited
into people's stories each day and wherever we're at on
the journey. And we all have made plenty of mistakes.
None of us have gotten it right, but we all
come together with with a desire to be found faithful
(40:29):
to the Lord. And that's really important. And I think
to your point, there's a there's an element of spiritual
formation that comes through money management, because it's that daily
demonstration of what we value and what we trust in
and where our priorities are. And so there's a lot
more about our spiritual formation than we might realize when
(40:51):
it comes to money management. And that's really one of
the keys we try to highlight here on this program.
So all that to say, Lynn, thank you for for
your comments today. We appreciate it.
S8 (41:02):
All righty. Take care now.
S1 (41:04):
Lord bless you. Well folks that's going to do it
for us today. Speaking of that team behind the scenes,
Taylor Standridge who's one of our writers, he's the producer
and production manager of our program. Each day he, uh,
he sent me a note as I was talking to Carol.
And I think this is a brilliant thought that I
want to share with you. Uh, he said, will you
(41:26):
remind Carol that we don't give or tithe to get
right or be right with God? What we give in gratitude,
we give because God has made us right with him.
Isn't that powerful? What a big idea. You know, our
giving is really not about us trying to earn God's favor.
(41:48):
We've already got that. He loves us more than we
could ever imagine. He demonstrated that by sending his son,
who shed his blood for us, that we could be
reconciled to the father, and our giving is a response
to that. God has made us right with him. And
so it's just an overflow of our gratitude to God
for the grace that unmerited favor that he has extended
(42:09):
to us that we did not deserve. We could never earn.
But he extended it to us through the person of Jesus. Uh, the, uh,
the tri part of the Triune Godhead. And, uh, as
a result of that, we are now reconciled to the
father once we accept him and trust him as our Savior.
Isn't that beautiful? And isn't it cool that our money
(42:31):
management can be an expression of that as we give
as a response to that, and then be able to
participate in God's activities? Well, once again, the amazing team
serving us today, Lisa Omar, Tara Taylor, everybody here at
Faith buy that makes this possible. Faith in finance is
a partnership between Moody Radio and Faith buy. Come back
and join us tomorrow. We'll see you then. Bye bye.
Investing isn't just about returns, it's about reflecting what we
truly value. Hi, I'm Rob West. Our faith is meant
to guide every area of life, including how we invest
when our hearts are set on God. Our investing reflects
his priorities. Caring for creation, serving our neighbor and letting
what we treasure shape how we steward his resources. Tim
(00:30):
McCreadie joins us today to talk about a theology of investing.
And then it's on to your phone calls at 800
525 7000. That's 800 525 7000. This is faith and finance. Live.
Biblical wisdom for your financial decisions. Well, our guest today
(00:50):
is my friend Tim McCreadie, head of global Multi-Asset investing
at Bright Light, part of the Eversource Wealth Advisors team. Tim,
great to have you back.
S2 (00:59):
Rob, it's a joy to be with you and your
listeners again.
S1 (01:01):
Thank you. Tim, I've been looking forward to this. You
have written an incredible article, the first of probably many
that will do on this topic in our magazine. Faithful
steward on a Theology of Investing. Now, many in our
listening audience may not be familiar with that term. So
why don't we start with a definition?
S2 (01:20):
Yeah, I mean, theology can be an intimidating word, Rob.
But like, we're just talking about studying God and and
then learning about how our study of God can then
be lived out in certain areas. Our faith is not
just about belief or conviction, but also about lived action.
And theology enables us to kind of transfer this, what
we believe about God, to lived action in different areas
(01:42):
of our lives. That might be art, that might be work,
it might be suffering. In this case, we're talking about
a theology of investing, bringing our heart, our head and
our hands together to reframe investing as an act of stewardship,
of love, of even spiritual formation and character development, not
just the physical act of putting a certain amount of
dollars into a certain company or a certain instrument. And
(02:05):
so with this theology, we're trying to move beyond just
money management into discipleship and even into, yes, worship.
S1 (02:13):
What a beautiful picture you paint there, Tim. And perhaps
a brand new idea for many. And that's why I'm
so excited to unpack this. Let's go back to the beginning, literally,
and begin with the story of creation and how it
relates to investing.
S2 (02:28):
Yeah. I mean, what we see in Genesis one and
two out of God's divine goodness, he creates something good.
And then he entrusts to mankind, to humanity, the cultivation
and development of what he has created. And we could
talk for hours about this, Rob, but it boils down
to what? What does investing do? Well, investing takes the
resources that God has given us and reallocates them so
(02:50):
that they become productive. It's a way of fulfilling this
creation mandate of Genesis one and two to bring abundance
and human flourishing. Uh, and then the financial returns come alongside.
