What are some of the most popular misconceptions of money in scripture?

Ralph
00:00:00

Have you ever heard someone say money is the root of all evil and wondered if that's really what the Bible teaches? Or maybe you've been told that God wants all Christians to be poor.

Well, today I'm going to expose 11 dangerous misconceptions about money in scripture that might be holding you back from achieving the financial freedom God desires for you. Stay with me as explore what the Bible really says about money, wealth and stewardship. It's going to be a very eye opening episode today.

Narrator
00:00:32

Welcome to the Ask Ralph Podcast where listening to an experienced financial professional with over 30 years of experience can help you make sense of confusing questions, current headlines and industry trends about taxes, small business, financial decision making, investment strategies, and even the art of proper budgeting. Ask Ralph makes the complex simple by sharing his real world knowledge from a Christian perspective with all things financial.

Now here's your Host, Ralph Estep Jr.

Ralph
00:01:01

Well, thank you for joining me on this financial journey and more importantly, this journey of faith. It's a beautiful Sunday, and I appreciate you and I appreciate your time, and I also appreciate the dedication you have to the show. Now yesterday, if you missed it, I covered social security myths, and I had some really critical information. For those of you who are looking to maximize your social security benefits. And debunked some of the myths out there. So if you missed it, I'm going to encourage you to check it out.

Now today's message comes from Sally, and she tells me she's from Oklahoma and this would Sally wrote. She said, "Dear Ralph, I'm struggling with guilt about wanting to build wealth. My small business is doing well, but some people in my church suggest that pursuing financial success just isn't spiritual. They keep quoting verses about rich people and camels going through needle's eyes. I'm confused about what the Bible really teaches about money. Can you help?"

Oh, Sally. Yes, I can help and that is a superb question. It's something that many of us deal with. Some of us on a daily basis. And I've got some answers right from scripture. So Sally, my goal today is to give you some peace of mind. Now listen, if you've got a question just like Sally, remember, each Tuesday evening, I go live on the Ask Ralph show at 7:00 PM
Eastern time. I answer your questions live right there. You can ask them right in the chat and here's the best part of all. Each Tuesday evening, I'm going to give away a hundred-dollar Amazon gift card. That's right. Just by attending that live event every Tuesday, you'll be entered into a hundred dollars Amazon gift card drawing. So join me at askralphpodcast.com/live. Again, that's askralphpodcast.com/live and tell all your friends and maybe they'll win a hundred dollars.

You know Sally, your question made me think of this Bible verse and I thought it was perfect for today's discussion. And it comes to us from 1 Timothy chapter 6, verses 17 through 19. And this is what it says. It says, "Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and be generous and willing to share." You know what a beautiful word from scripture, and it really helps ground us in our discussion for today.

Now I'm fixing to get real personal today. I'm going to share with you my own personal transition and I'm talking to you about how my perspective change. It's how I, how I now view biblical wealth. I can still remember, 10 years ago, I'm sitting in church. I was feeling guilty about my business success. And maybe Sally, does this sound like you? I mean, I've thought about God has truly blessed me. In fact he still has. I wasn't wanting for much.

I was driving a new car, had a beautiful home here on the farm. Great wife and kids. But I still had this paralyzing guilt. And when I think about it now, it was impacting my financial decisions. It was limiting my ability to serve others and it was during this time that I finally discovered why I thought the way I thought. I thought about these 11 misconceptions. And what it was, these things were clouding my understanding. So let me break them down for you.

And these are things we all hear. Number one, "money is the root of all evil." I don't know how many times I've heard that. We started today with talking about that. Let me tell you about my client, Mike. Now, Mike was a very skilled carpenter, I guess, a lot like Jesus. And Mike refuse to grow his business.

He told me, he said, Ralph, I've always heard that making more money is evil. We sat down and we looked at 1 Timothy 6:10, and it says this, says, "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs."

Now we could have stopped there. We could have said, you know what? You're right. Money is the root of all evil, do what you need to do, but don't grow your business. Yeah. I mean, that's what the scripture says, right? But I thought about it for a second. And I said, you know what? I reminded him that he could use his money to support others. And that's exactly what he did.

