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Christian financial principles are rooted in God's Word

SMI helps “prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature...” (Ephesians 4:12-13).

We focus on teaching Christians how to set and implement financial priorities that are honoring toward God. Therefore, our teaching begins with the principle that the things most worth knowing are rooted in God’s Word:

• “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). It’s worth knowing that we should look primarily to God’s wisdom, not the conventional wisdom, for principles to guide our decision-making. The principles God has given us are practical and personally relevant.
• “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2). It’s worth knowing that we must each accept personal responsibility for making knowledgeable, biblically-consistent financial decisions. We cannot look to others to make the tough choices for us.
• “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is a servant to the lender” (Proverbs 22:7). It’s worth knowing that debt is enslaving and that we should avoid it as much as possible.
• “In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has” (Proverbs 21:20). It’s worth knowing that maintaining a proper balance
  between current spending and long-term saving is a sign of wisdom.
• “The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty” (Proverbs 21:5). It’s worth knowing that we should consistently invest from a carefully considered strategy rather than impulsively on a case by case basis.
• “Divide your portion to seven, or even to eight, for you do not know what misfortune may occur on the earth” (Ecclesiastes 11:2). It’s worth knowing that we should rely on diversification—rather than a preoccupation with market cycles—as a means of controlling risk and protecting our capital.
• “Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint” (Proverbs 23:4). It’s worth knowing that we must be on guard against greed and spending our energies in a futile attempt to get the highest possible returns.

As Christians, it’s a constant challenge to stay faithful to the financial principles found in God’s word and not allow ourselves to be swayed by worldly wisdom.

God has given us protective principles to help make day-to-day financial decisions. By following these principles consistently, you and I can have confidence that, whatever the short-term sacrifices may be, we are making wise spending, saving, and investing choices. That frees us to leave the results with God, knowing that “Godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Timothy 6:6).

7 Key Principles for Christian Investing

IRAs, 401(k)s and Social Security: A Retirement Planning Primer

Gold as an Investment: Will Precious Metals Continue To Shine?

Inflation History: The Rise and Fall of the U.S. Dollar

Posted by Austin at 10:46 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Category(s): Christian Interest, Family Finances, Giving and Stewardship, Investing Principles
Tag(s): Christian interest, giving and stewardship, investing principles

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The #1, best, top, absolute greatest financial decision we've ever made

In August, I did a post entitled The #1, best, top, absolute greatest spending decision we ever made. Many of you, I came to find out, had made the same sort of decision and felt it to be one of your best as well.

This week, I want to present you with the #1, best, top, absolute greatest financial decision we've ever made. I'm not confining the topic to spending, saving, investing, or what have you. This is bigger than that as it encompasses all things money.

I married my lovely bride in October, 1999. Two weeks after we got married, I learned that the corporate wellness center I was working for was shutting down at the end of the year. To top it off, my boss already knew this, knew I was getting married and becoming a step-parent, and he didn't have the common courtesy to warn me so that I could start looking elsewhere. My wife had a decent job in an operations department of a trust company, but we had a great deal of consumer debt, so money would be especially tight on one income.

A year later, I had taken my experience in the fitness industry and had launched a career as a personal fitness trainer. But it takes time to build a substantial client base. So I was doing odd jobs to help make ends meet. Furthermore, we were still adjusting to married life, let alone the intricacies of being a blended family. I had some upsetting events with a few of my personal training clients. Money was scarce, in spite of all our cost-cutting efforts, debt-snowballing, and frugal living. Truth of it was, not much was going right. It certainly was not the life Kim and I had dreamed of. But it wasn't just the growing pains of a new marriage…it was much deeper than that. It was a low-point in my life…and I believe I was being attacked spiritually like never before.

One fall afternoon that year, I was mowing grass for one of those odd jobs. I vividly remember driving the tractor up the hill towards the house on the property, reflecting on the state of things. And out of nowhere, the following thought occurred to me: We need to increase our giving. Say what? How could we? We were barely scraping by as it was. We had no business giving away any more money as we needed what little we did have.