Even out of what we do is we steward creation
for God's glory and for our joy.
S1 (03:06):
Yeah, that's exactly right. And God gives humanity this mandate
to work. We're co-creators with him. He creates out of nothing.
We create out of his creation. But then we're also
to steward creation as well. So, Tim, how does that
shape then our perspective on investing?
S2 (03:24):
So I think again, going to Genesis one and two,
God calls us to work and to keep the garden. I,
I like to think of humanity's role as both farmers
and gardeners. The the farming part of our role tends
the earth. It stewards it so that it can be productive. Uh,
and the gardening part of our role is to preserve
and expand the beauty and the blessings of God outside
(03:46):
the garden to the whole earth and to humanity. Our
our work. Uh, in economic terms, our labor and our
capital are part of this stewardship of creation. And so
investing is part of this. It's a means of enabling
men and women to expand and enjoy God's blessings through creation.
We use the resources he has given us to create technology, infrastructure, medicine, education,
(04:09):
all kinds of other goods and services for human flourishing.
And that reflects the faithful engagement that we have with
the work that God gives us to do. Uh, from
the very beginning in Genesis.
S1 (04:21):
Yeah, it sure does. And, you know, Tim, we often
get the question here on this program, isn't investing akin
to gambling? And, you know, we point back to even
the parable of the talents, and we see that investing
is modeled. But this idea of starting with creation and
seeing our role in living out this work and stewardship
mandate that God has given us, it takes investing to
(04:44):
a whole another level, doesn't it?
S2 (04:46):
It does. It's exciting, and it enables us to more
clearly distinguish between what is investing and what is gambling.
Investing takes these resources and uses them for good. Gambling
is speculation. It's a zero sum game. It's not contributing
productively in the way God asks us to.
S1 (05:02):
That's exactly right. We're talking with Tim McCready today. A
theology of investing, perhaps a brand new idea for you.
We'll continue to unpack this just around the corner, including
what practical next steps you can take. This is faith
and finance live. I'm Rob West, and we're just getting started.
A lot more to come. Stay with us. Thanks for
(05:33):
joining us today on Faith and finance. Live with me today,
my good friend Tim McCready. Tim is head of global
Multi-Asset investing at Bright Light, part of the Eversource Wealth
Advisors team. He's also the author of an article in
the most recent edition of our magazine, Faithful Steward on
a Theology of investing, and this may be a brand
(05:54):
new idea. In fact, Tim, you know, this is not
something that the typical person hears when they show up
at their local church and listen to a message on
Sunday morning. Why do you think that is?
S2 (06:05):
On many topics. Uh, the Bible has very little to
say directly. It doesn't necessarily give us instructions about how
to manage an IRA account, or how to save with
a local bank or community finance institution. This is hard
work to think about the timeless principles that Scripture gives us,
and translate it faithfully in ways that are relevant for
(06:27):
us today with modern investing. The the way that we
invest today looks nothing like the way that money was
used 2000 years ago. That doesn't mean the Bible doesn't
have a lot to say. It really does. We just
have to do that work of unpacking those principles.
S1 (06:40):
Yeah, and you've done such an effective job at that. Tim,
you also point in this theology of investing to this
idea that we can use investments to love our neighbor.
Talk about what that looks like in practice.
S2 (06:54):
I think much of applying biblical wisdom comes down to
Jesus greatest commandment in Matthew 22 to love God with
all your heart and soul and mind and strength. And
then the second greatest commandment to love your neighbor as yourself.
And I think investing is an act of neighbor love.
It takes capital that would otherwise be unproductive, and it
(07:14):
puts it in places where, uh, businesses can be fueled
to create jobs and to meet needs, where goods and
services can be created that delight the heart of people
and gives them joy and contributes to flourishing. In many ways,
investing is a choice to place our capital at risk.
We know investing can come with losses as well as gains.
Investing is this choice to place our capital at risk
(07:37):
so that others can benefit, and so that the community
can be built up through this mutually beneficial economic activity.
Now that's an idealized understanding of investing. I get that
it doesn't always work that way in the real world,
but I think when we dig down into it, that's
what's happening. We're placing capital at risk so that we
can love our neighbor in our community can benefit.
S1 (07:55):
Yeah, that's exactly right. Now, we've talked about this idea
that God gives humanity a mandate to work and to steward.
We've talked about investing as a way to love our neighbor.
There's a third relationship you mentioned, and that is investing
as an act of spiritual formation. Since Jesus taught that
our hearts follow what we treasure, how should that reality,
(08:16):
Tim guide the way we think about investing?
