Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Financial Issues, where we join reality with truth,
helping you make the most of your money by honoring
God with your investments. Now listen then as we give
you the practical tools and advice you need to become
a biblically responsible investor.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Good morning, folks, welcome to Financial Issues. It is great
to be here with you today. I'm Sethi Dinski here
with our studio, A team down, one man. Of course,
Sam's on vacation this week. We've got Elijah Kelly on
the audio board there with us as well. Grant Ace
in there, Hi, Elijah.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
Ready for some fun, man, have some fun. This is
just like the old days. Man, it's good so long ago. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Absolutely grateful for those brothers in there and for each
of you as well. Thanks for joining us today. If
you're watching listening on social media, welcome to you. Hey,
We've got a good show today, folks. My friend Bob
Barber is going to join me later in the show.
We're going to analyze the Biblical worldview of retirement as
we seek to ask and answer this question, is retirement biblical?
(01:06):
I'd love to hear your thoughts in the chat if
you have an opinion on that is retirement biblical. Also,
there might very well be a long awaited audit of
the Federal Reserve. I'm a fan of that, courtesy of
Trump's Treasury secretary. We'll see what comes of that. We'll
take a look at that headline in just a moment,
as well as your partner questions and comments. Get those
in there to the chat as quickly as you can
wherever you're watching. And what do we make of cryptocurrency.
(01:28):
There's been a lot of talk about cryptocurrency. Donald Trump
has really positioned himself as a crypto positive president. We've
seen bitcoin hit all time highs recently. I think it's
retreated back from those in the last couple of days,
but it's still pretty darn high. So there's a lot
to talk about there. We'll keep an eye on all
of that. Grateful for each of you today, of course,
Also be on the lookout for this week's partner commentary,
the by Broadlist updates in the next twenty four hours.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
Make sure that you digest what Shanna has to say there.
It's always good stuff.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
But as it is now, folks, let's take a look
here at the markets to start off our show. So
at a relatively strong week. Last week, the markets really
got to go in on Monday. They started out the
gate hot. The NASDAK and SMP were vying for new
records really thanks to some big tech gains that was
driving it. Yesterday, all three indices were positive and they
were pushing towards a full percent gain. By midday afternoon
(02:16):
they kind of plateaued, and then by late afternoon they.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
Actually fell back slightly on their attack.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
The Dow Jones was descending near the flat line by
closing time, and that's basically where it ended. Actually, the
Dow Jones was the lone loser yesterday, but it was
basically at the flat line. The S and P five
hundred hit a new record, not too high, it was
up about an eighth of a percent, but did hit
that new record as well, as the Nasdaq also hit
a new record. That one was the winner of the day,
right around two fits of a percentage point. As we
(02:44):
closed yesterday. This morning, the market's still kind of mixed.
They're hanging right around the flat line right now as
they're waiting for the opening bell this morning on Wall Street.
But let's move now, folks to what I mentioned just
a moment ago. Pretty good headline I'm excited for I'd
love to hear your thoughts on it. Scott Bessen is
apparently calling for a full review of the Federal Reserve.
(03:07):
So on Monday, the Treasury Secretary sat down with CNBC
and suggested in an interview that there needs to be
a full review of the FED, not merely over the
controversy of lavish building updates, but an institutional investigation of
sorts all the way down to each different level. If
you remember recently, the Federal Reserve was in hot water
(03:27):
because of a lavish spending proposed spending project, I should
say that included such things like marble walkways and a
rooftop dining and different things that compared it comparatively, at
least to the Palace of Versailles. Pretty fascinating there. Beston
said this quote. What we need to do is examine
the entire Federal Reserve institution and whether they have been successful.
(03:49):
Has the organization succeeded in its mission? He continued, if
this were say the Federal Aviation Administration, and we were
having this many mistakes, we would go back and look
at wide has happened. He's exactly right. So the latest
headlines in the Oval office versus the Central Bank. Is
really fraught with controversy here, folks. It's kind of fascinating.
(04:10):
Keep in mind this comes as of course, rumors have
swirled about best Into being the lead candidate to replace
current chair Jerome Powell. This just pours gasoline on the fire,
as he's the one who's saying all this stuff. And
keep in mind as well, Powe's time is short left
at the FED. I believe it's less than a year
if he finishes out his term. I believe it's May
of twenty twenty six is when he'll officially be finished.
(04:33):
As you know, he's slated to finish then. But there's
conflicting reports about the Trump team looking to oust him early.
And of course, if they did oust him early, there's
an outside chance, maybe not so much of an outside chance,
that Treasury Secretary Scott Besson would be the replacement for him.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
Real interesting stuff here, folks.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
I gotta say right off the bat, there's something delightful
about this. The inter political fightings going back and forth.
It seems like a lot of his theater and smoke
and mirrors, But it really is fun to watch, at
least from an outside perspective that said, Beston's exactly right.
He's one hundred percent right. He's not the only one
also who has been calling for accountability for the Federal Reserve.
(05:14):
It's fascinating to me that certain governmental institutions and I
know many of you are going to hear that and
you're going to say, well, the Fed's not a governmental institution,
it's a private institution. But let's be real here, there
are a lot of things about the FED that are governmental.
It was actually started by our government and it has
serious control over different facets of our country, including the
(05:34):
monetary policy. You know, it's good, good as any time,
folks to remind you what in the world the FED
is and why it exists in the first place. It
was actually born because of a bank run.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
You know.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Bank runs not uncommon to the American imagination. And just
remember the definition is when banking clients due to widespread
panic or fear, and oftentimes that's maybe added in with
a you know, a touch of greed here and there,
they would run the bank. They would run to the bank,
they would withdraw their money so as not to lose it.
(06:06):
In American history, there's been several of these, both very
long ago, and frankly very recently.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
Bank runs would usually have a causal sequence.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
So if one bank had a bank run, it would
trigger another bank run and another bank run, and this
would happen. Usually it would lead to others. The most
memorable or at least one of the most memorable. Actually,
probably perhaps not the most memorable, because there was, of
course the stock market crash in nineteen twenty nine, but
maybe the next most memorable in American history was the
Panic of nineteen oh seven. The Panic of nineteen oh
seven really was the last straw that caused Wall Street
(06:36):
to dip about fifty percent, and in the eyes of
the federal government, they said, you know what, it's time
to act. We got to do something about this. So
in nineteen thirteen, with the backing of the Congressional Federal
Reserve Act, and that's why I can confidently say there's
a lot about the Federal Reserve that is governmental, the
Central Bank of the United States was born, and ever
since then we've had a Federal Reserve. Here's the deal.
(06:57):
I've said this before. Ideally, no Fed would be great.
I would love that. I think that would be wonderful.
I think the Fed leads from behind a lot. I
think they don't really know what they're doing. I think
a lot of times they cause more trouble than they
cause good things to happen. That said, we're in a sense,
you could argue, we're almost too deep into it at
this point, and the question has to be asked, what
(07:18):
would replace it? What would replace it?
Speaker 3 (07:22):
It might be the least evil of the evil options.
It honestly might be. I'm not so sure I'd.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
Like Congress in charge of the nation's monetary policy. Maybe
it'd be better. Maybe it would depend on the different
political leanings of said Congress, but still, I mean, let's
face it, Democrat or Republican, they don't really know how
to manage money very well, and so I'm not really
sure I would like that either. So it doesn't really
(07:52):
matter which party dominates both chambers. Maybe the best option
moving forward is what the Treasury Secretary had suggested. Maybe
we need to go with what we got, but we
need a serious overhaul. I agree with him one hundred percent.
I think a serious investigation into the FED is necessary.
Accountability is necessary as well, And for that reason, I'm
(08:13):
grateful that this lavish alleged lavish spending proposal came out
because maybe this is the catalyst for true accountability in
the federal Reserve. We'll just have to wait and see their, folks.
Very interesting stuff. Nonetheless, as the Trump pal saga continues elsewhere,
the Big Beautiful Bill is including a Trump Account investing
(08:34):
opportunity for newborns. We've touched on this before, but I
wanted to mention it yesterday because it was also today,
because it was dominating yesterday's news headlines. Just keep in mind, folks,
this Trump account is designed to help young folks start
investing early. It's a government investment account with what I've seen,
one thousand dollars for children born between twenty twenty five
and twenty twenty eight. The exact dates right now are
(08:56):
unclear to me. I've seen some reports saying it's early
twenty twenty five, and so we're right now as we're
recording this live today in July of twenty twenty five,
that this would we'd be living in that. I've seen
some other reports saying that it's not gonna be for
another few months. Regardless of that, folks, I'm very excited
to hear what Shanna and Jason are gonna say about this,
because I have a sneaking suspicion that they might be
(09:17):
talking about this later next week, God willing, we'll get
to that.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
You'll have to hear that. Especially. I'll say this.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
If you have children born between twenty twenty five and
twenty twenty eight, again, those specific dates notwithstanding, you're gonna
want to listen to this. If you have grandchildren, you're
gonna want to listen to this. Maybe share share that
segment with your children as well. Again, it's gonna be
this coming Monday where Shannon and Jason will talk about this.
I'm excited to hear about it because on face level,
I think, oh, this is great. I have a son
(09:45):
that was born in March this year. I'd like to
get him set up with one of these. But maybe
there's more to this than meets the eye. I'm not sure.
Maybe there are things about this that I need to
be aware of. And so if you're in my camp
as well, and you have a child who was born
or maybe you expect to be born within the next
three years, you're gonna want to tune in Monday for
that for sure. Well, folks coming up on the other
(10:07):
side of this break. We'll get to some of your
partner questions as well.
Speaker 3 (10:10):
Quickly.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
Here, let's see what else is happening in the markets.
As oil is trending right around sixty six and a
half dollars a barrel in the pre markets. The US
tenure Treasury yield at right about four point three six
percent in the pre markets this morning. So once again,
the market's slated to open in about fifteen minutes and
we'll see what they do. The major indices all hanging
right around the flat line there. It's great to be
(10:32):
here with you, folks. I hope you'll get your questions
queued up and say hello as well. And keep in
mind we've got Bob Barber who's going to join me
later on in the show to talk about the biblical
worldview of retirement, all that and more when we come
back for financial issues.
Speaker 4 (11:01):
Security is offered through GA Repel and Company, a registered
broker Dealer and Investment Advisor member FINDRA and SIPC. Opinions
expressed by Shanna are hers alone and are for informational
purposes only and do not necessarily represent those of GA
Repel or the outlet.
Speaker 3 (11:16):
On what you are.
Speaker 4 (11:16):
Listening, you should consider how the information applies to your
situation prior to personally implementing it, and it consult any
financial professional you work with to make sure it's applicable
to your financial plan.