But that was the thought I had. And here's why I had it: I knew increasing our giving during this time in our life would be an effective weapon in fighting our enemy. It was a battle cry. I was drawing a line. I was telling him that no matter what, I knew where my priorities were, where my strength came from, and who had my allegiance. I knew that this action would be utterly incomprehensible to him. After all, how could I serve a supposedly "all-loving" God in this way, when God allowed me to be in this position. And I knew he would hate it. All those thoughts, they not only comforted me, but they confirmed my desire to carry through with this decision. In fact, they fueled it even more.

And you'll never guess what happened the very next day, so I'll tell you. Nothing. Nothing happened the next day. No random check in the mail. No new out-of-nowhere job offers. No new training clients. Zilch. Nada. Zero. The only thing that happened was that we became poorer.

But while we may have temporarily become poorer, we also grew wiser. Looking back, I think it helped expedite a turnaround in our marriage, in our finances, and in our spiritual lives. It wouldn't be for several more years that we'd be debt-free. And it wouldn't be for an additional few years that I had a steady income that we could live on. But it was a watershed moment that would forever shape our attitude to how our spiritual lives and our financial lives are related. And I believe God honored that decision by giving us wisdom with other financial decisions (like the greatest spending decision we ever made). I think He blessed us financially by aligning better and better jobs for us. I think He rewarded us with healthy children (we're up to 4 now!) and even a great house which gave me the opportunity to become a landlord.

And ultimately, I think He orchestrated all this, as He is apt to do, to bring glory back to Himself. You see, we now make every effort to increase our giving every year, which brings Him glory. I'm writing this post, which I believe brings Him glory. I work for a newsletter whose sole purpose is to help you have more so you will give more... which brings Him glory. He is all about His glory... be it in your marriage, your work, and even in your finances.

So the next time you're feeling spiritually attacked, or your just in the mood to bring more Glory to our creator, I'd like to challenge you to increase your giving. It was certainly the best financial decision we ever made.

7 Key Principles for Christian Investing

IRAs, 401(k)s and Social Security: A Retirement Planning Primer

Gold as an Investment: Will Precious Metals Continue To Shine?

Inflation History: The Rise and Fall of the U.S. Dollar

Posted by Matthew at 8:55 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Category(s): Giving and Stewardship
Tag(s): debt, family finances, giving, stewardship, tithe

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Generosity as the antidote to envy

As a Sound Mind Investing staff member, I try to lead my family to apply the Biblical financial principles that are at the core of SMI.

My wife and I were discussing our monthly budget a couple of days ago. Inspired by last month’s Level 1 article, I suggested that we begin to include a line item for generosity. She agreed and so we put a plan into place.

God’s timing is so good.

My wife’s grandmother has recently moved to an assisted living facility and her family is in the process of dividing up and distributing many items from her previous home. Many heirlooms have been dispersed as well as practical things like an almost new, high efficiency washer and dryer, which we were set to receive.

Our plan was to give our current machines to my brother-in-law and his wife. Their washer and dryer were quite old, and they could use a newer set. After some thought, my wife called me and said she felt led to give the almost new washer and dryer to her brother and sister-in-law instead, while we kept our current models. I agreed wholeheartedly.

Now here is the thing, we both were excited to get the new washer and dryer. You could say our hearts were set on it.

But a recent article by Tim Challies, When the Critics Rave, I Weep, has deeply challenged me to face the envy and discontentment that lurks in my own heart. We see friends getting much nicer cars than our own. Relatives move to our dream neighborhoods. The sin of envy quickly takes root in our hearts without our even being aware of it.

After my wife spoke to her sister-in-law about giving her the newer machines, she gave me a call. She admitted to battling the same envy I have come to see in myself lately. But God knew what we needed, and was already at work in our hearts giving us the grace to release something that we really desired. My wife shared with me the sense of joy, peace and a greater affection for her family that came from this act of generosity.

We are still learning and believing God to transform us into more generous givers, trusting His faithfulness. Philippians 2: 12-13 shows,

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

Be encouraged. Generosity is an antidote to envy.

7 Key Principles for Christian Investing

IRAs, 401(k)s and Social Security: A Retirement Planning Primer

Gold as an Investment: Will Precious Metals Continue To Shine?