S2 (08:19):
Yes. I mean, Matthew six is one of the verses
I think all of us in the financial industry and
all of us who've been entrusted with assets, need to
understand and wrestle with. And we rightly understand that parable
that Jesus tells us in, in Matthew six to to
mean that if you show me your balance sheet, if
you show me your bank statement, I can probably understand
what you treasure. It shows up in the way that
(08:41):
we use the money that God has entrusted to us.
But there's another principle, I think, in that parable that
we often miss. And that's the principle that our heart
is shaped by the way that we use our treasure.
It's this virtuous cycle or this unvirtuous cycle, depending on
how we approach it, of heart shaping the way we
use our treasure, and then where our treasure is shapes
(09:01):
our heart. This is what Jesus is saying. Our investment choices,
our spending choices. These flow from what we value most.
And if our hearts are anchored in Jesus, we will
see investing not just as growing wealth, but as stewarding
resources for his purposes, and our hearts will be shaped accordingly.
Every dollar we invest participates in building something, whether it's
companies or industries or communities, that reality presses into our hearts.
(09:25):
What are we finding that honors God and serves our neighbor?
What are we investing in that undermines God's plans and
purposes and serves our neighbor? And all of that leads to,
I think, this spiritual formation of Christ like character that
as believers and followers of Jesus, we all long for.
S1 (09:42):
Yeah. Now, Tim, that requires that we understand what we're
invested in. And because of the the rise of passive investing,
a lot of folks listening right now may be invested
in an index or a mutual fund and have no
idea the companies they're invested in. That idea of being
kind of once removed from our investments makes this difficult,
(10:02):
but it doesn't change the opportunity that we have, does it?
S2 (10:06):
That's that's right, Rob. And I don't want to place
a burden on any of our listeners today to, uh,
to feel like they have to act in a certain way.
This is about wrestling with what God's inviting us into, uh,
through this spiritual formation. And I also think we need
to remember that fundamentally, what investing does is it creates
a relationship. This was obvious 400 years ago, when I
(10:27):
might go down to the local market and lend to
a grocer or a shoemaker, and there was a direct
personal relationship between me and the person that I've invested in, um,
the what markets do wonderful things, but one of the
downfalls is it it obscures that relationship that's being created.
But every investment represents a relationship between people at both
(10:49):
ends of the chain, no matter how many kind of
pieces of paper and screens and intermediaries lie in between us.
S1 (10:55):
Yeah, that's well said. Tim. In your article, you also
note that wealth brings its own set of temptations. So
let's talk about that for a moment. What specific dangers
should believers be mindful of here?
S2 (11:08):
Yes. And I mean, this has been well covered by
many Christian thinkers over the years. C.S. Lewis reminds us
that when you have all the things that wealth brings,
it can be very difficult to rely on God because
you have in, in his case, a checkbook. In my case, now,
a piece of plastic that magically, uh, enables me to
take goods home with me. It's very easy to just
(11:29):
come to rely on that as our source of security.
Where does the next meal come from? Uh, where does, uh,
everything that we need for life and flourishing come from? Well,
it comes from God. Um, and it's very tempting to
us to think that it comes from that little piece
of plastic in our wallets. Wealth always tempts us to
trust itself, to trust money instead of God. And if
(11:49):
we listen to it, it will create this false sense
of security. The Bible warns against greed because it says
greed is idolatry. Idolatry is just the act of trusting
in something other than God. We today think it's perhaps
ridiculous that people would ever trust in carved idols or
things that they have made. Um, but our temptations are
in this often in this area of wealth, um, which
(12:12):
can blind us to the reality that we are constantly
dependent on God every second of every hour of every
day to provide that which we need. He is our provider,
and that's what wealth tries to lie and say that
it's not.
S1 (12:25):
Yeah, that's exactly right. I love that. Uh, Tim, in
practical terms, what does it look like then to invest
with God's purposes at the center? And you've just articulated
that beautifully, uh, rather than focusing only on returns, which
is our typical default.
S2 (12:42):
Yeah, I think this looks like different things for different people. Um,
some investors have access to the types of investments that
others don't, but ultimately, we can make the choice, uh,
whatever's available to us to invest in ways that align
with biblical values towards flourishing and away from exploitation. Sometimes
we might even accept lower returns at times to serve
(13:05):
the greater good. I'm sure many of our listeners will
have had the experience of making a loan to a
friend or a family member. Um, with all the risks
that come with that, but choosing to do so on
very concessional terms to reflect the reality of the relationship.
And as that is one way of seeing investing as
a way to love God and love neighbor rather than
(13:26):
just accumulating wealth. And we can take that principle elsewhere
in our lives as well. And I think just even
reframing our thinking from a profit being just numbers on
a page to profit, Representing faithful stewardship in this mutually
beneficial economic exchange that creates goods and services that enable
human flourishing.
S1 (13:46):
Mhm. Wow, what a picture of God's design for investing.