Guess what? Now he supports three homeless shelters. And he does this not only with money, but as a carpenter, he does it with his skills. And also, he now employs 15 people. He's grown his business, and he uses that profit to fund a youth ministry. See, he's using money for building God's kingdom. So I guess we've flipped the script on that saying. Well, let's look at number two and this one's another one

I hear all the time. And that's "God wants Christians to be poor." So let me tell you about my client Sally. Same name as you, but a different person.

And she struggled this one for years. And in Sally's case, she had inherited her father's hardware store. He was a hardworking guy. She had worked there herself. She worked hard for him as a kid to a teenager and she always felt guilty about her success. You know, when she inherited this store. She had helped her father grow the business.

Like I said, she worked hard as a kid and a teenager in his store. Her life kind of revolved around this store. And she came to me one day and she says, Ralph, I just feel so guilty about this. And I told her about how my wife and I use our financial success to help others. So what did Sally do? She flipped the script as well.

She now runs one of the most successful stores in the area, which is good, but more importantly, Sally uses her money to fund mission trips for youth entrepreneurs. That's what, it became her mission field. She was successful in her business and she turned it around and is using it for God's glory. And I always say that many times God gives you the blessing for the sole purpose of helping others, because here's the truth. You're never going to help others until you manage your own finances well. And that's why I do this show. So well done, Sally. Let's look at number three. It says this, "giving to God means I'll become poor." Well just last month, this was an amazing sit down. I sat with a couple, and they told me, Ralph, we're living paycheck to paycheck. And I looked through their budget and I said, one of the things I notice here is you don't tithe. And he said, Ralph dude, you're crazy.

We're struggling as it is. How can we even consider giving something we don't have. Well I sat down. I worked together with them. I created what I called a stewardship plan, kind of like a budget, but more about stewardship. I walked them through some biblical principles. And guess what? This is a, this is the truth. In just six months, they had started tithing consistently. It wasn't a lot at first. They started with a little bit and that's fine.

It's all about growing that consistency and growing that habit. But here's the truly remarkable part. In six months, they had paid off $5,000 in credit card debt. Now you're asking me, Ralph, wait a minute. You're telling me they were living paycheck to paycheck. How did they make this happen? I'm going to tell you right now at the end of the show, I'm going to share with you how to get a free gift of God.

And that's how to break free of that bondage of living paycheck to paycheck. So make sure you listen, cause I'm going to tell you about how to get that in the end. But the simple truth here was that tithing made them become more intentional in their spending. It put their finances in the right perspective.

And in the end, they're not living paycheck to paycheck anymore. So I'm going to ask you, can I get a praise God for that? Well, think about that. They came to me living paycheck to paycheck. They weren't tithing. We talked about this stewardship plan. They started tithing. And again, it wasn't a lot at first. And then they paid off $5,000 in credit card debt.

Again, I praise God for that one. Let's look at number four. "If I'm spiritual enough, God will just provide everything." And listen, this one hits close to home for me. Because it reminds me of my own failures. I think probably my biggest business mistake was not really planning for the 2008 recession.

I was living high on the Hawk. And I guess at the time, I kind of figured, well, you know, you're a good guy. You go to church on Sunday. You treat people fairly. I figured God would provide and he would do it alone. Well, I wasn't ready for 2008, and it was tough. We had to downsize. We had a lot of changes in our lives. And I've really struggled because clients were closing their businesses, which meant they weren't coming to me anymore. But what it did was it made me learn more about God's provision. And it became truly a cornerstone of how I work with clients. Because now I know to help them develop a strategic plan. A plan that balances their financial stewardship while also relying on their faith. Think about the story of Joseph from the Bible. He developed his seven-year plan. This is from Genesis chapter 41 verses 56 to 57.

I want to share this. "So when the famine had spread over all the land, Joseph opened up all the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. Moreover, all the earth came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was severe over all the earth." So you can learn and you can look at Joseph's seven-year plan. And use that to your benefit.

And I do it. I share with clients all the time. Well, let's look at number five. And that one is simple "Making profit is somehow unholy." Well, let me tell you about my friend James. Now James owns his local coffee shop. I'm not a coffee drinker but some of the sweets he has in there make me yeah, I shouldn't be eating them because I'm a type two diabetic, but they are fantastic. And I remember James came to me soon after he became a client. And he said, Ralph man, I am doing really well.