Inflation History: The Rise and Fall of the U.S. Dollar

Posted by Kevin at 11:56 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Category(s): Giving and Stewardship
Tag(s): generosity, giving, stewardship

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A generous budget

Do you have a "generosity line item" in your budget? Personal finance blogger Jason Topp does, and he thinks it's an idea others should consider.

Jason writes about a "generous budget" in the July issue of the Sound Mind Investing newsletter:

Imagine you are out to eat with your family and you strike up a conversation with the server. You learn she is a single mom with three kids and works two jobs to make ends meet. After her children go to bed, she spends several hours taking online classes in hopes of getting a college degree and moving forward in life.

Your heart goes out to her.... You can only imagine how difficult it must be to juggle the demands of employers, children, and professors.

You would love to help in some way, but you feel like you can't afford to.... You imagine how exciting it would be if you had an extra $25, $50, or even $100 a month set aside specifically for times like this. You picture yourself plopping down an extra large tip with a note that says, "We're praying for you!"

But how can you increase your ability to give without hurting your own financial situation?

We encourage you to read the entire article, Building Generosity Into Your Monthly Budget.

Or listen to an excerpt from host Bob Crittenden's interview with Jason earlier this week on Alabama's Faith Radio (click the arrow below—6 minutes).

A Christian's responsibility to tip?

We try to limit out eating out as a family to once a week. This keeps costs down and helps us really enjoy it. Saturday evening rolled around and we decided on a place (I wanted Mexican, but got outvoted).

The night started out fine. We had a big table with a view of the kitchen (which the girls liked). The kids also got crayons and paper (which they also liked). We had a game plan for who was getting what. Everyone was happy (although I still wanted Mexican).

Our happiness peaked in the first five minutes because the rest of the meal was peppered with server mistake after server mistake. We were constantly waiting on refills, the server brought the wrong meal for the girls (and then she tried to fix it by disregarding what I had originally ordered and bringing us something else), items were missing, we had to repeatedly ask for certain condiments and sauces — it was just an unpleasant experience from the service end.

The food itself was good and the girls weren't really aware of all the mistakes, but my wife and I certainly were. And I noticed that the people at the table next to us were having problems with the same server (I overheard them discussing the final bill — the server eventually recognized her error).

When it was finally time to pay our bill, the server took my debit card, and returned with the bill for me to sign. She failed to come back with my card — par for the course.

Now it's tip time.

Let's pause for a minute so I can give some personal background. I've done more than my fair share of food-industry work — six restaurants, a country club, a grocery store, and a camp kitchen. I know what it's like to work for tips. I know what it's like to give good service (and occasionally bad).

I know what a good dining experience should be and how hard restaurant work can be. I also know how lucrative such work can be, considering the rather easy requirements for becoming a server. In fact, I think everyone should work in a restaurant so that they can have a better appreciation for servers.

And it's with this background that I nearly always tip at least 15%. But that night, I didn't. I couldn't. It was just so bad. And you know what? It felt good!

Why? Because I hate rewarding bad behavior with good things. Why should I reward that waitress's terrible service with a good tip? Wouldn't I just be reinforcing bad service? When my kids act up, they don't get good things — they get consequences. In school and in jobs, poor performance generally yields bad results. Just because I'm a Christian, should I feel obligated to tip higher because it might help my witness?

Now it's true (at least in the restaurants I've worked at) that servers don't like the Sunday lunch crowd — aka, the church crowd. Supposedly, tips are worse and guests aren't as nice as you'd think they'd be. It's possible this is the case, though I also think the quick influx of guests and increased number of kids makes it a more stressful shift. I'd be curious to see the actual breakdown of tip percentages as compared to other lunch shifts.

But back to our recent dining experience, my question is: Was I wrong? As a Christian, should I tip well regardless of how poor the service is? Perhaps the server saw us pray before we ate — so was not giving her at least 15% a bad witness? Or perhaps I should have said something or written a note explaining why I just couldn't give her a nice tip?

I know some people not like it that my family eats out weekly, but that's not what this post is about. I'm specifically interested in your thoughts on what you think our responsibility is, as Christians, on tipping. Is there any scripture to back up your viewpoint? As always, keep it civil! Thanks!