Speaker 3 (11:31):
Got a little bit of breaking news out this morning, folks.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
It looks like Scott Besson, speaking of which we were
just talking about over that last segment, he's now saying
that the China tariff deadline is likely to be extended. This,
according to CNBC, US likely to hash out an extension
of Trump's incoming trade deadline with China. He's going to
meet with Chinese counterparts in Stockholm Suite in next week.
So we'll see how the markets respond to that, folks.
(11:55):
I'm sure there will respond one way or the other.
The US China relationship understandably is a big one, but
certainly has also been a market mover in that sense,
for better or worse, that is for sure. We'll do
a quick chat run down here, folks. Good to see
so many of you. I see George Nelson, Eddie, good
to see you, Eddie, John, Elijah's there, Jason's there, Lisa
(12:18):
saying sir serth She calls me sir Surf, which is fun.
Guess you need to have another baby. I guess so, Lisa,
I need to have, like how many babies could I
have in these.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
Next three years, like three or five?
Speaker 2 (12:27):
Well, depending on if you have twins though or triplets.
I mean, you could just have a lot of babies.
So yeah, no, that's good, Lisa. Thank you for that.
Brian from Virginia, good to see you. Let's see Nelson, Yep,
great to see you guys. Claude, good to see you there.
Speaker 3 (12:40):
Brother. Claude was asking a question.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
I think you had mentioned if Shanna had mentioned yesterday
that POWE will raise interest rates. Claude, I have to
go back and listen to the segment that we did yesterday,
but I think if I'm correct, the understanding right now
is that it's likely that the FED probably won't raise rates.
The question is whether they will cut rates this year.
(13:03):
The last number that I heard was perhaps twice, but
we'll just have to see how that goes. Trying to
predict what the Fed's gonna do is like trying to
predict I don't know something that's unpredictable because you just
don't know. I don't think they know what they're doing, either,
So that's kind of how that goes there. Let's see elsewhere, John,
I see you there. Good morning to you, James in
South Carolina. Bob close to us in Virginia or in
(13:23):
New Jersey.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
Excuse me, good to see you.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
Apologize if I missed anyone there, but great to have
you all on the chat. Hey, Elijah, Let's get to
a couple of these questions here. Let's start with Gary.
What has he got?
Speaker 5 (13:33):
Yes, I got Gary's question here, and he says, have
you or someone on your team blogged about crypto and
whether it is a moral investment opportunity?
Speaker 3 (13:41):
What do you think so, Gary, good question. Appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
We haven't blogged about it so much, but we have
spoken about it pretty frequently on the show. If you're interested, Gary,
or any of you are interested in generally what we've
said previously about about cryptocurrency, here's what you got to do.
Go to the Show Highlights page on the website, and
please pay attention to because this is, you know, a
new feature with our new website. Go to the Show
Highlights page on the website. Type in cryptocurrency in the
(14:07):
search bar. We can type in crypto or bitcoin or
you know. My guess is if you type in cryptocurrency,
you might get a larger swath of information than you
would if you typed in bitcoin, you know, bitcoin or
another specific type of cryptocurrency. But you can type in
whatever you want and search for it there and you'll
be able to find it there. Gary, Hopefully that can
be helpful for You're.
Speaker 5 (14:25):
Right, I just searched it and I got a couple
of clips here.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
That's great, And Elijn, can you confirm I should know this.
I apologize that I don't off the top of my
head that that is for anyone.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
That's not just for partners.
Speaker 5 (14:36):
That is for anybody.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
Okay, So yeah, even if you're not a partner, you
can feel free to look up some of those videos
that we've talked about there on our website. Of course,
partners can do that as well, and there are many
more videos available to just partners only on the partner
side under the instructional Videos page. But anyway, I digress, Gary,
that's where I would tell you to go there. As
for your question whether it's a moral investment opportunity, I
(14:58):
don't see anything about cryptocurrency objectively that is immoral in
and of itself. It would be considered a neutral phenomenon,
much like the dollar or gold. They can be used
for good or bad things. That's how I would see
it personally. I think a better way to look at
cryptocurrency than is it moral versus immoral, or say is
it sinful versus virtuous is to say is it wise
(15:22):
or is it unwise? I think that's a much better
way to look at it cryptocurrency. Here's the deal. It's
very speculative, it tends to be volatile. There's little in
terms of regulations. It's still somewhat kind of the wild
West of investing. It's becoming more and more mainstream, but
it's not quite there yet. The Trump administration, I think,
is doing a lot of things to make it more so.
(15:44):
But I think it's even more true when it comes
to the cheap, kind of mean coin version. Sam and
I are always joking about some of these silly bitcoins that
we see that are worth like, you know, they're like
twenty cents a share, which, by the way, we would
not promote that you buy those at all because they're
incredibly speculative and probably not.
Speaker 3 (15:58):
Good long term investment opportunities.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
But even the big ones like bitcoin, you know, I
was just mentioning it was trending near all time highs.
But it's so so volatile, and so the question that
you have to ask is this, should a long term
investor invest in crypto if you're aiming to grow a
robust portfolio over decades. It seems to me like a
(16:22):
much better fit for a long term investor is a good, solid,
well diversified strategy where you've got equities and maybe you
have some mutual funds here and there, but you're spread
out over all sorts of different sectors. That seems to
me to be the way to go, by the way.
That's the strategy that we offer here at the Ministry,
and I do believe I'll stake my claim on this
(16:42):
one that long term investing is the best form of investing.
Long term investing is the one that works the best,
that tends to work the best. I'm not saying it's
a guarantee that you'll make money doing it, but that's
the proven, tried and true best way to do it.
It really is. I'm also not saying that you can't
make money do in short term investing. Midterm investing. People
do that stuff. Our founder Dan Celia talked about all
(17:03):
that stuff. He knew a guy who made his living
doing day trading. But generally speaking, especially for regular joes
like us, it's far better to stick with a good,
long term, solid strategy. By the way, that's the way
that the Bible describes it says, a man builds his
wealth slowly, little by little, and so we're just investing
the way the Bible lays out for us. So, Gary,
I think, to bring it full circle, the best question
(17:25):
for you to ask is whether cryptocurrency is a wise
investment choice for you. We believe that the wisest choice
for you can be found via what we offer, a
long term strategy, robust, well diversified, and of course biblically responsible.
Hope that helps you there, brother, it's a good question.
What else do we have here, lij.
Speaker 5 (17:43):
We have a question from Brett. He starts off by saying,
thanks for the work the team does for the members,
and he has a three part question here. You want
me to go through all three?
Speaker 1 (17:53):
Sure?
Speaker 3 (17:53):
Man, Yeah, yeah, you can ahead and read all.
Speaker 5 (17:55):
So the first one, he says, do you think the
United States will ever go to digital currency? The second
question is will cryptocurrency be used instead of the weak dollar.
And the last questionnaire is how soon will the financial
change take place?
Speaker 3 (18:09):
Just to guess? What do you think? Seth?
Speaker 2 (18:10):
Thanks lies, Brett. That's a good trio of questions there.
I'll do my best to answer those. Let's take each
question in sequence. However, before I do that, let me
just say this to all of you. My answer is speculation,
and Brett, I'm not condemning you for the question. It's
a good question. It is a speculative question in some sense,
so my answer is also speculative. I don't have a
(18:31):
crystal ball, and I'm not a prophet. I can't tell
the future. I'm not God. God knows the future. He's
determined the future. I believe that wholeheartedly. But my answer
speculation and my opinions are my own. So just remember that. Please, please,
please do not send Pat a nasty email. If you
hear me say something that you disagree with, send it
right to me. Seth a fist TV. Don't involve Pat
in it. Don't waste her time with that.
Speaker 3 (18:52):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
So anyway, Brett, to your questions questions one and two,
I'll answer those ones. First, you think the US will
ever go on digital currency and will cryptocurrencies be used
instead of the week dollar.
Speaker 3 (19:01):
Brett.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
We have to remember, you know, the United States has
in the modern age, already been on a digital money
system of sorts. It's not been institutionalized nationally, but we
do have digital currency. It's called a credit card, it's
called a debit card. We've used that that is a
digitized transaction of money. The first one, I believe, and
this is according to Dan Celia's research in the nineteen fifties,
(19:24):
was the first credit card transaction that was ever used.
I believe it was nineteen fifty six. So we've been
using digitized currency for seventy years. And that is notwithstanding
all the different digital apps that you have, the paypals,
all that sort of stuff. With those things on the rise,
it's only grown in the last decade, especially in that sense.
We've already been on some form of digitized currency and
(19:46):
it's become rather normal for us actually for quite some
time now. Will it go to a full on one
hundred percent digital currency such as a CBDC. We talked
yesterday about the anti CBDC act that is on its way.
It's not past full yet, I believe it's in the
Senate right now, Right off the bat, I'll say this,
(20:07):
I hope not and I don't think it's gonna happen.
Speaker 3 (20:10):
I don't think that we'll go on a one hundred
percent digital currency such as a CBDC.
Speaker 2 (20:14):
I could be wrong about this, but I feel like
this is not something that's going to happen, especially as
we're seeing the steps that the current administration is taking
to prevent that. I don't believe it will happen on
a mass level. Can it happen on smaller levels, certainly.
Can it happen on a mass level, absolutely, But my opinion,
I don't think it will. Maybe that's due to my
(20:34):
specific eschatology based on what I believe the Bible talks
about and Daniel in Revelation. If you want some of
that we talk about, we own a little more depth
about that. You can join us on the Bible study
for that. You can send me a message as well.
Me bearing my whole eschatological worldview to you is not
worth it for our time here on the show. But
I'll say that's maybe part of my answer. I think
another part of it is there. I still do have
(20:56):
confidence in the US dollar. I think it's established worldwide.
It is being weakened, but is still far and away
the dominant currency of the world. Shanna address this a
little bit on Thursday during her in the No segment.
You can listen to that for more and again with
that anti CBDC ruling that we got last week that's
now looking to pass the Upper Chamber, I think all
those things mixed in together, I'm pretty confident that at
(21:17):
least for now, hopefully we won't be seeing some kind
of digital national currency replace the dollar. You've heard me
say before, folks, you've heard Shanna say it as well.
You know, cbdc's or something like that could be very,
very dangerous, and thankfully I think the current administration understands that.
I think enough people understand it as well. There's enough
of a strong distrust in some kind of institutionalized digital currency,
(21:41):
and so I think many people still trust the dollar,
not just in our country but in worldwide as well.
And by the way, that's not necessarily a promotion of
the strength of the dollar. I think it's more just
a comparison of the dollar to these potential digital currencies
that you're asking about.