Perhaps one that we haven't considered before. Tim I love
this article. We've just scratched the surface, so we're going
to have you back. Thanks for your time today.
S2 (14:00):
Great to be with you, Rob.
S1 (14:01):
That's Tim McCready. You'll find more in our recent edition
of Faithful Steward. By the way, if you'd like to
find a seeker who specializes in faith based investing, go
to find a seeker. Com. All right, back with your
questions after this. 800 525 7000. I'm Rob Weston. We're
just getting started. Don't go anywhere.
S3 (14:32):
The opinions offered during this program represent the personal or
professional opinions of the participants, given for informational purposes only.
Any information provided is not intended to replace advice from
a financial, medical, legal or other professional who understands your
specific situation.
S1 (14:57):
What a treat to have Tim McCreadie here today. You know,
that is a vision that Tim just laid out for
what it means to align your faith, your understanding of
God's Word and God's design for not only our lives,
but for money and for economics and for human flourishing,
and yes, for investing, that we have the privilege as
(15:19):
owners of investments, which can confers an ethical responsibility to
think about how our investments, our deployment of capital in
businesses is creating human flourishing and bringing about God's redemptive
work in the world, and that we're a part of
his grand story, not only with our giving and with
(15:41):
how we manage money for his glory and live simply
and hold it loosely. But as we invest, and specifically
avoiding companies that are harming people, investing in companies that
are promoting human flourishing, loving their neighbors, that is their stakeholders,
the environment, their customers, their employers, their suppliers, and others.
Thinking about neighborly love in light of our investments. And
(16:05):
when we do that, not only can we take God's
money and put it to work and be faithful and
stewarding it well, which means growing it, and we can
put it even at risk in the capital markets because
we know God is our provider. It doesn't mean we
take unnecessary, haphazard risk. It means we're thoughtful about it,
and we do it strategically with diversification and time. Long
(16:25):
time horizons. Not a get rich quick mentality, but when
we do that, we're supplying capital that creates a virtuous
cycle that ultimately blesses and loves our neighbors and creates
that human flourishing. That's the way God intended it. And
we have an opportunity to lean into that through faith
based investments. Some of the incredible asset managers you hear
(16:46):
on this program regularly Eventide and Timothy and Guidestone and
One ascent and, you know, Crossmark global and many of
the others praxis that are doing incredible work on behalf
of their investors, but specifically in companies that are aligned
with Christian values. What an opportunity. By the way, if
(17:08):
you go to our new website, Faith Philly.com, click on
the show. You'll see tiles about midway down with all
of our national sponsors, including all of those faith based
investing providers. And when you click on one, it'll take
you right to their website. Perhaps you explore that yourself.
If you're a DIY investor, if you have an advisor,
maybe you introduce your advisor to some of these faith
(17:30):
based asset managers. Or better yet, go find a certified
Kingdom advisor who offers faith based investments, and you can
do that when you go to find a. Com. Of course,
Certified Kingdom Advisor, the only financial services industry designation for
biblically wise professional financial advice. Again the website. Find a.com.
(17:54):
All right. We're ready to take your calls and questions today.
The way to get in on the conversation with what's
going on in your financial life is by calling 800
525 7000. We've got some lines open today. We'd love
to hear from you again. That number 800 525 7000.
Let's dive in. We're going to begin in Idaho nearby. Hi, Willie.
(18:15):
Go ahead.
S4 (18:17):
Hi, Rob. I'm appreciate you taking my call. Um, you know,
you're really helpful. All the information you give for people.
I'll get to the point. I am, uh, right now, 63,
and I'm looking at retiring at 65. They have a
mandatory retirement. I believe I'm eligible at 67. So, um,
(18:38):
I want to take the Medicare benefits is what I'm
trying to get to. So I got the better coverage
under Medicare. Um, what what are your thoughts?
S1 (18:49):
Yeah, well, a couple of things. Let's just make sure
we're we're talking apples to apples here. So with regard
to Medicare eligibility, you can enroll in Medicare, uh, at
age 65, regardless of whether you're retired or still working.
So that's health insurance, not income. So, yes, you can
retire at 65 and begin receiving Medicare coverage. In fact,
(19:13):
if you don't have an alternative to that, you really
need to enroll in Medicare. So you don't have to
pay a penalty. Now, if you were still working and
you had coverage from your your employer and there's at
least 20 employees there, then you could delay that. But yeah,
I would say you can absolutely enroll in Medicare at 65. Again,
whether you're retired or still working now with regard to
(19:36):
Social Security benefits, that's the income side of retirement. And
because you were born in 1962, you are correct. Your
full retirement age is 67. So if you take Social Security,
not Medicare, Social Security at 65, your benefits are going
to be permanently reduced by roughly 13 or 14% compared
(19:59):
to waiting until full retirement age. So if you were
to go to my ssa.gov right now, pull up your account,
find out based on your what they call high 35
years of earnings, what your expected full retirement age benefit
is at 67. And then reduce that by around 13
or 14%. That would give you an idea of that
(20:19):
permanently reduced amount that you would begin receiving at age 65,
rather than waiting until 67. So, um, what does that
mean for you? Well, you could retire at 65. Start
taking Medicare and then either take retirement, Social Security at
a reduced amount, or delay it until you have, uh,
(20:41):
you know, until you reach full retirement age, assuming you
have other income sources, if you don't and you need
the income, you could start both. You just need to
know that that check is. And that's permanent.