In fact, last year I made a hundred thousand dollars profit. He said, but Ralph, I know you're a Christian Guy. I see your Bibles out in your lobby. I see your cross there. But dude, I feel guilty about this. And that's when I say, I say to him, I said, James look, you work hard. That's a good thing. And if you're feeling guilty about it, let's flip the script.

Let's change that dynamic somehow. So we created together what I call kingdom profit plan. We sat down, we put pencil to paper, and this plan we developed a way for him to pay fair wages to his staff. Not that he wasn't, but he really focused on that. He focused on sourcing materials ethically. We can get into a whole discussion about that, but that's not for today. Another big thing that he started doing was he was sharing his faith to customers.

I said, dude, I put Bibles out in my lobby. Why don't you put them in a coffee shop? And guess what? Now he maintains healthy profits. But he also is able to support several local ministries. And here's the honest to God truth. Without his profit, he would not be able to do any of it. So amen to him. He's taking what God is giving him to steward and he's making it grow for the kingdom. Well, let's look at number six. And that's "financial planning shows a lack of faith." And I hear this one all the time too.

Like Ralph, just have faith. Everything will work out. I got a friend Marie. She thought that. She said, Ralph, I'm not going to worry about saving for retirement. I'm trusting in God. And I was concerned for her future. She would come in and get her taxes done every year and I'd look at her W2. She wasn't putting any money away for her retirement.

I would say to her, listen, Marie, you got to start thinking about doing something with this. You got to start thinking about planning for the future. Now she was young, so she had time. I shared with her some biblical examples. I told her about that story of Joseph and that seven-year plan for the famine. I also talked to her about the Proverbs 31 woman.

I'm going to encourage you to check that out. That's your homework for today. Ralph's giving you a homework. Go read Proverbs 31. It talks about a woman there. And when I shared that with her, all of a sudden Marie said, Ralph, that makes sense. And she changed the way she thought about. Now she's more faithful.

She's more financial secure. And guess what? Even in the midst of all that, she's putting money, like 15% away for retirement every year. But bigger than that, she comes to me. She goes Ralph, it's given me the focus on being more charitable. Well, that was amazing. Let's look at number seven. And that is "debt is always sinful." That's what it says.

Debt is always sinful. I've heard this time and time again as well. So I got this client. His name's David, he's got a food truck. And let me tell you, his food is amazing. Right now, as I'm recording this, it's making me hungry. It's getting close to lunch and I'm thinking I got to go get some food from his food truck. But guess what?

David needed equipment financing. He needed a new truck. He wanted to add another truck. He wanted better equipment. And he came to me with a concern. He said, Ralph, I'm paralyzed with fear over taking on debt. But I sat with him. I showed him how he could use wise borrowing and still fulfill his biblical obligations. So what'd he do? Well he took on that debt.

Now he employs six people on two trucks. Which is big, but more importantly, guess what he does? He serves free meals to the homeless every Sunday afternoon. And here's the deal. Here's the truth. Without that debt, he would've never been able to do this. So that what he thought was debt was bad, became debt was good. Let's look at number eight. I hear this one time and time again. In fact, I just had a meeting with my pastor.

We are going to our financials for the church, and we talked about this. And this one says "rich people can't be good Christians." And like I said, I've heard this way too many times. So I read about this real estate investor. Think about this guy, this guy is super successful, owns a ton of real estate which okay, great. He's by the word standards, he's doing great secular. He ain't got money in the bank and all this kind of stuff, but then I read a little further into it. And this guy only lives on 10% of his income. And I thought, okay, he's probably got a huge income, but here's the bigger part. The other 90%, he uses it to build affordable housing. He does that for single mothers, he supports missionaries, and this guy provides scholarships for Christian education. So that 90% of his income, his wealth is a powerful tool.

He's using it for kingdom work. He's using his talents and his money in balance. So no. Rich people can be good Christians. It's all about your decisions. Let's look at number nine. This one, I'm going to tell you if I hear this one again in church, I'm going to snap. I've heard this from so many people, "money discussions don't belong in church." And listen.