Speaker 3 (21:54):
Brett.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
The question number three as for how soon this will
take place. Well, really, my answer is based on what
I just said in the last question. You know, I
don't think it's going to be soon, because I don't
think it's going to happen, and I think in some
sense we've already seen again, we've already seen this type
of digital currency take place in our country again the
nineteen fifties, first time a credit card was used, those
cash apps. So the answer for how soon, I don't
(22:17):
think we have to worry about that, Brett. I hope
that this can be helpful for you. You know, folks,
I do know that there's always the question when we
talk about digital currencies and their potential future in our country,
there's always the question of could that become the one
world currency, crypto being the prime target. Listen, there's a
(22:37):
lot of opinions around this question, and again my personal
eschatology would lead me to perhaps come up with an
answer that might surprise you. Again, send me a message
if you want to know more. But let's assume for
just a moment that there will be a one world
currency that leads to a one world government. If you,
as many do, hold to a pre tribulation view of
the end times where you believe that the church will
(22:58):
be raptured before the tribulation, then guess what. If you're
a Christian, You're not going to be around for it.
You're gonna be long gone. You're not gonna have to
worry about that one world government because you'll be in glory.
So I'm confident that if it does happen that way,
believers will be enjoying perfect existence at that time you
want have to worry about it. I hope that can
(23:18):
be of comfort to you, folks. Brett, I don't know
if that was behind your question, but if it was,
I hope you can rest easy about that there, folks.
Up next, we've got Bob Barber joining me on the show.
I'm excited for it.
Speaker 3 (23:29):
I hope you are as well.
Speaker 2 (23:30):
As we look at this biblical worldview of retirement. If
you have to leave us, we hope you have a great,
great rest of the day, and we got more financial
issues coming up right after this for the.
Speaker 3 (23:39):
Rest of you to stick with us.
Speaker 6 (24:02):
Welcome back, folks. Good to be here with you today
on the show. I've got a very special treat for
you here. I've got my friend Bob Barber. Bob's been
on the show with me before, and I'm thrilled to
have him back. Bob is a Christian financial expert.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
He's got more than three decades of experience helping individuals,
businesses invest.
Speaker 3 (24:19):
Well for the glory of God.
Speaker 2 (24:20):
And so today we're going to be exploring the concept
of retirement and how we as believers should approach this topic. Now,
I'm really excited for this, Bob. I'm rather a younger fella,
so I've still got some time before retirement. I know
many of our listeners might be close to or in
retirement age. And so let's just start with the big
picture here, brother, What does the Bible actually say about retirement?
(24:43):
I mean, is retirement even a biblical concept?
Speaker 7 (24:47):
Well, it's got retirement in the Bible one time, it's
got working there over five hundred and fifty times.
Speaker 3 (24:54):
Wow, so wow.
Speaker 7 (24:55):
And the context it's over in numbers in the chap.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
When I say the Old Chapter, it's the Old Testament,
right numbers.
Speaker 7 (25:08):
Yeah, the Old Testament en not funny, the Old Testament.
And it's the numbers in the eighth chapter and it
talks about the chief priests how they should retire at
the age of fifty. But it's not in the perspective
that we would look at it today in the American perspective,
because they share retired at the age of fifty to
mentor and teach the younger priest, so that retirement was
(25:32):
not just checking out, which seems to be what the
American way is.
Speaker 2 (25:38):
You know.
Speaker 7 (25:38):
See, I'm sixty three and a lot of people around
my age are retiring, and I feel like the Lord's
got a lot more years from me. And I've been
battling with this concept myself because financially, I can retire easily,
but it's just what God wants. And when you look
at the Bible, I can't see the biblical reason for
(26:00):
retiring unless you're going to serve God in another way
and you're feeling a calling, and that could be. That
calling could be to be a good grandparent, be there
for your grandkids. It could be to serve in something
like habitat for humanity, serve it your church more so, there,
I'm not retirement can be biblical as far as if
(26:22):
it's not about me, it's about helping others.
Speaker 2 (26:25):
Bob, I'm so glad you said that because it's something
I've thought about as well. Now I'm in a different
life stage, life age than you are in my thirties.
Speaker 3 (26:32):
Young kids, you know, I have what I'm preparing.
Speaker 2 (26:35):
Obviously, the Lord can take me anytime he once, but
I'm preparing to have many more years of working and
kind of building towards that. But I've even thought to myself,
I don't want to stop working. I love work, and
I you know, I do think part of that really
is in our nature that God created us to work.
Speaker 3 (26:51):
I mean, that's a pre fall phenomenon.
Speaker 2 (26:53):
God put Adam in the garden to work it, take
care of it, name the animals, take authority over it.
Speaker 3 (26:58):
And so I think work is a really good thing.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
And you'd mentioned over five hundred times the Bible talks
about work. One time it talks about that idea of retirement,
as you mentioned. So with this emphasis of the Bible
kind of focusing so heavily on work, how should we
as Christians think about stepping away from a career.
Speaker 7 (27:17):
I think we should think of it as stepping out
of one career into another. That would be a calling
of what God has for your life. And like I mentioned,
there's many areas that we can serve God when we retire.
If it's just to go pick up, you know, seashells
on the seashore for the rest of our lives and
(27:38):
play golf every day. And I watched this phenomenon being
played out and our second home on the coast, we're
right on the golf course, and I watch these men
playing golf every single day, and it's become a job
to them. And I watched them when they miss a
shot and throw the club up in the air and
say some pretty profane words, and I'm like, is this
(28:00):
really enjoyment? It's become to them they have they have
that competitive nature in them, and they want to be
doing something that is of significance. Playing golf every day
is not of significance unless you're mentoring. Maybe you're you're
you're taking young men with you, or if you're a
woman taking young ladies and mentoring them on the golf course.
(28:23):
I mean, I could see that where you could be
telling them about Jesus and what he did for them
and how to live that that biblically filled life. But
if it becomes all about me and myself, as we know,
that's that's not a biblical worldview. That becomes a selfish
thing that we want to do. It's just all about selfishness.
Speaker 2 (28:45):
I'm so glad that you mentioned that, brother, and it
seems to me like that might be one of the
cultural sort of influencers into why this idea of get
retired so you can do whatever you want has become
so popular. And so that's really what I kind of
want to ask you next, is when we're talking about
the difference between the biblical view of retirement and later
stages of life versus the secular view, why do you
(29:08):
think it's become so normalized, even perhaps among Christians, that
you retire so you can basically do nothing.
Speaker 7 (29:16):
I think we need to look back at what happened
and when did this retirement become such a thing here
in America. And it really goes back to the Great Depression,
and it was it was when FDR was trying to
get people out of the workplace to make room for
the younger crowd, and along came Social Security. So when
(29:39):
you think about it, this concept of the American retirement
as we look at it has not even been around
a full hundred years, and we've just bought into it,
hook line and sinker that this is what you're supposed
to do. At sixty two, sixty five, maybe even fifty five,
you're supposed to just check out out and now go
(30:02):
be about yourself and and just days that don't really
have a meaning to them. Now, if you if you
have a meaning to life, like I said, during retirement
as an example, I would emphasize that you write down
what are your goals in retirement, and if you're already retired,
what are your goals, what are your spiritual goals? What
(30:26):
does your day look like? What does it look like
from eight to nine, and then you know ten to twelve,
you know, plan plan that out to where you're doing
something Like I say, that's significant, that's productive because some
of the most depressed people in our country are retirees.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
Yeah, that's so, that's that really is fascinating man. Even
as you were talking, the thought came into my mind
of you know, the reminders that we see in scripture
of the warnings against idleness, even how you know, you
look at the life of David, for example, and when
he sinned against Bathsheba and committed adultery with her and
then murdered her husband. His first mistake was not the
adultery or murder. It was idleness. He wasn't doing anything.
(31:11):
He was loafing around the castle. He was supposed to
be off leading the army in war, he was not.
He was at home, not really doing anything that led
to sin so easily we see that. Speak to that
for just a moment, Bob. Some of the dangers when
we see retirement as a time to check out spiritually
or vocationally, and even frankly from a health perspective too,
What would be some of those dangers?
Speaker 7 (31:34):
Well, just exactly what you mentioned. There are physical dangers
if you are not doing things to stay physically fit
and just laying around, as you know, that can be
very dangerous in itself because muscle athrofa cans. Can you
check in and you're not using you're not using your body,
You're not using your mind. And when we're working, we're
(31:57):
always using our body. We're using our mind. I mean,
I know that what I do for a living in
you too, we're constantly thinking, constantly having to read, constantly learning,
and that's what needs to be done during those retirement years.
Come back with a little bit more of what you're
(32:17):
looking in deeper here, because I want to make sure
that we're moving towards that.
Speaker 3 (32:22):
Yeah, right, Bob.
Speaker 2 (32:23):
So what I'm what I'm kind of thinking here is
when you're when you're talking about the the the potential
dangers of retirement, how do we stay on guard against those?
Speaker 3 (32:35):
You know?
Speaker 2 (32:35):
And so you had, you know mentioned kind of that
staying on guard against like idleness and staff.
Speaker 3 (32:39):
How do we stay on guard against them?
Speaker 7 (32:42):
Well, I think the number one way we got to
stay on guard is seeking God and what his will
is for our lives.
Speaker 3 (32:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 7 (32:48):
We we have to wake up each day in scripture
and in prayer, and we need to be walking in prayer.
I'm a big prayer walker, and I don't know, some
people may not know what that means, but I actually
cry throughout the day. I don't have to be in
just a closet to pray, but I can be praying
and seeking God's will throughout the day and everything that
(33:10):
I do. When I'm driving, when I'm having my breakfast,
when I'm working outside, you can constantly be in tune.
And I call it spiritual breathing. And I remember this
back from my days when I became a Christian and
went to a campus crusade Bible study about spiritual breathing
and allowing the Holy Spirit to constantly speak with to
(33:32):
you and what he wants you to do with every
single moment of the day that we're alive and when
we're retired, we're still alive. But be careful because if
you're not in tune with that, you can start becoming
Instead of being outwardly focused, you start becoming emerardly focused.
(33:53):
And that's the big emphasis I see that we try
to teach here at Christian Financial Advisers, in you my
podcast Christian Financial Perspectives, we try to teach it's not
about you, but it's about helping others, just about giving,
give it away and it's years forever.
Speaker 2 (34:12):
Bob, such a cool perspective of how to look at retirement.
You know, again, so many people see this as this
is my time. I earned this, or even even with
like Social Security, I paid into this, so now it's mine.
That perspective you just mentioned is so countercultural. But this
is a time for people to be able to say,
how can I give back? How can I make the
most of these years? I mean, you have so much
(34:34):
freedom there, So, Bob, I'd like to hold you over
for just a moment here, brother, because I have a
question coming back on the other side of the break that.