S4 (20:52):
Okay. Okay. Well, that's pretty much what I needed right there.
Thanks a lot.
S1 (20:57):
Okay. All right. Very good. Willie, thanks for your call.
Call anytime. 800 525 7000 is the number to call. Uh.
Let's see. We're going to take a break. When we
come back, we're going to head to, uh, Chicago. Uh, and, uh,
Evie is, uh, waiting, or I believe Evie is waiting.
I probably got that wrong. We'll get that clarified. But nevertheless,
(21:18):
a great question about some debt that's, uh, pretty old
and just wanting to know how to handle that. We
do have room for you if you have some, uh,
question today. Something going on in your financial life? Give
us a call 800 525 7000. Lines are open, calls
are coming in. But we've still got room for you
at the moment. 800 525 7000. A quick break and
(21:40):
back with much more just around the corner here on
faith and finance helping you see God's best for your
financial life as you apply biblical wisdom. Stay with us. Well,
(22:01):
if there's something on your mind today and your financial life,
this is the place. We'll help you think about it
in light of biblical wisdom. I'm Rob West. This is
faith and finance live. Our phone number is 800 525 7000. Hey,
if you love the program, maybe you've found something valuable
in the past you'd like to be a part of
supporting our work. That'd be great. We're listener supported here
(22:23):
in the final quarter of the year. Yeah. Yea that's right.
Only less than three months remain. This is a really
important time for us to hear from listeners, supporters, those
who can help us close out the calendar year strong
and a great way to do that is a gift
of any amount at face value. But in particular, if
you would consider becoming a faith partner, we'd be great.
(22:44):
Those are folks who support us at $35 a month
or more, or at least $400 one time per year.
And as a thank you, we send you as a
partner quarterly, a ministry update, so you can stay in
the know on what's happening here at Faith five for
issues of our incredible magazine, Faithful Steward. By the way, uh,
(23:05):
Tim McCreadie today, who we started with has an incredible
feature article, uh, that uh, is in the current issue
of Faithful Steward. That's just amazing around faith based investing
and a theology of investing. Uh, that's the kind of
content you'll get each quarter when you get to the
faithful steward sent to you. Also, each of our new
(23:25):
studies and devotionals will be mailed to you and you'll
get pro access to the Faith V app, where you'll
be able to connect all your bank accounts, checking accounts,
manage your money in the app, and we've got some
incredible new features coming out at the first of next year,
where you'll be able to create rhythms around the intersection
of your faith and your financial decision making. Um, it's
(23:47):
going to be really amazing what we're able to produce there.
And we'll have our studies and devotionals that will be
coming out in a digital form. So you'll be able
to go through them right there in the app, and
it's going to be an incredible experience. So if you'd
like to know more, just go to Faith. Com and
check out our new website while you're there. All right.
We've got a lot of phone calls stacked up here.
(24:08):
So let's dive in. We'll get to as many as
we can. We'll go to Chicago next. Uh, Evo, thanks
for calling. Go ahead.
S5 (24:15):
Uh, yes, miss, I appreciate your, uh, your work. And
I listen to you every day On Florida. And I
have a question.
S1 (24:24):
That's amazing. Thank you.
S5 (24:27):
Yes. Yes. Uh, I have, uh, a garnishment, um, on
a few days ago on my account, uh, regarding, uh,
a debt. It's, uh, accrued and maybe 25 years ago, um,
for some reason, um, uh, they, uh, they garnish my account, uh, $11,000.
(24:53):
I have, um, they they garnish all of it. And, uh,
they told me I stopped making payments since, uh, July 2007,
and I think, um, due to illness or I wasn't
working for a couple years or something, and, and now
(25:13):
after 19 years and they come after me. So, um,
and they got everything I own, on my account, and
I don't really know what to, uh, what what to
do in, uh, in my call to see if there's anything, uh,
I can any.
S1 (25:35):
Well, it's a great question, and I'm sorry. I know
this is a challenging situation. Are you currently employed at
this point?