C.S. Lewis on giving

"Some people nowadays say that charity ought to be unnecessary and that instead of giving to the poor we ought to be producing a society in which there were no poor to give to.

"They may be quite right in saying that we ought to produce this kind of society. But if anyone thinks that, as a consequence, you can stop giving in the meantime, then he has parted company with all Christian morality.

"I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. In other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusement, etc., is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little.

"If our giving does not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say it is too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot because our commitment to giving excludes them."

— from Mere Christianity

You can still turn an IRA distribution into a donation

Tax provisions don't die easily. Several years ago, Congress authorized a "temporary" provision that allowed holders of traditional IRAs — if over age 70½ — to donate as much as $100,000 directly from their retirement account to a qualified charity tax free.

This was a win-win for affluent taxpayers and for charities. The taxpayer could avoid a tax bite on a required minimum distribution (or RMD), and the charity would likely get a larger donation. It was nice while it lasted, but that provision expired at the end of 2007.

Oh, wait. It came back — "temporarily" — for tax years 2008 and 2009. Then it ended.

No, wait. Under the tax-deal legislation signed last month the distribution-into-donation provision is back once again, made retroactive for 2010 and extended through 2011.

Here's the latest from the IRS:

The qualified charitable distribution [QCD] provisions were renewed for 2010 and 2011, allowing individuals age 70½ or over to exclude from gross income up to $100,000 that is paid directly from their individual retirement accounts (excluding SEP or SIMPLE IRAs) to a qualified charity.

The excluded amount can be used to satisfy any required minimum distributions that the individual must otherwise receive from their IRAs for 2010 and 2011. The deadline for making a 2010 QCD is January 31, 2011.

In other words, you have about two-and-a-half weeks left to donate directly from a traditional IRA to a charity and count it for tax year 2010 (and remember, you have to be at least age 70½).

To qualify as a QCD, the IRA trustee must make the distribution directly to the qualified charity. Any distributions, including any RMDs, which the IRA owner actually receives cannot qualify as QCDs....

IRA owners who have received their 2010 RMDs may not recontribute those distributions to an IRA to have them redistributed directly to a qualified charity as a QCD.

However, if an IRA owner received a distribution in excess of his or her 2010 RMD, the owner can roll the excess to another or the same IRA within 60 days of receiving the distribution and then have the funds paid directly to the qualified charity as a QCD.

Got that? One other thing to keep in mind: because you get a tax-savings benefit from a direct-from-your-IRA donation, you can't also claim the donation as a charitable deduction on your tax return. No "double dipping" allowed.

For more on turning an IRA distribution into a donation, see this article from the February 2009 issue of the Sound Mind Investing newsletter.

Resolution for 2011: "I will give my all for the Kingdom"

Every few weeks, we invite a guest blogger to write our Personal Financial Friday post. Today, we're turning today to Ben Stroup of ChurchGivingMatters.com.

Ben is a former pastor who now represents GENERIS, a company that helps churches and ministries "to develop generosity — a generosity that permeates the culture."

He is a graduate of Belmont University, and he lives with his wife and two young sons near Nashville, Tenn.

We've asked to Ben to share what he's learned about generosity, both as a pastor and as a teacher/trainer in the area of generous giving.

Take it away, Ben!

I have the privilege of traveling around the country and meeting with many people who stand in pulpits and many more who sit in the pews. And, yes, I talk with them about money and giving.

In many situations, I have been encouraged to see people exhibit an attitude of what the Bible calls "rich generosity" (2 Corinthians 8:2). Here three things in particular that I've noticed about many of the generous people I've come across:

• Their generosity is an external response to an internal reality. For them, giving is not something they see as an obligation. Rather, they see it as the only appropriate response in light of their faith in Jesus Christ. Put another way, there is an interest and discipline related to generosity that doesn’t begin or end in the realm of human things.
• Those with the greatest wealth are truly generous. Maybe we're too influenced by Charles Dickens' portrait of the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge, but often we think of wealthy people as being stingy. I’m consistently surprised at how the wealthy people I come across are like the transformed Scrooge at the end of the story! Indeed, in my experience, there seems to be a close connection between those who give the most and those who possess the greatest net worth. (Perhaps the best way to build your net worth is to give it away!)
• Generous people are intentional about being good money managers. Those who choose to be generous know that by managing their money well, they can continue to be generous and perhaps even increase their level of generosity. I've met people who have built a "generosity plan" that rests alongside their personal investing plan.