Speaker 3 (34:40):
I'm really jones and to get to.
Speaker 2 (34:42):
My guess is we might have some listeners who are
wondering this as well, because we have rightly pointed out
some of the dangers and negative things about retirement. So
the question then becomes should we seek to retire at all?
And I'm going to hold our listeners on that hook
there because we have a break coming up here, so
we'll get back to that in just a moment there, Bob.
I've got Bob Barber with me today, folks, once again,
(35:04):
so excited to get to have him on here his expertise.
We'll be right back with more financial issues after this break.
Speaker 3 (35:08):
Don't go anywhere last join.
Speaker 4 (35:29):
The opinions and recommendations expressed on this program do not
necessarily represent the opinions of the station or any of
the program sponsors. Additionally, all products or services offered by
the program sponsors may not be known by the program folks.
Speaker 2 (35:46):
It's a pleasure to have my friend Bob Barber on
with me to share his perspective on retirement and retiring. Well, Bob,
I just appreciate you so much, brother, and the wisdom
that you give as well really is a blessing.
Speaker 3 (35:59):
Now let me ask you this question here.
Speaker 2 (36:00):
Brother, we have spoken thus far, and I think an
appropriate warning kind of tone when we're talking about not
wasting the retirement years, not being idle, not just shooting
for I'm just going to go and play golf every
day and collect seashells on the beach. The question then
has to be asked, is retirement even a good thing
at all? Should we not be ascribing to get to
(36:23):
save for retirement, should we just plan to work?
Speaker 3 (36:25):
How would you address that?
Speaker 7 (36:28):
I would address that. That's a really good question, Seth No.
I think retirement is fine. I am not going to
put down anyone that wants to retire, and I think
retirement is a great time. You know, I think about
myself and you know, I spend a lot of time
with my wife, and during those retirement years, a man
(36:51):
can especially give back the years that were lost working
back to his wife. And I know that a lot
of our clients they ought to just I'm not going
to mention the cruise line, but there's one major cruise
line that they sure do support and they go on
a lot of European cruises and spend that time with
(37:11):
their wives. And I think that is good that we
give back those years that might have been lost to
our spouse. Also those years that that might have been
lost working so much, that could have taken away from
our children. Now we have that second chance. And that's
that's why many of us that are grandparents, as myself,
will say, you know, if I'd have known that it
(37:32):
was going to be this great, I'd have been a
grandfather first, because you have those that you have the
time there to spend with your your grandchildren. And I mean,
right after we get done today, I'm going to go
spend the afternoon with my grandson being at the summer
as we're making this because he needs he needs that
(37:55):
and I want to give that to him. And Uh,
in my workplace where I am, they've they've given me
the opportunity to spend those hours doing that. Is that answer, absolutely, Bob.
Speaker 3 (38:07):
I appreciate that so much.
Speaker 2 (38:08):
I felt that that tension that you just mentioned. As
as a man, I'm the sole breadwinner of my house
as well, and so my wife makes the bigger sacrifice.
She's home with the kids, and I'm so thankful for
her doing that. Of course I'm making a sacrifice as well,
being away from them, but that's also a choice that
I'm making and doing what God has called me to do.
(38:29):
What a great thing for me to think about that
those retirement years can be. And once again it goes
back to what you said in the last segment, purposeful,
God glorifying.
Speaker 3 (38:38):
It doesn't have to be evil. You can make the
most of those retirement years. I love that you said.
Speaker 2 (38:42):
That's really good, So Bob, you had you had shared
with me during that last break that you have several
sort of tips and tricks and kind of helpful things,
five five different things that we should be thinking about
as we're nearing that retirement age and thinking through this.
Speaker 3 (38:56):
Can you share with our listeners what those are well.
Speaker 7 (38:59):
For your listen can get a quick pencil out and
a piece of paper or their phones to start taking
notes or even just record it. I want you to
write down exactly why do you want to retire, and
write down all those different reasons that may be three
different that may be five different reasons. I know that
working with a lot of retirees, they just get tired,
(39:21):
and you know, as we get into our sixties, especially
the health starts to break down, and that may be
one of the reasons they want to retire is health reasons.
The second thing that you need to write down is
what will be your purpose in retirement with the emphasis
on purpose or what is it now if you're already retired,
(39:43):
So these questions can go those that are thinking about
retirement and those that are already retired. That third question
will be what will your days look like? And come
up with the schedule that you're going to look at.
I mean, I know that you've had that schedule for
maybe forty years in the workplace, but we need a schedule,
(40:06):
and I believe that it's about productivity and God wants
us to be productive. Like I said in the first segment,
work appears in the Bible over five hundred and fifty
times where retire peers one time and God said, you know,
before the fall, work the garden. Number four, write down
(40:26):
how will you serve others? Or if you're retired, how
are you serving others right now? If you're not serving anyone,
I think you need to And I know as a
man and I got a lot of construction background, habitat
for humanity is one of my favorite ways to serve.
I've got clients. That one that's over and goes to
(40:48):
a small church in a little country town in the
hill country here in Texas. And he does everything at
the church. He mows, he fixes the electrical if it
needs something fixing, he does painting. That's how he has
spent his retirement years. And number five is retirement going
to be all about your agenda? Or is it about
(41:10):
your agenda? Now, if you're already retired and think, you know,
push that away, try not to make it all about you, because,
as you know, Christ came and taught us to serve others,
not to be all about ourselves.
Speaker 3 (41:26):
Love that, Bob.
Speaker 2 (41:26):
So let me just read these back to you so
I know in our audience members as well. So write
down why I'm retiring, the purpose of it, Write down
what the purpose will be, Write down what your days
will look like, kind of like a schedule. Write down
how you'll serve others in retirement. And then ultimately, is
retirement all about your agenda? Or really is it about
God's agenda?
Speaker 7 (41:48):
That's right?
Speaker 3 (41:48):
Yeah, absolutely, why I perfectly.
Speaker 7 (41:50):
Said you took good notes there. You might I don't
know if you were writing that, but you came back.
Speaker 3 (41:54):
I willful.
Speaker 2 (41:54):
You know, I try to listen. I try to listen
to my elders. Brother, so thank thank you so much.
And by the way, we'll try to get to that
if we have time here. But before we get to that,
let me ask you this, Bob, As someone I know,
I have felt this way before, and I'm sure many
men especially feel this. We love our careers, we love
what we do. We love providing, we love working, we
love making money. How would you encourage someone who has
(42:16):
retired or is nearing retirement and they're feeling a little
bit sad, maybe discouraged because they feel like they're losing
their purpose when their career ends.
Speaker 7 (42:26):
But I think they needed to get with some other
Christian brothers or sisters and they need to pray about this,
go to God's word. And if they are feeling depressed,
because you know, like I said, some of the most
oppressed people out there are retirees, they made need to
get some godly counsel to help them, I mean professional
godly counsel. I would emphasize that, you know, retirees even
(42:51):
have a suicide rate, and you know, you think about
that and that's sad to hear, because it can be
such a wonderful time, you know, Seth. We serve the
Christian marketplace, so those that we do, they have a
wonderful retirement. And I see very few where it becomes
all about themselves. But I know that one that works
(43:15):
for us, that worked at a secular firm before he
came here, he told me how miserable some of them were,
and I just you've got to be in prayer, You've
got to seek God's will. You need to be with
other Christian brothers and sisters, and get involved in your church.
If you're not, get involved in other ministries, mentor others.
There's so many things you can do with this time
(43:37):
now that you have it, instead of just being focused
on one thing, which was just that workplace where you
were great words.
Speaker 3 (43:45):
Brother.
Speaker 2 (43:46):
Now we've spent a majority of our time, as I
think was well worth it, speaking to folks nearing retirement
or in retirement age.
Speaker 3 (43:52):
What about folks like me? What about folks with.
Speaker 2 (43:54):
Twenty thirty, maybe forty years left in the workforce in
their twenties and thirties, How would you, as an older
see brother, encourage a younger, perhaps less mature brother like
myself to think well about retirement, but even now to
start putting into practice some of those things that will
need to do when we hit that retirement age.
Speaker 7 (44:13):
Well, I will speak to the financial issue to that.
And you know, to be retired and not be stressed
out about it, you've got to have enough that you've
you've saved during all those years before retirement. And wealth
is obtained by ninety nine percent of us slowly systematically
(44:34):
over time. It's not a get rich quick scheme that happens.
Sudden wealth happens to very few people. Maybe you've got
an all strike or you struck a lottery, but I mean,
I've never bought a lottery ticket, so I'll never get one.
Speaker 3 (44:45):
Of those, right.
Speaker 7 (44:48):
And look have if you don't have a mentor in
your life, an older person, man or woman that you
and as a woman, I would emphasize you for an
older woman that's a woman or a man. I had
when I was in my twenties and thirties, I had
an older gentleman that really mentored me. He stepped out
(45:10):
into my life, got me involved in Bible study fellowship.
I had another one that got me involved in the Gideons,
and I remember those men mentoring me to, you know,
to move forward and how to build for those future years.
So pick out those that have done it well and
(45:32):
copy them, you know, mentor they'll mentor you and do
what they've done. To be successful, We've got to follow
successful people, Bob.
Speaker 2 (45:42):
I appreciate your wisdom and insights so much, brother. As
just kind of a final quick word here, Bob, give
us an example of someone who retired well. And this
can be a real person or maybe someone who is
just kind of like an ideal here. But someone who's retired, well,
what are they doing.
Speaker 7 (46:00):
Well. I know one of them that's working for Habitat Humanity.
I know the other one's very involved in Gideons. I
mentioned that that other person, they're very involved in their church.
Oh yeah, one that's a good friend of mine. Their
churches has the big spanishing project going right now, and
he's got a lot of construction experience and he is
(46:20):
helping rebuild I mean, the new sanctuary that they're building.
Those are some examples.
Speaker 3 (46:26):
Awesome, Bob. I appreciate you so much. Brother.
Speaker 2 (46:29):
I'm sad that our time's coming in here, but I
look forward to the next time we get to have
you on. Thank you for sharing your wisdom and insight
with us, brother, and I do hope that it encouraged
all of you folks, whether you're in the retirement age,
whether you're far from it, whether you're approaching it, to
think well about this time to be used purposefully for
the glory of God. It's a great, great time of
life and can be stewarded well. And speaking of which, folks,
(46:50):
that's why we're here to help you steward everything that
you have well for the glory of God. Remember it's
all his. Let's be found good and faithful stewart's with
all of it. God bless you all, and we'll see
you next time. It's more financial than next life.
Speaker 5 (47:07):
If we ever forget that we're one nation under God,
then we will be a nation gone.