S5 (25:43):
No, I'm not. I'm not employed. And I'm looking for work. Uh,
and I haven't. I have a business, but it's not really, uh,
take off on, uh, for about a year and a half,
you know, years old, uh, towing company. But in my city,
(26:04):
it's already established. Businesses not working.
S1 (26:08):
Okay. Yeah. Maybe time as hard as it is. Maybe
time to set that aside and, you know, go work
for somebody else and get some income coming in. Um,
couple of thoughts here. I realize this is a tough
spot to be in. Let's talk about what's likely going
on and what steps you can take. So what's likely
happened is it sounds like a creditor got a judgment
against you at some point. Could have been years ago,
(26:31):
and that's being used to garnish or freeze your bank account.
Old debts just don't disappear. And if there's been a
court judgment, um, they can remain enforceable indefinitely until paid
or settled. So you're going to want to verify the
debt and potentially the judgment, which is likely what's happened here.
So the first step really is to get some clarity.
(26:53):
I would ask the bank that where the account was
that's been frozen, I would ask the bank for details
about who froze the account and which court order it
was tied to, and then I would contact the court
clerk in that county to see if there was a
judgment filed and when confirm the amount owed. And, you know,
(27:15):
sometimes fees and interest make the total grow over time.
And then, you know, since you're unemployed, you could explain
to the court or the creditor, you know the situation,
and sometimes they'll pause the collections or negotiate a settlement.
You could also contact legal aid, especially if you're low
(27:35):
or no income, to see if the if the seizure
was lawful and, you know, maybe the funds were exempt. Um, but,
you know, they could help you. And, you know, I
think that's really your next step to just to try
to find out what's going on, what court order caused
this to be frozen and then reach out and engage
(27:56):
with them, especially just given your situation around not having
any income right now. And see if you know, with
either through legal aid or just on your own, um,
you can work toward a plan to either stop this
or settle it. Um, you know, once you get a
job and get back to a more stable situation. So
(28:17):
we'll ask the faith and finance community here to be
praying for you. Uh, I know this is is difficult,
but I think those really are the next steps, sir. Uh,
thanks for your faithful listening to the program. If we
can help you in the future, don't hesitate to reach out. Uh,
let's go to Plant City, Florida. Hi, Carol. How can
I help?
S6 (28:35):
Hi, Rob. Uh, first of all, I'd like to. I'd
like you to know that I appreciate your faith based
financial advice. Um, I have moved to an independent living facility,
and I'm in the process of selling my condo. It
should close on November 3rd. And, um, I was wondering, what, uh,
(28:58):
am I going to tithe? Um, on the proceeds. I
do need the proceeds to help pay for the independent living. And, uh,
I would appreciate your advice.
S1 (29:12):
Yeah. Well, if you decide to give a tithe, you know,
kind of looking back to the Old Testament principle of
the tithe and and I think that's a great, uh,
you know, place, uh, to start our giving. The idea
that we would give off of the increase 10% is just,
you know, kind of a nice, easy way to give
proportionately as God provides. And clearly, you know, where you
(29:35):
have a profit on an asset that's sold, that would
certainly be considered an increase. So how does that apply
to a condo sale? Well, uh, you know, you would
look at what did you sell it for, and then
you would subtract what you paid for it, and that
would be the profit or the gain. And therefore if
(29:56):
we wanted to tithe on it, that would be the
amount that you would apply the principle of the tithe to.
And then you give a 10th. So did you have
an increase on the selling price minus the purchase price
that you originally paid for it? Did it appreciate in
value Very much.
S6 (30:13):
Yes, I was able to buy it at a really
good price. Should I give you the figures?
S1 (30:20):
Sure. Yeah. That's fine.
S6 (30:21):
Okay. Um, I purchased it at 79,000, and it's selling
for 205,000.
S1 (30:31):
Okay. Got it. Yeah. And so, you know, I mean,
you've got quite a bit of gain in there and,
you know, so that 205, you know, -79, I mean,
that's 126,000. So if you wanted to tithe on it,
that would be 12,000, you know, 600 that, um, you know,
or $1,200. But let's talk about that after the break.
(30:53):
Stay right there. Thanks for joining us today on Faith
and finance live here on Moody Radio. Coming up in
just a moment, Bob Dole stops by. We'll get Bob's
take on the markets in particular on the heels of
that big, uh, peace deal Ill yesterday. Uh, ongoing conversations
(31:13):
with China that's really weighing on this market. We'll get
Bob's take on that straight ahead. But first, before the break,
we were talking to Carol in Plant City. She's selling
her condo. She's moving to an independent living facility. Um,
she's going to have, uh, after, you know, the sale, uh,
the proceeds of that, that really is the gain, if
(31:35):
you will. So the difference between what she's selling it
for versus what she paid for it, she's going to
have an increase of about 126,000 in profit or gain
on the property. And she's wondering should she tithe on that? And,
you know, you know, I think with the principle of
the tithe, I mean, not to go too deep into this.