No one becomes generous accidentally. Financial generosity is something we decide is important to us — and for us. We must find ways to leverage the margin we have to benefit others.

Socialism seeks to bring about change by forcing people give up what they have. Generosity, on the other hand, asks us to freely share with others, with the knowledge that we are simply God's vehicles through which His money passes.

The greatest challenge — and the greatest opportunity — to living a life of Christian generosity is embracing a lifestyle that acknowledges, "All that I have, all that I am, and all that I will ever become is a gift from God, a gift to be leveraged to advance the Kingdom."

How will you respond to that challenge — and amazing opportunity — in 2011?

Thanks, Ben! If you're a Twitterer, you can follow Ben @ben_stroup.

Well, we know you may have a New Year's Eve get-together to get ready for, so here's just one more thing: Check out SMI's special end-of-the-year offer (good through today only!): a 30-day free trial Web membership.

Don't wait. Time is running out!

Happy New Year from Sound Mind Investing!

Condolences — and confidence

As we noted in the cover article of July's Sound Mind Investing newsletter, the thing that drives SMI is our desire to help people become more generous givers.

For many years, generosity has also the primary teaching focus of writer and pastor, Brian Kluth, author of the popular devotional, 40-Day Journey Toward a More Generous Life.

Last night, after an eight-year battle against cancer, Brian's wife Sandi passed from this life to the next. We hope you'll hold Brian and his family in your prayers.

Is pet insurance worth it?

I'm torn. I can't decide if my love for our dog outweighs my distaste for feeling duped into buying yet another kind of insurance: pet insurance. Yes, it's real with actual revenue numbers to back it up. Opinions vary regarding its merits: this piece acknowledges the value, while this piece does not. Then there's this information about calculating the worth of your pet.

If you ask me, it's impossible to put a price on a face like Gertie's. But I think I'm in the "factor it into your budget" camp. In other words, instead of paying premiums to a pet insurance company, open a pet savings account and "pay yourself" instead. If we put money aside now, not only will it be there if we need it but we'll get the benefit of compounding interest.

But that's only half the story, the money-saving, budget-conscience half.

Isn't there a stewardship issue here? Don't think so? Maybe this piece will change your mind. It willl certainly incense the hard core pets-aren't-people-they're-possessions crowd. Even a big-time pet lover like myself was taken back. Listen to this:

APPMA reports that 42% of dogs now sleep in the same bed as their owners. I'm not judging anyone... yet.

Half of all dog owners say they consider their pet's comfort when buying a car. I barely consider my kids' comfort.

With annual growth nearing 50%, the pooper scooper industry is now experiencing a lot of consolidation...There's a "pooper scooper industry"?

I'm not going to say that some of these crazy things people do for their pets are morally or even financially wrong because I don't know their heart or their giving. But it's hard not to have questions when you learn that Fido could be put on a cocktail of Slentrol and Reconcile; one for the unwanted pounds he put on while being depressed and the other for the depression from all the canine separation anxiety. My question in particular: Why medicate when he could just have liposuction and go everywhere with you in your canine-cozy Caddy? ;-)

Is it just me or is there a financial stewardship issue banging around in here somewhere? I think so, or at least there certainly can be without proper balance. You see, I want my giving to reflect how much I love the God and love other people. So it's more about my love for Him and less about my lack of love for Gertie.

Besides, when pet cloning comes down in price, Gertie will know how much we love her for the rest of her lives.

(This piece originally appeared in a July 2007 blog post (membership required) of The Sound Mind Investing Weblog.)

Donations down, but "religious" giving holds steady

A newly published report on U.S. charitable giving, from the Giving USA Foundation and the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, finds that charitable contributions fell 3.6% (or -3.2% inflation-adjusted) in 2009. Overall giving for the year was $303.75 billion, down from $315.08 billion in 2008.