Speaker 1 (47:12):
Under Thank you for joining us. This has been an
Welcome to Financial Issues, where we join reality with truth,
helping you make the most of your money by honoring
God with your investments. Now listen then as we give
you the practical tools and advice you need to become
a biblically responsible investor.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Good morning, folks, welcome to Financial Issues. It is great
to be here with you today. I'm Sethi Dinski here
with our studio, A team down, one man. Of course,
Sam's on vacation this week. We've got Elijah Kelly on
the audio board there with us as well. Grant Ace
in there, Hi, Elijah.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
Ready for some fun, man, have some fun. This is
just like the old days. Man, it's good so long ago. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Absolutely grateful for those brothers in there and for each
of you as well. Thanks for joining us today. If
you're watching listening on social media, welcome to you. Hey,
We've got a good show today, folks. My friend Bob
Barber is going to join me later in the show.
We're going to analyze the Biblical worldview of retirement as
we seek to ask and answer this question, is retirement biblical?
(01:06):
I'd love to hear your thoughts in the chat if
you have an opinion on that is retirement biblical. Also,
there might very well be a long awaited audit of
the Federal Reserve. I'm a fan of that, courtesy of
Trump's Treasury secretary. We'll see what comes of that. We'll
take a look at that headline in just a moment,
as well as your partner questions and comments. Get those
in there to the chat as quickly as you can
wherever you're watching. And what do we make of cryptocurrency.
(01:28):
There's been a lot of talk about cryptocurrency. Donald Trump
has really positioned himself as a crypto positive president. We've
seen bitcoin hit all time highs recently. I think it's
retreated back from those in the last couple of days,
but it's still pretty darn high. So there's a lot
to talk about there. We'll keep an eye on all
of that. Grateful for each of you today, of course,
Also be on the lookout for this week's partner commentary,
the by Broadlist updates in the next twenty four hours.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
Make sure that you digest what Shanna has to say there.
It's always good stuff.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
But as it is now, folks, let's take a look
here at the markets to start off our show. So
at a relatively strong week. Last week, the markets really
got to go in on Monday. They started out the
gate hot. The NASDAK and SMP were vying for new
records really thanks to some big tech gains that was
driving it. Yesterday, all three indices were positive and they
were pushing towards a full percent gain. By midday afternoon
(02:16):
they kind of plateaued, and then by late afternoon they.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
Actually fell back slightly on their attack.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
The Dow Jones was descending near the flat line by
closing time, and that's basically where it ended. Actually, the
Dow Jones was the lone loser yesterday, but it was
basically at the flat line. The S and P five
hundred hit a new record, not too high, it was
up about an eighth of a percent, but did hit
that new record as well, as the Nasdaq also hit
a new record. That one was the winner of the day,
right around two fits of a percentage point. As we
(02:44):
closed yesterday. This morning, the market's still kind of mixed.
They're hanging right around the flat line right now as
they're waiting for the opening bell this morning on Wall Street.
But let's move now, folks to what I mentioned just
a moment ago. Pretty good headline I'm excited for I'd
love to hear your thoughts on it. Scott Bessen is
apparently calling for a full review of the Federal Reserve.
(03:07):
So on Monday, the Treasury Secretary sat down with CNBC
and suggested in an interview that there needs to be
a full review of the FED, not merely over the
controversy of lavish building updates, but an institutional investigation of
sorts all the way down to each different level. If
you remember recently, the Federal Reserve was in hot water
(03:27):
because of a lavish spending proposed spending project, I should
say that included such things like marble walkways and a
rooftop dining and different things that compared it comparatively, at
least to the Palace of Versailles. Pretty fascinating there. Beston
said this quote. What we need to do is examine
the entire Federal Reserve institution and whether they have been successful.
(03:49):
Has the organization succeeded in its mission? He continued, if
this were say the Federal Aviation Administration, and we were
having this many mistakes, we would go back and look
at wide has happened. He's exactly right. So the latest
headlines in the Oval office versus the Central Bank. Is
really fraught with controversy here, folks. It's kind of fascinating.
(04:10):
Keep in mind this comes as of course, rumors have
swirled about best Into being the lead candidate to replace
current chair Jerome Powell. This just pours gasoline on the fire,
as he's the one who's saying all this stuff. And
keep in mind as well, Powe's time is short left
at the FED. I believe it's less than a year
if he finishes out his term. I believe it's May
of twenty twenty six is when he'll officially be finished.
(04:33):
As you know, he's slated to finish then. But there's
conflicting reports about the Trump team looking to oust him early.
And of course, if they did oust him early, there's
an outside chance, maybe not so much of an outside chance,
that Treasury Secretary Scott Besson would be the replacement for him.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
Real interesting stuff here, folks.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
I gotta say right off the bat, there's something delightful
about this. The inter political fightings going back and forth.
It seems like a lot of his theater and smoke
and mirrors, But it really is fun to watch, at
least from an outside perspective that said, Beston's exactly right.
He's one hundred percent right. He's not the only one
also who has been calling for accountability for the Federal Reserve.
(05:14):
It's fascinating to me that certain governmental institutions and I
know many of you are going to hear that and
you're going to say, well, the Fed's not a governmental institution,
it's a private institution. But let's be real here, there
are a lot of things about the FED that are governmental.
It was actually started by our government and it has
serious control over different facets of our country, including the
(05:34):
monetary policy. You know, it's good, good as any time,
folks to remind you what in the world the FED
is and why it exists in the first place. It
was actually born because of a bank run.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
You know.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Bank runs not uncommon to the American imagination. And just
remember the definition is when banking clients due to widespread
panic or fear, and oftentimes that's maybe added in with
a you know, a touch of greed here and there,
they would run the bank. They would run to the bank,
they would withdraw their money so as not to lose it.
(06:06):
In American history, there's been several of these, both very
long ago, and frankly very recently.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
Bank runs would usually have a causal sequence.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
So if one bank had a bank run, it would
trigger another bank run and another bank run, and this
would happen. Usually it would lead to others. The most
memorable or at least one of the most memorable. Actually,
probably perhaps not the most memorable, because there was, of
course the stock market crash in nineteen twenty nine, but
maybe the next most memorable in American history was the
Panic of nineteen oh seven. The Panic of nineteen oh
seven really was the last straw that caused Wall Street
(06:36):
to dip about fifty percent, and in the eyes of
the federal government, they said, you know what, it's time
to act. We got to do something about this. So
in nineteen thirteen, with the backing of the Congressional Federal
Reserve Act, and that's why I can confidently say there's
a lot about the Federal Reserve that is governmental, the
Central Bank of the United States was born, and ever
since then we've had a Federal Reserve. Here's the deal.
(06:57):
I've said this before. Ideally, no Fed would be great.
I would love that. I think that would be wonderful.
I think the Fed leads from behind a lot. I
think they don't really know what they're doing. I think
a lot of times they cause more trouble than they
cause good things to happen. That said, we're in a sense,
you could argue, we're almost too deep into it at
this point, and the question has to be asked, what
(07:18):
would replace it? What would replace it?
Speaker 3 (07:22):
It might be the least evil of the evil options.
It honestly might be. I'm not so sure I'd.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
Like Congress in charge of the nation's monetary policy. Maybe
it'd be better. Maybe it would depend on the different
political leanings of said Congress, but still, I mean, let's
face it, Democrat or Republican, they don't really know how
to manage money very well, and so I'm not really
sure I would like that either. So it doesn't really
(07:52):
matter which party dominates both chambers. Maybe the best option
moving forward is what the Treasury Secretary had suggested. Maybe
we need to go with what we got, but we
need a serious overhaul. I agree with him one hundred percent.
I think a serious investigation into the FED is necessary.
Accountability is necessary as well, And for that reason, I'm
(08:13):
grateful that this lavish alleged lavish spending proposal came out
because maybe this is the catalyst for true accountability in
the federal Reserve. We'll just have to wait and see their, folks.
Very interesting stuff. Nonetheless, as the Trump pal saga continues elsewhere,
the Big Beautiful Bill is including a Trump Account investing
(08:34):
opportunity for newborns. We've touched on this before, but I
wanted to mention it yesterday because it was also today,
because it was dominating yesterday's news headlines. Just keep in mind, folks,
this Trump account is designed to help young folks start
investing early. It's a government investment account with what I've seen,
one thousand dollars for children born between twenty twenty five
and twenty twenty eight. The exact dates right now are
(08:56):
unclear to me. I've seen some reports saying it's early
twenty twenty five, and so we're right now as we're
recording this live today in July of twenty twenty five,
that this would we'd be living in that. I've seen
some other reports saying that it's not gonna be for
another few months. Regardless of that, folks, I'm very excited
to hear what Shanna and Jason are gonna say about this,
because I have a sneaking suspicion that they might be
(09:17):
talking about this later next week, God willing, we'll get
to that.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
You'll have to hear that. Especially. I'll say this.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
If you have children born between twenty twenty five and
twenty twenty eight, again, those specific dates notwithstanding, you're gonna
want to listen to this. If you have grandchildren, you're
gonna want to listen to this. Maybe share share that
segment with your children as well. Again, it's gonna be
this coming Monday where Shannon and Jason will talk about this.
I'm excited to hear about it because on face level,
I think, oh, this is great. I have a son
(09:45):
that was born in March this year. I'd like to
get him set up with one of these. But maybe
there's more to this than meets the eye. I'm not sure.
Maybe there are things about this that I need to
be aware of. And so if you're in my camp
as well, and you have a child who was born
or maybe you expect to be born within the next
three years, you're gonna want to tune in Monday for
that for sure. Well, folks coming up on the other
(10:07):
side of this break. We'll get to some of your
partner questions as well.
Speaker 3 (10:10):
Quickly.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
Here, let's see what else is happening in the markets.
As oil is trending right around sixty six and a
half dollars a barrel in the pre markets. The US
tenure Treasury yield at right about four point three six
percent in the pre markets this morning. So once again,
the market's slated to open in about fifteen minutes and
we'll see what they do. The major indices all hanging
right around the flat line there. It's great to be
(10:32):
here with you, folks. I hope you'll get your questions
queued up and say hello as well. And keep in
mind we've got Bob Barber who's going to join me
later on in the show to talk about the biblical
worldview of retirement, all that and more when we come
back for financial issues.
Speaker 4 (11:01):
Security is offered through GA Repel and Company, a registered
broker Dealer and Investment Advisor member FINDRA and SIPC. Opinions
expressed by Shanna are hers alone and are for informational
purposes only and do not necessarily represent those of GA
Repel or the outlet.
Speaker 3 (11:16):
On what you are.
Speaker 4 (11:16):
Listening, you should consider how the information applies to your
situation prior to personally implementing it, and it consult any
financial professional you work with to make sure it's applicable
to your financial plan.