(31:55):
The word tithe appears 49 times in God's Word. Interestingly,
in the New Testament, in the 21 chapters of Scripture
that have the most rich teachings on money from Jesus
and John and Matthew and Luke and Mark and Peter
and and and Paul. Um, you know, you will not
(32:17):
see a single teaching on the tithe. It's referenced, but
where it's referenced, it's really all, you know, often an
admonition to the Pharisees that were, you know, prideful in
their tithe. And so it's really not a part of
the core teaching of the New Testament. Now, does that
mean we should dismiss it? Not necessarily. I think giving 10%
(32:37):
is a really helpful way to step into faithful, consistent generosity,
starting with your local church. But I think as as
New Testament believers, you know, really what we see in
Scripture is it's it's more about the heart posture than
a specific set of rules. And I think, you know,
my friend Randy Alcorn calls the tithe the training wheels
of giving. Perhaps that's a beginning point. And those of
(33:00):
us who have seen what Jesus has done on our behalf,
we should be givers and perhaps well beyond the tithe.
So what does that mean for your your proceeds from
this condo sale, where you have 126,000 in gain? If
the Lord is leading you to tithe on it, great,
that'd be $12,600. I would say you can't outgive God
and you'll probably never. I'm confident you'd never regret it.
(33:23):
But if you decided that you needed all that money
to go into this independent, you know, living facility. God
is not an accountant. He doesn't need our money. He
wants our hearts. And so I think that's ultimately between
you and the Lord, where you seek his heart for
this and then follow the leading of the Lord. And
that may or may not involve you giving out of
(33:43):
the sale of this condo. Does that make sense, though?
S6 (33:46):
Yes it does. Yes.
S3 (33:49):
Okay.
S1 (33:50):
Um, well, I hope that's helpful. I yes, go ahead.
S6 (33:56):
I do trust him and I want to be in
a right relationship with him. And I do want my
heart to be right.
S1 (34:04):
Yes. Yeah. Well, again, it's not. It's less about checking
a box and it's more about you just being a faithful,
generous giver, holding what God has entrusted to you loosely
trusting him for your provision. It sounds like that's been
a hallmark of your life, something you take very seriously.
And again, I would say, you know, your decision as
to whether or not you do any giving out of
(34:26):
the sale of this condo is between you and the Lord.
There's not a right or wrong decision here, so make
that a matter of prayer and then, you know, proceed.
But I'm confident your heart for for giving and generosity
and and serving the Lord through the the worship in
our giving, um, you know, is is the right one
whether or not you give anything out of this condo sale.
(34:48):
And all the best to you in this next season
of life. Thanks for thanks for your call today, Carol.
Lord bless you. Uh, before we take another call, Bob
Dole is here. Bob. Lot going on in the markets today.
It seems like we've kind of been, uh, started down,
closed up, at least on the Dow. Uh, seems like
China really weighing on these markets. Is that really the
big headline at this point?
S7 (35:10):
China. Plus, I might say it this way a tired market.
The China is a big deal. You've heard me say
many times, Rob, uh, we the US need China and
China needs us. And for the world to be a, uh,
an advancing economic engine, uh, that relationship has to be
(35:31):
better than it's been the last few days. Um, kind
of throwing barbs back and forth by the leaders, um,
is not being helpful at all. But beyond that, the
market is just tired. The advanced decline line is not healthy.
Technology stocks down today almost 2% value, beating growth by
about 170 basis points. That's very unusual for for for
(35:55):
a week sometimes a month, let alone one day. So uh,
lot going on inside the market, as you point out.
S1 (36:02):
Yeah. You know, your commentary this week was really helpful.
As you look back over the third quarter, you evaluated
your annual predictions for the year, but you concluded by
referring to this market. And I've heard you say this
before as a high risk bull market where there's plenty
of reasons to be excited and actually plenty to be
concerned about. So this just all that equals a challenging environment, huh?
S7 (36:26):
Sure does. I mean, the bull market words meaning the
path of least resistance is higher. So investors need to
be involved. The high risk part says but be careful
because speculation is creeping in. Maybe galloping in might be
a better way to put it. And that that is concerning.
So as an investor of my clients money, aside from
(36:48):
focusing on faith based investing, we're focusing on companies that, uh, have, uh,
cheapness as it relates to cash flow and have good
profitability as measured by return on equity. That combination we
think will lead to outperformance once we get into a
sloppy selling squall.
S1 (37:10):
Yeah. And therefore, I assume that means you think that
despite these risks that this economy will continue to expand,
especially if we get, uh, a lowering of the interest rates,
is that right?
