S1 Ep4 Foundations of Faithful Finance

In the fourth episode of Season 1 of ‘Where Your Treasure Is...’, Simon and Bex consider the key topic of Foundations of Faithful Finance, first of all from an individual point of view, and then by looking at five foundations that everyone can use when managing their finances.

Key points that are covered in this episode include the following:

• In response to a question from Bex, Simon identifies three elements that are at the heart of his endeavours to be faithful to God in the way that he deals with his finances: faith, family and philanthropy. [00:53]

• He goes on to explain what he means by ‘philanthropy’. [01:36] (NB Despite describing his core values as the three ‘F’s, Simon does know how to spell ‘philanthropy’. 😉)

• Simon observes that while the composition of the foundations of faithful finance are likely to differ from person to person, the faith aspect – our relationship with God – should always come first. He uses the following Bible verses to illustrate that point: “To obey is better than sacrifice” 1 Samuel 15.22; “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices – mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law – justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practised the latter, without neglecting the former.” Matthew 23.23 [03:16]

• Simon provides thoughts on the relationship between faith and finance, which can be very challenging in this day and age when money is given such prominence. [07:06]

• Simon goes on to speak about the challenge of giving family its rightful place as one of his priorities when it can be so easy to persuade yourself that establishing financial security for your family is the best way of achieving that goal. [08:20]

• It is acknowledged that not everyone will have philanthropy as one of their personal, faith-related, financial priorities, with Simon explaining that he regards it as a specific and particular ‘gift’ entrusted to him by God, along the lines outlined in Roman 12.6-8: “We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.” [10:55]

• Simon lists five foundations of faithful finance that are applicable to everyone and will be explored in future episodes: Budgeting [14:08]; An Emergency Fund [15:48]; Compound Interest [16:47]; Protection [18:33]; Pensions [20:20]

• Four more topics will be covered during this first season: Giving; Negative Money; Life Stages in Financial Planning; and Investment Strategy. These themes will also be developed in future episodes, with Season 2 concentrating on the Life Stages strand. [22:34]

• The priority, however, continues to be to provide content that is genuinely useful to our listeners, so please contact us at whereyourtreasureis@freerangepodcasting.co.uk with any feedback, requests, queries or suggestions. [24:00]

• You are warmly invited to join us for the next episode of ‘Where Your Treasure Is...’, which will focus on Giving. [25:26]