If I had a loud buzzer that would annoy people listening to the show, I would hit it. This is a ridiculously false statement. In fact I remember, 15 years ago I was going to a church, my wife and I and the kids and we had pastor Bill. And he would, he didn't like the word pastor. He liked to just be called Bill. I remember one day he said, Ralph, do you think you could do a stewardship series for the church?

And I said, Bill, I'd love to do it. I feel like that's a calling I have. So we set it up on Sunday nights is our Sunday night financial stewardship. And let me tell you, when I first started it, there was a few people attended, but week by week, it just grew. I used money parables. I taught biblical truths. In many ways, it was kind of a prep for the show.

A lot of the things I talked about back then, I'm talking about now on the show. And the income was together, we led 50 families to become debt-free. And at the same time, they grew in their faith. And look, it wasn't about me. I'm not taking credit for that. God used me. The holy spirit used me as a vessel. And I did it in church.

So I'm going to diffuse this ridiculous statement that money discussions don't belong in church. That's where they do belong. What you have is not yours. It's a gift from God and you better learn how to financially steward it if you want to be successful. Which goes along with number 10 and that is "poverty equals holiness." Think about that for a second. How does that hit you?

Poverty equals holiness. So what they're saying is you got to be poor to be holy. Let me tell you about another client I had. I got a lot of clients you can tell. I mean, these are true stories. This is the honest to God truth. These are stories that I deal with people every day. I had this talented graphic designer. I mean she was fantastic. She was more creative than I'll ever be. I'm not a creative guy. This girl was creative. But what the problem was she thought she had to undercharge her client. She thought making money was unholy. She came to me one day. She said, Ralph, I can't charge that. I can't do this.

I said, well, you're not making enough money to even meet your obligations. You're not growing your business. So I showed her some biblical principles. We discussed fair compensation. When in the end, she runs a more successful agency, which sounds like the best part. But that's not even the best part.

The best part is now she provides free services to nonprofits. See, so she grew her practice. She grew her agency. And now she can give back. See, that's the blessing of that growth. And let's look at number 11. That's our final one for today. And this one says simply "financial success means God's blessing." And people get hung up on this one.

They get turned upside down on this one. It makes them doubt themselves. I got a friend named Robert. And Robert's business was struggling and dude, he's a faithful guy, very devoted. He's at church Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night. I think he goes sometimes during the week as well. And he said to me, one day he confided in me right after church one Sunday morning. He said, Ralph, I just don't understand why God isn't blessing me. I'm doing all the right things.

And I got to be honest with you when he said it to me, I was discouraged. That was a tough question. So I thought about it and I went back to him in a couple of weeks and I said, I share with him some of, some very simple truth that I found. I prayed about and God laid this on my heart. He said, he said to me, tell him this.

He said, God's blessings aren't always financial Ralph. So I sent it to him. I said, you know, some challenges lead to growth. But they're not always financial. You may have to go through tough times to get to where God wants you to be. And I'm happy to say that today his business has grown stronger. But most important, bigger than any of that, his faith has deepened. Why? Because of the struggle. His path wasn't easy. But the results are amazing.

So you might be asking Ralph, what do these stories demonstrate? I'm going to tell you what I think they demonstrate. They demonstrate how understanding biblical truth about money can transform our financial and our spiritual lives. This is the core of the Ask Ralph show. It's my why. Because remember, in the end, we're all called to be good stewards of whatever God provides. Whether that be a little or much. I'm going to share a few key takeaways in a moment. But I'd like to share a free gift with you today.

I mentioned this earlier. Are you tired of feeling like you're running on a financial treadmill, never quite reaching your goals? Imagine a life where your paycheck isn't spent before it even arrives, where you're not constantly putting out financial fires, and when you're finally able to break free from the chains of monetary stress. If you're among the countless individuals living paycheck to paycheck, struggling to make ends meet, and feeling like you're taking three steps forward only to be pushed four step back, guess what
my friends, there's hope. My list of seven biblical principles offers a fresh perspective on managing your finances, providing a roadmap to escape the cycle of financial bondage, and pave the way to true financial freedom. In this free gift, I will tell you how I discovered ancient wisdom that can revolutionize your modern-day struggles and set you on a path to prosperity. And it's absolutely free.