S7 (37:25):
I think that's right. Having said that, it's slowing. Uh, Rob,
you see that in some of the labor statistics, and
I think that will spread to other things. And with
valuations so high, the p e ratio well over 20,
you know, that is demanding a near perfect environment. And
you and I both know it's not perfect. So that's
where the risk part comes in. Um if you've made
(37:46):
a lot of money um, think about, uh, selling a
little something and maybe giving it to the Kingdom.
S1 (37:53):
Yeah, I love that. Um, you know, Bob, I know
one of the other comments you had was just around inflation.
Are you feeling like inflation, where it is today is
mostly tariff driven and will fade. Or are you thinking
we're going to be stuck here closer to three than
two for the foreseeable future?
S7 (38:12):
The latter. Rob. Um, look, 2% inflation was an anomaly.
An anomaly that we enjoyed for almost a decade prior
to the last bunch of years. Uh, and the fed
has set a target of getting back to two. And
I say in my weekly commentary, it feels like every
week without a recession, we're not getting back to 2%.
(38:34):
This is a 3% sort of society. And as you
pointed out, we're there. And actually creeping a bit higher.
Tariffs is one of the reasons. But it's not the
only one Rob.
S1 (38:44):
Yeah very good. All right Bob, as always we appreciate
your time sir.
S7 (38:49):
Good luck. Keep your seat belt.
S1 (38:51):
Thank you. Yes, sir. Lord bless you. That's Bob Dahl,
he's CEO and CIO, and our resident market guy joins
us normally on Mondays today, this week on a Tuesday
giving us his market update. All right. We're getting close
to the end here. Let's head back to the phones.
Lynn has been waiting patiently in Ohio. Lynn, I understand
(39:12):
you have a testimony. Go right ahead.
S8 (39:15):
Yeah. I want to express my gratitude for all the
ways that you and, uh, those behind the scenes beautifully,
respectfully and intelligently offer the information so every, every person
is able to take it in and it's critical. And
I am married to someone who's had all those skills.
(39:38):
And she's listening to you further enhances my development and understanding.
And I just want you to know how grateful I
am for that.
S1 (39:47):
Well, I want you to know I'm grateful that you
shared that. That means a lot. And I appreciate you
calling out the the team behind the scenes because they
make all this possible today? The amazing, amazing, uh, group
that we have serving us that includes, among others, uh,
Omar and Tahira and Taylor. But everybody here at Faith
(40:08):
ve that makes this possible. And I appreciate you calling
out the way we care for our listeners, because we
really do. I mean, it's a privilege to be invited
into people's stories each day and wherever we're at on
the journey. And we all have made plenty of mistakes.
None of us have gotten it right, but we all
come together with with a desire to be found faithful
(40:29):
to the Lord. And that's really important. And I think
to your point, there's a there's an element of spiritual
formation that comes through money management, because it's that daily
demonstration of what we value and what we trust in
and where our priorities are. And so there's a lot
more about our spiritual formation than we might realize when
(40:51):
it comes to money management. And that's really one of
the keys we try to highlight here on this program.
So all that to say, Lynn, thank you for for
your comments today. We appreciate it.
S8 (41:02):
All righty. Take care now.
S1 (41:04):
Lord bless you. Well folks that's going to do it
for us today. Speaking of that team behind the scenes,
Taylor Standridge who's one of our writers, he's the producer
and production manager of our program. Each day he, uh,
he sent me a note as I was talking to Carol.
And I think this is a brilliant thought that I
want to share with you. Uh, he said, will you
(41:26):
remind Carol that we don't give or tithe to get
right or be right with God? What we give in gratitude,
we give because God has made us right with him.
Isn't that powerful? What a big idea. You know, our
giving is really not about us trying to earn God's favor.
(41:48):
We've already got that. He loves us more than we
could ever imagine. He demonstrated that by sending his son,
who shed his blood for us, that we could be
reconciled to the father, and our giving is a response
to that. God has made us right with him. And
so it's just an overflow of our gratitude to God
for the grace that unmerited favor that he has extended
(42:09):
to us that we did not deserve. We could never earn.
But he extended it to us through the person of Jesus. Uh, the, uh,
the tri part of the Triune Godhead. And, uh, as
a result of that, we are now reconciled to the
father once we accept him and trust him as our Savior.
Isn't that beautiful? And isn't it cool that our money
(42:31):
management can be an expression of that as we give
as a response to that, and then be able to
participate in God's activities? Well, once again, the amazing team
serving us today, Lisa Omar, Tara Taylor, everybody here at
Faith buy that makes this possible. Faith in finance is
a partnership between Moody Radio and Faith buy. Come back
and join us tomorrow. We'll see you then. Bye bye.
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