Speaker 3 (11:31):
Got a little bit of breaking news out this morning, folks.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
It looks like Scott Besson, speaking of which we were
just talking about over that last segment, he's now saying
that the China tariff deadline is likely to be extended. This,
according to CNBC, US likely to hash out an extension
of Trump's incoming trade deadline with China. He's going to
meet with Chinese counterparts in Stockholm Suite in next week.
So we'll see how the markets respond to that, folks.
(11:55):
I'm sure there will respond one way or the other.
The US China relationship understandably is a big one, but
certainly has also been a market mover in that sense,
for better or worse, that is for sure. We'll do
a quick chat run down here, folks. Good to see
so many of you. I see George Nelson, Eddie, good
to see you, Eddie, John, Elijah's there, Jason's there, Lisa
(12:18):
saying sir serth She calls me sir Surf, which is fun.
Guess you need to have another baby. I guess so, Lisa,
I need to have, like how many babies could I
have in these.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
Next three years, like three or five?
Speaker 2 (12:27):
Well, depending on if you have twins though or triplets.
I mean, you could just have a lot of babies.
So yeah, no, that's good, Lisa. Thank you for that.
Brian from Virginia, good to see you. Let's see Nelson, Yep,
great to see you guys. Claude, good to see you there.
Speaker 3 (12:40):
Brother. Claude was asking a question.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
I think you had mentioned if Shanna had mentioned yesterday
that POWE will raise interest rates. Claude, I have to
go back and listen to the segment that we did yesterday,
but I think if I'm correct, the understanding right now
is that it's likely that the FED probably won't raise rates.
The question is whether they will cut rates this year.
(13:03):
The last number that I heard was perhaps twice, but
we'll just have to see how that goes. Trying to
predict what the Fed's gonna do is like trying to
predict I don't know something that's unpredictable because you just
don't know. I don't think they know what they're doing, either,
So that's kind of how that goes there. Let's see elsewhere, John,
I see you there. Good morning to you, James in
South Carolina. Bob close to us in Virginia or in
(13:23):
New Jersey.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
Excuse me, good to see you.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
Apologize if I missed anyone there, but great to have
you all on the chat. Hey, Elijah, Let's get to
a couple of these questions here. Let's start with Gary.
What has he got?
Speaker 5 (13:33):
Yes, I got Gary's question here, and he says, have
you or someone on your team blogged about crypto and
whether it is a moral investment opportunity?
Speaker 3 (13:41):
What do you think so, Gary, good question. Appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
We haven't blogged about it so much, but we have
spoken about it pretty frequently on the show. If you're interested, Gary,
or any of you are interested in generally what we've
said previously about about cryptocurrency, here's what you got to do.
Go to the Show Highlights page on the website, and
please pay attention to because this is, you know, a
new feature with our new website. Go to the Show
Highlights page on the website. Type in cryptocurrency in the
(14:07):
search bar. We can type in crypto or bitcoin or
you know. My guess is if you type in cryptocurrency,
you might get a larger swath of information than you
would if you typed in bitcoin, you know, bitcoin or
another specific type of cryptocurrency. But you can type in
whatever you want and search for it there and you'll
be able to find it there. Gary, Hopefully that can
be helpful for You're.
Speaker 5 (14:25):
Right, I just searched it and I got a couple
of clips here.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
That's great, And Elijn, can you confirm I should know this.
I apologize that I don't off the top of my
head that that is for anyone.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
That's not just for partners.
Speaker 5 (14:36):
That is for anybody.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
Okay, So yeah, even if you're not a partner, you
can feel free to look up some of those videos
that we've talked about there on our website. Of course,
partners can do that as well, and there are many
more videos available to just partners only on the partner
side under the instructional Videos page. But anyway, I digress, Gary,
that's where I would tell you to go there. As
for your question whether it's a moral investment opportunity, I
(14:58):
don't see anything about cryptocurrency objectively that is immoral in
and of itself. It would be considered a neutral phenomenon,
much like the dollar or gold. They can be used
for good or bad things. That's how I would see
it personally. I think a better way to look at
cryptocurrency than is it moral versus immoral, or say is
it sinful versus virtuous is to say is it wise
(15:22):
or is it unwise? I think that's a much better
way to look at it cryptocurrency. Here's the deal. It's
very speculative, it tends to be volatile. There's little in
terms of regulations. It's still somewhat kind of the wild
West of investing. It's becoming more and more mainstream, but
it's not quite there yet. The Trump administration, I think,
is doing a lot of things to make it more so.
(15:44):
But I think it's even more true when it comes
to the cheap, kind of mean coin version. Sam and
I are always joking about some of these silly bitcoins that
we see that are worth like, you know, they're like
twenty cents a share, which, by the way, we would
not promote that you buy those at all because they're
incredibly speculative and probably not.
Speaker 3 (15:58):
Good long term investment opportunities.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
But even the big ones like bitcoin, you know, I
was just mentioning it was trending near all time highs.
But it's so so volatile, and so the question that
you have to ask is this, should a long term
investor invest in crypto if you're aiming to grow a
robust portfolio over decades. It seems to me like a
(16:22):
much better fit for a long term investor is a good, solid,
well diversified strategy where you've got equities and maybe you
have some mutual funds here and there, but you're spread
out over all sorts of different sectors. That seems to
me to be the way to go, by the way.
That's the strategy that we offer here at the Ministry,
and I do believe I'll stake my claim on this
(16:42):
one that long term investing is the best form of investing.
Long term investing is the one that works the best,
that tends to work the best. I'm not saying it's
a guarantee that you'll make money doing it, but that's
the proven, tried and true best way to do it.
It really is. I'm also not saying that you can't
make money do in short term investing. Midterm investing. People
do that stuff. Our founder Dan Celia talked about all
(17:03):
that stuff. He knew a guy who made his living
doing day trading. But generally speaking, especially for regular joes
like us, it's far better to stick with a good,
long term, solid strategy. By the way, that's the way
that the Bible describes it says, a man builds his
wealth slowly, little by little, and so we're just investing
the way the Bible lays out for us. So, Gary,
I think, to bring it full circle, the best question
(17:25):
for you to ask is whether cryptocurrency is a wise
investment choice for you. We believe that the wisest choice
for you can be found via what we offer, a
long term strategy, robust, well diversified, and of course biblically responsible.
Hope that helps you there, brother, it's a good question.
What else do we have here, lij.
Speaker 5 (17:43):
We have a question from Brett. He starts off by saying,
thanks for the work the team does for the members,
and he has a three part question here. You want
me to go through all three?
Speaker 1 (17:53):
Sure?
Speaker 3 (17:53):
Man, Yeah, yeah, you can ahead and read all.
Speaker 5 (17:55):
So the first one, he says, do you think the
United States will ever go to digital currency? The second
question is will cryptocurrency be used instead of the weak dollar.
And the last questionnaire is how soon will the financial
change take place?
Speaker 3 (18:09):
Just to guess? What do you think? Seth?
Speaker 2 (18:10):
Thanks lies, Brett. That's a good trio of questions there.
I'll do my best to answer those. Let's take each
question in sequence. However, before I do that, let me
just say this to all of you. My answer is speculation,
and Brett, I'm not condemning you for the question. It's
a good question. It is a speculative question in some sense,
so my answer is also speculative. I don't have a
(18:31):
crystal ball, and I'm not a prophet. I can't tell
the future. I'm not God. God knows the future. He's
determined the future. I believe that wholeheartedly. But my answer
speculation and my opinions are my own. So just remember that. Please, please,
please do not send Pat a nasty email. If you
hear me say something that you disagree with, send it
right to me. Seth a fist TV. Don't involve Pat
in it. Don't waste her time with that.
Speaker 3 (18:52):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
So anyway, Brett, to your questions questions one and two,
I'll answer those ones. First, you think the US will
ever go on digital currency and will cryptocurrencies be used
instead of the week dollar.
Speaker 3 (19:01):
Brett.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
We have to remember, you know, the United States has
in the modern age, already been on a digital money
system of sorts. It's not been institutionalized nationally, but we
do have digital currency. It's called a credit card, it's
called a debit card. We've used that that is a
digitized transaction of money. The first one, I believe, and
this is according to Dan Celia's research in the nineteen fifties,
(19:24):
was the first credit card transaction that was ever used.
I believe it was nineteen fifty six. So we've been
using digitized currency for seventy years. And that is notwithstanding
all the different digital apps that you have, the paypals,
all that sort of stuff. With those things on the rise,
it's only grown in the last decade, especially in that sense.
We've already been on some form of digitized currency and
(19:46):
it's become rather normal for us actually for quite some
time now. Will it go to a full on one
hundred percent digital currency such as a CBDC. We talked
yesterday about the anti CBDC act that is on its way.
It's not past full yet, I believe it's in the
Senate right now, Right off the bat, I'll say this,
(20:07):
I hope not and I don't think it's gonna happen.
Speaker 3 (20:10):
I don't think that we'll go on a one hundred
percent digital currency such as a CBDC.
Speaker 2 (20:14):
I could be wrong about this, but I feel like
this is not something that's going to happen, especially as
we're seeing the steps that the current administration is taking
to prevent that. I don't believe it will happen on
a mass level. Can it happen on smaller levels, certainly.
Can it happen on a mass level, absolutely, But my opinion,
I don't think it will. Maybe that's due to my
(20:34):
specific eschatology based on what I believe the Bible talks
about and Daniel in Revelation. If you want some of
that we talk about, we own a little more depth
about that. You can join us on the Bible study
for that. You can send me a message as well.
Me bearing my whole eschatological worldview to you is not
worth it for our time here on the show. But
I'll say that's maybe part of my answer. I think
another part of it is there. I still do have
(20:56):
confidence in the US dollar. I think it's established worldwide.
It is being weakened, but is still far and away
the dominant currency of the world. Shanna address this a
little bit on Thursday during her in the No segment.
You can listen to that for more and again with
that anti CBDC ruling that we got last week that's
now looking to pass the Upper Chamber, I think all
those things mixed in together, I'm pretty confident that at
(21:17):
least for now, hopefully we won't be seeing some kind
of digital national currency replace the dollar. You've heard me
say before, folks, you've heard Shanna say it as well.
You know, cbdc's or something like that could be very,
very dangerous, and thankfully I think the current administration understands that.
I think enough people understand it as well. There's enough
of a strong distrust in some kind of institutionalized digital currency,
(21:41):
and so I think many people still trust the dollar,
not just in our country but in worldwide as well.
And by the way, that's not necessarily a promotion of
the strength of the dollar. I think it's more just
a comparison of the dollar to these potential digital currencies
that you're asking about.