A closer look at the numbers reveals that giving by individuals has not dropped appreciably, nor has giving to religious causes.

Individual giving — which accounts for three-fourths of all charitable donations — fell an estimated 0.4% last year, but when adjusted for inflation (or deflation in 2009) that isn't actually a change from the previous year.

Giving to religion — the largest giving category — fell by just 0.7% (or -0.3% adjusted for deflation), but that came after an estimated 2008 increase of 0.8%. In other words, religious giving, though not growing, held roughly steady during the financially tumultuous years of 2008 and 2009. (It should be noted, however, that if the 2008 number is adjusted for inflation, religious giving showed a decline for that year, not an increase.)

The report probably understates religion-related giving because not all such giving shows up under "Religion." Donations to the Salvation Army, for example, are found under "Human Services." A donation to a seminary would fall under "Education."

Where did the big 2009 declines occur? The largest declines were in charitable bequests (-23.9%), foundation grant-making (-8.9%), donations to foundations (-8%), and contributions to "public-society benefit organizations," such as the United Way (-4.6%).

Two more interesting facts:

• Contrary to common assumptions, corporate giving accounts for a small portion of overall donations — only 4%.
• Almost half of all giving comes from just 10% of the population — those with a household income higher than $100,000. (Related: part of SMI's mission statement is "We want to help you have more so you can give more"!)

A word on the report's methodology: the Giving USA study is based on estimates, not concrete numbers. "We use estimating methods developed by experts in philanthropy, statistics, and economics to project what household tax returns and IRS Form-990s submitted by nonprofits will show two or more years down the road, after the Internal Revenue Service completes its analyses," Giving USA says.

Generosity toward the poor

A post yesterday by Christian financial planner Jason Topp at the Redeeming Riches blog asks the always difficult question: "Should you give money to a homeless person?"

All of us can think of reasons why giving money to the homeless might not be a good idea. It might be frittered away on alcohol or drugs, for example. Still, I recall what my longtime boss Larry Burkett used to say: "As Christians, if we are going to err, we should err on the side of compassion."

Indeed, compassion (literally "suffering with") will likely require more than just giving money. It will require something of us relationally, not just financially.

I haven't checked them all out, but according to Christian poverty fighter Amy L. Sherman, Scripture has more than 400 verses that call us to imitate God's compassion for the poor and vulnerable. He "suffered with" when He "became flesh and made his dwelling among us" (John 1:14).

Far too often, our genuine desire to be generous manifests itself in transactional benevolence when what truly is needed is transformational ministry. Amy Sherman puts it bluntly:

[C]ommodified, short-term, relief-oriented "benevolence" is far too easy for givers and far too inadequate for receivers. It allows givers to remain distant from real need. They get to feel good about giving, without getting their hands dirty or their Daytimers interrupted. Recipients are viewed only in terms of their needs, and never in terms of their assets. And the charity supplied provides just a Band-Aid, no genuine long-term strategy.

Our typical benevolence allows us to help the poor, but not to know them. It enables them to manage their poverty a little better, but not to escape it.

Ouch.

There are no quick-and-easy answers here. But the difficulty of the questions shouldn't keep us from wrestling with them.

I was glad to learn today, via a book review in WORLD magazine, that Moody Publishers has just released a book on this topic. The authors, Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert, jointly head the Chalmers Center for Economic Development at Georgia's Covenant College.

The book's title is, When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor — and Yourself. Here's an excerpt:

[North American Christians] are the richest people ever to walk the face of the earth. Period. Yet, most of us live as though there is nothing terribly wrong in the world. We attend our kids' soccer games, pursue our careers, and take beach vacations while 40 percent of the world's inhabitants struggle just to eat every day. And in our own backyards, the homeless, those residing in ghettos, and a wave of immigrants live in a world outside the economic and social mainstream of North America.

We do not necessarily need to feel guilty about our wealth. But we do need to get up every morning with a deep sense that something is terribly wrong with the world and yearn and strive to do something about it.

That yearning and striving needs to be (and can be) channeled into productive ministry that actually moves toward alleviating poverty, say Corbett and Fikkert.