All you got to do is go to askralphpodcast.com/escape. Again, it's askralphpodcast.com/escape. I'll also put a link in the show notes. It's an opportunity for you to get this gift, to really look at seven biblical principles to help you break free of that living to paycheck, paycheck bondage. From my years of counseling, I've noticed these misconceptions we talked about. They create specific financial roadblocks.

Here's what I mean. One of the big ones is money paralysis. Many Christians become paralyzed in their financial discussions and their decisions because they misunderstand biblical teaching about money. Just like in our first story about Mike the carpenter. This paralysis often prevents good stewardship of the resources God has provided. But when we understand that money is a tool for kingdom work, it is a tool, just like they uses the hammers and the nails and the saws and the levels for his work, this money is a tool. It transforms how we make business and investment decisions. Another big one is strategic planning. The Bible actually encourages strategic financial planning, contrary to what many people believe. Think about it, the Proverbs 31 woman. She bought fields, planted vineyards engaged in commerce. And this teaches us that planning and profit making can be godly activities when they're aligned with biblical principles. Another big one is investment decisions.

I've seen countless clients struggle with investment decisions because they believe investing shows a lack of faith. It can't be further from the truth, but proper stewardship often requires wise investment and resources. And this connects directly to Jesus's parable the talents where the master praised those who invested and multiplied their resources. It affects business growth.

Many Christian owners limit their growth potential because they misunderstand biblical teaching about wealth. I've done many shows on this, but when we realized that business growth can create jobs, It can support ministries and it can help you serve communities, it will change your entire approach to business decisions. Let's talk about risk management. We're hitting all of them today. Biblical wisdom actually encourages proper risk management. Think about Joseph, he stored grain for seven years. We should maintain emergency funds and insurance, just like Joseph, not the same as him.

We're not saving grain, but having that emergency fund, have that insurance. And listen, this isn't showing lack of faith. It's showing wisdom in stewardship. See, the key is understanding that financial decisions should align with both sound financial principles and biblical values. This is what I call a purpose driven prosperity. Where our financial choices serve both practical needs and kingdom purposes. Remember, every financial decision you make can either enhance or it can hinder your ability to serve God and others. That's why understanding these biblical truths about money is so crucial for making wise financial choices. I hope you're hearing me today.

I hope you're thinking about these things. You're ruminating on these things that people say all the time and we kind of echo them. We believe them to our core because we've heard them for so long, but let's debunk those myths. Well, let's pray together. "Heavenly father, we thank You for the wisdom about stewardship and finances. Thank You for showing us that money itself is neutral. It's how we use it that matters. Help us to break free from misconceptions that have held us back from being good stewards of our resources You've entrusted to us. Lord, give us wisdom like Joseph to plan wisely, courage like the Proverbs 31 woman to make sound investments, and hearts like the faithful servants in the parable of the talents who multiplied what they were given. Help us remember that every resource we have comes from You and is meant to be used for Your glory. Guide us to be generous givers, guide us to be wise stewards, and guide us to be faithful managers of whatever You provide, whether that's a little or much. Help us use our financial blessings to serve others and advance Your kingdom. Let our prosperity be purpose-driven, always aligned with Your will and values. I pray for everyone listening today who might be struggling with this guilt about money or confused about biblical teachings on wealth. Lord, grant them clarity, grant them peace, and most importantly, grant them confidence as they seek to honor You with their finances. I asked this in the blessed name of Jesus. Amen. Now tomorrow, we're going to talk about something equally important and it's how to build a death binder and what to include in it.

Now this is crucial information for protecting your family's future, so you don't want to miss it. Now remember, I went a little long today, but it's Sunday. So hopefully you'll give me a little bit of grace. My passion is to help you achieve financial success. I want to see you live out your dreams. I want to see you grow in your faith because I know working together, we can master your finances from that Christian perspective. So as I always end the show, stay financially savvy out there, and may God bless you abundantly.

Narrator
00:26:23

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