Speaker 3 (21:54):
Brett.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
The question number three as for how soon this will
take place. Well, really, my answer is based on what
I just said in the last question. You know, I
don't think it's going to be soon, because I don't
think it's going to happen, and I think in some
sense we've already seen again, we've already seen this type
of digital currency take place in our country again the
nineteen fifties, first time a credit card was used, those
cash apps. So the answer for how soon, I don't
(22:17):
think we have to worry about that, Brett. I hope
that this can be helpful for you. You know, folks,
I do know that there's always the question when we
talk about digital currencies and their potential future in our country,
there's always the question of could that become the one
world currency, crypto being the prime target. Listen, there's a
(22:37):
lot of opinions around this question, and again my personal
eschatology would lead me to perhaps come up with an
answer that might surprise you. Again, send me a message
if you want to know more. But let's assume for
just a moment that there will be a one world
currency that leads to a one world government. If you,
as many do, hold to a pre tribulation view of
the end times where you believe that the church will
(22:58):
be raptured before the tribulation, then guess what. If you're
a Christian, You're not going to be around for it.
You're gonna be long gone. You're not gonna have to
worry about that one world government because you'll be in glory.
So I'm confident that if it does happen that way,
believers will be enjoying perfect existence at that time you
want have to worry about it. I hope that can
(23:18):
be of comfort to you, folks. Brett, I don't know
if that was behind your question, but if it was,
I hope you can rest easy about that there, folks.
Up next, we've got Bob Barber joining me on the show.
I'm excited for it.
Speaker 3 (23:29):
I hope you are as well.
Speaker 2 (23:30):
As we look at this biblical worldview of retirement. If
you have to leave us, we hope you have a great,
great rest of the day, and we got more financial
issues coming up right after this for the.
Speaker 3 (23:39):
Rest of you to stick with us.
Speaker 6 (24:02):
Welcome back, folks. Good to be here with you today
on the show. I've got a very special treat for
you here. I've got my friend Bob Barber. Bob's been
on the show with me before, and I'm thrilled to
have him back. Bob is a Christian financial expert.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
He's got more than three decades of experience helping individuals,
businesses invest.
Speaker 3 (24:19):
Well for the glory of God.
Speaker 2 (24:20):
And so today we're going to be exploring the concept
of retirement and how we as believers should approach this topic. Now,
I'm really excited for this, Bob. I'm rather a younger fella,
so I've still got some time before retirement. I know
many of our listeners might be close to or in
retirement age. And so let's just start with the big
picture here, brother, What does the Bible actually say about retirement?
(24:43):
I mean, is retirement even a biblical concept?
Speaker 7 (24:47):
Well, it's got retirement in the Bible one time, it's
got working there over five hundred and fifty times.
Speaker 3 (24:54):
Wow, so wow.
Speaker 7 (24:55):
And the context it's over in numbers in the chap.
Speaker 2 (25:02):
When I say the Old Chapter, it's the Old Testament,
right numbers.
Speaker 7 (25:08):
Yeah, the Old Testament en not funny, the Old Testament.
And it's the numbers in the eighth chapter and it
talks about the chief priests how they should retire at
the age of fifty. But it's not in the perspective
that we would look at it today in the American perspective,
because they share retired at the age of fifty to
mentor and teach the younger priest, so that retirement was
(25:32):
not just checking out, which seems to be what the
American way is.
Speaker 2 (25:38):
You know.
Speaker 7 (25:38):
See, I'm sixty three and a lot of people around
my age are retiring, and I feel like the Lord's
got a lot more years from me. And I've been
battling with this concept myself because financially, I can retire easily,
but it's just what God wants. And when you look
at the Bible, I can't see the biblical reason for
(26:00):
retiring unless you're going to serve God in another way
and you're feeling a calling, and that could be. That
calling could be to be a good grandparent, be there
for your grandkids. It could be to serve in something
like habitat for humanity, serve it your church more so, there,
I'm not retirement can be biblical as far as if
(26:22):
it's not about me, it's about helping others.
Speaker 2 (26:25):
Bob, I'm so glad you said that because it's something
I've thought about as well. Now I'm in a different
life stage, life age than you are in my thirties.
Speaker 3 (26:32):
Young kids, you know, I have what I'm preparing.
Speaker 2 (26:35):
Obviously, the Lord can take me anytime he once, but
I'm preparing to have many more years of working and
kind of building towards that. But I've even thought to myself,
I don't want to stop working. I love work, and
I you know, I do think part of that really
is in our nature that God created us to work.
Speaker 3 (26:51):
I mean, that's a pre fall phenomenon.
Speaker 2 (26:53):
God put Adam in the garden to work it, take
care of it, name the animals, take authority over it.
Speaker 3 (26:58):
And so I think work is a really good thing.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
And you'd mentioned over five hundred times the Bible talks
about work. One time it talks about that idea of retirement,
as you mentioned. So with this emphasis of the Bible
kind of focusing so heavily on work, how should we
as Christians think about stepping away from a career.
Speaker 7 (27:17):
I think we should think of it as stepping out
of one career into another. That would be a calling
of what God has for your life. And like I mentioned,
there's many areas that we can serve God when we retire.
If it's just to go pick up, you know, seashells
on the seashore for the rest of our lives and
(27:38):
play golf every day. And I watched this phenomenon being
played out and our second home on the coast, we're
right on the golf course, and I watch these men
playing golf every single day, and it's become a job
to them. And I watched them when they miss a
shot and throw the club up in the air and
say some pretty profane words, and I'm like, is this
(28:00):
really enjoyment? It's become to them they have they have
that competitive nature in them, and they want to be
doing something that is of significance. Playing golf every day
is not of significance unless you're mentoring. Maybe you're you're
you're taking young men with you, or if you're a
woman taking young ladies and mentoring them on the golf course.
(28:23):
I mean, I could see that where you could be
telling them about Jesus and what he did for them
and how to live that that biblically filled life. But
if it becomes all about me and myself, as we know,
that's that's not a biblical worldview. That becomes a selfish
thing that we want to do. It's just all about selfishness.
Speaker 2 (28:45):
I'm so glad that you mentioned that, brother, and it
seems to me like that might be one of the
cultural sort of influencers into why this idea of get
retired so you can do whatever you want has become
so popular. And so that's really what I kind of
want to ask you next, is when we're talking about
the difference between the biblical view of retirement and later
stages of life versus the secular view, why do you
(29:08):
think it's become so normalized, even perhaps among Christians, that
you retire so you can basically do nothing.
Speaker 7 (29:16):
I think we need to look back at what happened
and when did this retirement become such a thing here
in America. And it really goes back to the Great Depression,
and it was it was when FDR was trying to
get people out of the workplace to make room for
the younger crowd, and along came Social Security. So when
(29:39):
you think about it, this concept of the American retirement
as we look at it has not even been around
a full hundred years, and we've just bought into it,
hook line and sinker that this is what you're supposed
to do. At sixty two, sixty five, maybe even fifty five,
you're supposed to just check out out and now go
(30:02):
be about yourself and and just days that don't really
have a meaning to them. Now, if you if you
have a meaning to life, like I said, during retirement
as an example, I would emphasize that you write down
what are your goals in retirement, and if you're already retired,
what are your goals, what are your spiritual goals? What
(30:26):
does your day look like? What does it look like
from eight to nine, and then you know ten to twelve,
you know, plan plan that out to where you're doing
something Like I say, that's significant, that's productive because some
of the most depressed people in our country are retirees.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
Yeah, that's so, that's that really is fascinating man. Even
as you were talking, the thought came into my mind
of you know, the reminders that we see in scripture
of the warnings against idleness, even how you know, you
look at the life of David, for example, and when
he sinned against Bathsheba and committed adultery with her and
then murdered her husband. His first mistake was not the
adultery or murder. It was idleness. He wasn't doing anything.
(31:11):
He was loafing around the castle. He was supposed to
be off leading the army in war, he was not.
He was at home, not really doing anything that led
to sin so easily we see that. Speak to that
for just a moment, Bob. Some of the dangers when
we see retirement as a time to check out spiritually
or vocationally, and even frankly from a health perspective too,
What would be some of those dangers?
Speaker 7 (31:34):
Well, just exactly what you mentioned. There are physical dangers
if you are not doing things to stay physically fit
and just laying around, as you know, that can be
very dangerous in itself because muscle athrofa cans. Can you
check in and you're not using you're not using your body,
You're not using your mind. And when we're working, we're
(31:57):
always using our body. We're using our mind. I mean,
I know that what I do for a living in
you too, we're constantly thinking, constantly having to read, constantly learning,
and that's what needs to be done during those retirement years.
Come back with a little bit more of what you're
(32:17):
looking in deeper here, because I want to make sure
that we're moving towards that.
Speaker 3 (32:22):
Yeah, right, Bob.
Speaker 2 (32:23):
So what I'm what I'm kind of thinking here is
when you're when you're talking about the the the potential
dangers of retirement, how do we stay on guard against those?
Speaker 3 (32:35):
You know?
Speaker 2 (32:35):
And so you had, you know mentioned kind of that
staying on guard against like idleness and staff.
Speaker 3 (32:39):
How do we stay on guard against them?
Speaker 7 (32:42):
Well, I think the number one way we got to
stay on guard is seeking God and what his will
is for our lives.
Speaker 3 (32:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 7 (32:48):
We we have to wake up each day in scripture
and in prayer, and we need to be walking in prayer.
I'm a big prayer walker, and I don't know, some
people may not know what that means, but I actually
cry throughout the day. I don't have to be in
just a closet to pray, but I can be praying
and seeking God's will throughout the day and everything that
(33:10):
I do. When I'm driving, when I'm having my breakfast,
when I'm working outside, you can constantly be in tune.
And I call it spiritual breathing. And I remember this
back from my days when I became a Christian and
went to a campus crusade Bible study about spiritual breathing
and allowing the Holy Spirit to constantly speak with to
(33:32):
you and what he wants you to do with every
single moment of the day that we're alive and when
we're retired, we're still alive. But be careful because if
you're not in tune with that, you can start becoming
Instead of being outwardly focused, you start becoming emerardly focused.
(33:53):
And that's the big emphasis I see that we try
to teach here at Christian Financial Advisers, in you my
podcast Christian Financial Perspectives, we try to teach it's not
about you, but it's about helping others, just about giving,
give it away and it's years forever.
Speaker 2 (34:12):
Bob, such a cool perspective of how to look at retirement.
You know, again, so many people see this as this
is my time. I earned this, or even even with
like Social Security, I paid into this, so now it's mine.
That perspective you just mentioned is so countercultural. But this
is a time for people to be able to say,
how can I give back? How can I make the
most of these years? I mean, you have so much
(34:34):
freedom there, So, Bob, I'd like to hold you over
for just a moment here, brother, because I have a
question coming back on the other side of the break that.
Speaker 3 (34:40):
I'm really jones and to get to.
Speaker 2 (34:42):
My guess is we might have some listeners who are
wondering this as well, because we have rightly pointed out
some of the dangers and negative things about retirement. So
the question then becomes should we seek to retire at all?
And I'm going to hold our listeners on that hook
there because we have a break coming up here, so
we'll get back to that in just a moment there, Bob.
I've got Bob Barber with me today, folks, once again,
(35:04):
so excited to get to have him on here his expertise.
We'll be right back with more financial issues after this break.
Speaker 3 (35:08):
Don't go anywhere last join.
Speaker 4 (35:29):
The opinions and recommendations expressed on this program do not
necessarily represent the opinions of the station or any of
the program sponsors. Additionally, all products or services offered by
the program sponsors may not be known by the program folks.
Speaker 2 (35:46):
It's a pleasure to have my friend Bob Barber on
with me to share his perspective on retirement and retiring. Well, Bob,
I just appreciate you so much, brother, and the wisdom
that you give as well really is a blessing.
Speaker 3 (35:59):
Now let me ask you this question here.
Speaker 2 (36:00):
Brother, we have spoken thus far, and I think an
appropriate warning kind of tone when we're talking about not
wasting the retirement years, not being idle, not just shooting
for I'm just going to go and play golf every
day and collect seashells on the beach. The question then
has to be asked, is retirement even a good thing
at all? Should we not be ascribing to get to
(36:23):
save for retirement, should we just plan to work?
Speaker 3 (36:25):
How would you address that?
Speaker 7 (36:28):
I would address that. That's a really good question, Seth No.
I think retirement is fine. I am not going to
put down anyone that wants to retire, and I think
retirement is a great time. You know, I think about
myself and you know, I spend a lot of time
with my wife, and during those retirement years, a man
(36:51):
can especially give back the years that were lost working
back to his wife. And I know that a lot
of our clients they ought to just I'm not going
to mention the cruise line, but there's one major cruise
line that they sure do support and they go on
a lot of European cruises and spend that time with
(37:11):
their wives. And I think that is good that we
give back those years that might have been lost to
our spouse. Also those years that that might have been
lost working so much, that could have taken away from
our children. Now we have that second chance. And that's
that's why many of us that are grandparents, as myself,
will say, you know, if I'd have known that it
(37:32):
was going to be this great, I'd have been a
grandfather first, because you have those that you have the
time there to spend with your your grandchildren. And I mean,
right after we get done today, I'm going to go
spend the afternoon with my grandson being at the summer
as we're making this because he needs he needs that
(37:55):
and I want to give that to him. And Uh,
in my workplace where I am, they've they've given me
the opportunity to spend those hours doing that. Is that answer, absolutely, Bob.
Speaker 3 (38:07):
I appreciate that so much.
Speaker 2 (38:08):
I felt that that tension that you just mentioned. As
as a man, I'm the sole breadwinner of my house
as well, and so my wife makes the bigger sacrifice.
She's home with the kids, and I'm so thankful for
her doing that. Of course I'm making a sacrifice as well,
being away from them, but that's also a choice that
I'm making and doing what God has called me to do.
(38:29):
What a great thing for me to think about that
those retirement years can be. And once again it goes
back to what you said in the last segment, purposeful,
God glorifying.
Speaker 3 (38:38):
It doesn't have to be evil. You can make the
most of those retirement years. I love that you said.
Speaker 2 (38:42):
That's really good, So Bob, you had you had shared
with me during that last break that you have several
sort of tips and tricks and kind of helpful things,
five five different things that we should be thinking about
as we're nearing that retirement age and thinking through this.
Speaker 3 (38:56):
Can you share with our listeners what those are well.
Speaker 7 (38:59):
For your listen can get a quick pencil out and
a piece of paper or their phones to start taking
notes or even just record it. I want you to
write down exactly why do you want to retire, and
write down all those different reasons that may be three
different that may be five different reasons. I know that
working with a lot of retirees, they just get tired,
(39:21):
and you know, as we get into our sixties, especially
the health starts to break down, and that may be
one of the reasons they want to retire is health reasons.
The second thing that you need to write down is
what will be your purpose in retirement with the emphasis
on purpose or what is it now if you're already retired,
(39:43):
So these questions can go those that are thinking about
retirement and those that are already retired. That third question
will be what will your days look like? And come
up with the schedule that you're going to look at.
I mean, I know that you've had that schedule for
maybe forty years in the workplace, but we need a schedule,
(40:06):
and I believe that it's about productivity and God wants
us to be productive. Like I said in the first segment,
work appears in the Bible over five hundred and fifty
times where retire peers one time and God said, you know,
before the fall, work the garden. Number four, write down
(40:26):
how will you serve others? Or if you're retired, how
are you serving others right now? If you're not serving anyone,
I think you need to And I know as a
man and I got a lot of construction background, habitat
for humanity is one of my favorite ways to serve.
I've got clients. That one that's over and goes to
(40:48):
a small church in a little country town in the
hill country here in Texas. And he does everything at
the church. He mows, he fixes the electrical if it
needs something fixing, he does painting. That's how he has
spent his retirement years. And number five is retirement going
to be all about your agenda? Or is it about
(41:10):
your agenda? Now, if you're already retired and think, you know,
push that away, try not to make it all about you, because,
as you know, Christ came and taught us to serve others,
not to be all about ourselves.
Speaker 3 (41:26):
Love that, Bob.
Speaker 2 (41:26):
So let me just read these back to you so
I know in our audience members as well. So write
down why I'm retiring, the purpose of it, Write down
what the purpose will be, Write down what your days
will look like, kind of like a schedule. Write down
how you'll serve others in retirement. And then ultimately, is
retirement all about your agenda? Or really is it about
God's agenda?
Speaker 7 (41:48):
That's right?
Speaker 3 (41:48):
Yeah, absolutely, why I perfectly.
Speaker 7 (41:50):
Said you took good notes there. You might I don't
know if you were writing that, but you came back.
Speaker 3 (41:54):
I willful.
Speaker 2 (41:54):
You know, I try to listen. I try to listen
to my elders. Brother, so thank thank you so much.
And by the way, we'll try to get to that
if we have time here. But before we get to that,
let me ask you this, Bob, As someone I know,
I have felt this way before, and I'm sure many
men especially feel this. We love our careers, we love
what we do. We love providing, we love working, we
love making money. How would you encourage someone who has
(42:16):
retired or is nearing retirement and they're feeling a little
bit sad, maybe discouraged because they feel like they're losing
their purpose when their career ends.
Speaker 7 (42:26):
But I think they needed to get with some other
Christian brothers or sisters and they need to pray about this,
go to God's word. And if they are feeling depressed,
because you know, like I said, some of the most
oppressed people out there are retirees, they made need to
get some godly counsel to help them, I mean professional
godly counsel. I would emphasize that, you know, retirees even
(42:51):
have a suicide rate, and you know, you think about
that and that's sad to hear, because it can be
such a wonderful time, you know, Seth. We serve the
Christian marketplace, so those that we do, they have a
wonderful retirement. And I see very few where it becomes
all about themselves. But I know that one that works
(43:15):
for us, that worked at a secular firm before he
came here, he told me how miserable some of them were,
and I just you've got to be in prayer, You've
got to seek God's will. You need to be with
other Christian brothers and sisters, and get involved in your church.
If you're not, get involved in other ministries, mentor others.
There's so many things you can do with this time
(43:37):
now that you have it, instead of just being focused
on one thing, which was just that workplace where you
were great words.
Speaker 3 (43:45):
Brother.
Speaker 2 (43:46):
Now we've spent a majority of our time, as I
think was well worth it, speaking to folks nearing retirement
or in retirement age.
Speaker 3 (43:52):
What about folks like me? What about folks with.
Speaker 2 (43:54):
Twenty thirty, maybe forty years left in the workforce in
their twenties and thirties, How would you, as an older
see brother, encourage a younger, perhaps less mature brother like
myself to think well about retirement, but even now to
start putting into practice some of those things that will
need to do when we hit that retirement age.
Speaker 7 (44:13):
Well, I will speak to the financial issue to that.
And you know, to be retired and not be stressed
out about it, you've got to have enough that you've
you've saved during all those years before retirement. And wealth
is obtained by ninety nine percent of us slowly systematically
(44:34):
over time. It's not a get rich quick scheme that happens.
Sudden wealth happens to very few people. Maybe you've got
an all strike or you struck a lottery, but I mean,
I've never bought a lottery ticket, so I'll never get one.
Speaker 3 (44:45):
Of those, right.
Speaker 7 (44:48):
And look have if you don't have a mentor in
your life, an older person, man or woman that you
and as a woman, I would emphasize you for an
older woman that's a woman or a man. I had
when I was in my twenties and thirties, I had
an older gentleman that really mentored me. He stepped out
(45:10):
into my life, got me involved in Bible study fellowship.
I had another one that got me involved in the Gideons,
and I remember those men mentoring me to, you know,
to move forward and how to build for those future years.
So pick out those that have done it well and
(45:32):
copy them, you know, mentor they'll mentor you and do
what they've done. To be successful, We've got to follow
successful people, Bob.
Speaker 2 (45:42):
I appreciate your wisdom and insights so much, brother. As
just kind of a final quick word here, Bob, give
us an example of someone who retired well. And this
can be a real person or maybe someone who is
just kind of like an ideal here. But someone who's retired, well,
what are they doing.
Speaker 7 (46:00):
Well. I know one of them that's working for Habitat Humanity.
I know the other one's very involved in Gideons. I
mentioned that that other person, they're very involved in their church.
Oh yeah, one that's a good friend of mine. Their
churches has the big spanishing project going right now, and
he's got a lot of construction experience and he is
(46:20):
helping rebuild I mean, the new sanctuary that they're building.
Those are some examples.
Speaker 3 (46:26):
Awesome, Bob. I appreciate you so much. Brother.
Speaker 2 (46:29):
I'm sad that our time's coming in here, but I
look forward to the next time we get to have
you on. Thank you for sharing your wisdom and insight
with us, brother, and I do hope that it encouraged
all of you folks, whether you're in the retirement age,
whether you're far from it, whether you're approaching it, to
think well about this time to be used purposefully for
the glory of God. It's a great, great time of
life and can be stewarded well. And speaking of which, folks,
(46:50):
that's why we're here to help you steward everything that
you have well for the glory of God. Remember it's
all his. Let's be found good and faithful stewart's with
all of it. God bless you all, and we'll see
you next time. It's more financial than next life.
Speaker 5 (47:07):
If we ever forget that we're one nation under God,
then we will be a nation gone.
Speaker 1 (47:12):
Under Thank you for joining us. This has been an
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