I encourage you to read When Helping Hurts — and ask the Lord how to put its principles into practice in your own church and community. I will.

Also, if you live in the Richmond, Virginia area, you may want to go hear Amy Sherman. She will be speaking later this month (along with Ken Myers of the Mars Hill Audio Journal) at the Richmond Center for Christian Study.

Should you give money to a homeless person? Maybe. Maybe not. Just don't ignore him.

Move over Google, there's a more charitable way to search

In their attempt to become the next big search engine, GoodSearch offers a compelling reason to quit Googling. It contributes financially to charities based on your searches: Fifty percent of the revenue generated from advertisers is shared with the charity, school or nonprofit organization of your choosing.

GoodSearch (which is powered by Yahoo!) has a simple tag line: You Search We Give. And with 77,000 non-profits available and 100 new ones being added a day, they really mean it. Don't see your charity or school listed? You can submit one no problem. Want to know how much has been raised? Easy peasy. At the time of this post, $3,743.72 had been given to Compassion International. Not bad. There are even browser add-ons to make GoodSearch easier to use.

So if you're already using Yahoo! as your search engine, switching is a no-brainer. And unless you're just in love with Google, you might consider this way to help out the charities that are closest to your heart.

Compassion Challenge ends

Word just came in that the SMI Funds have met their goal of releasing 100 children from poverty! While their website doesn't have the last few children posted yet, they've confirmed that 50 new sponsorships have been initiated (matched by 50 more from SMI Advisory Services).

Thank you to all of those who contributed to reaching this goal. There are few things you can do with $32 per month that will have the type of tangible impact that sponsoring a child in need does.

While SMI Advisory Services will no longer be matching further sponsorships, it's still a great idea to consider sponsoring a Compassion child. Learn more at Compassion's website.

Proposed changes in the charitable-giving deduction

The Planned Giving Design Center has an easy-to-understand write up about how President Obama's proposed tax changes could affect wealthy givers.

The Obama plan would limit the tax rate at which high-income taxpayers can take itemized deductions to 28 percent (down from the current 33 or 35 percent, depending one's bracket).

Example: A couple...in the 35 percent bracket gives $100,000 to charity. Under current law (presuming they can deduct the entire $100,000 in the year of transfer under the charitable percentage limitation rules), they will reduce their income taxes by $35,000. The net cost of their gift will be $65,000.

Under the Obama plan, the couple will only be able to deduct their gift at the 28 percent rate, thereby reducing their taxes by $28,000. In essence, they will pay an additional $7,000 in tax for the privilege of making their gift, thereby increasing the after-tax cost of their gift to $72,000 — a 10.8 percent increase over current law.

And when the Bush tax cuts expire after 2010, it will cost donors in the top bracket of 39.5 percent an additional $11,500 to make a $100,000 gift. This represents a 19 percent tax on giving — not to mention possible implications on state income tax.

The article includes a bit of history about why Congress, in 1917, created the charitable-giving deduction.

"The government concluded it was more efficient for individuals to give directly to charity rather than having the government tax individuals and then fund the services provided by those organizations," according to Barlow T. Mann, a planned-giving consultant with the Memphis-based Sharpe Group.

President Obama's plan for changing the contours of the charitable-giving deduction isn't a done deal, of course. The plan is meeting stiff resistance in Congress — and not just from Republicans.

MarketWatch has the story.

Perspective II

After reading Mark's comments below on keeping current events in perspective, try this quick exercise.

Go to GlobalRichList.com and enter your income from last year (be sure to select "$ US" from the pull-down menu).

Click "Show me the money" and see the result.

Next, thank the Lord - and recommit yourself to being generous.

IRA-related tax change: Turning a 'distribution' into a donation

Buried amidst the 451 pages of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (i.e., the bailout of the U.S financial system) are two short sentences that may help you - as well as your church or favorite charity. The requirements: You must have a traditional IRA and be older than 70½.

The two sentences bring back a tax break that had expired at the end of 2007. The resurrected provision, now extended though 2009, allows older taxpayers to donate as much as $100,000 directly from an individual retirement account to a qualified charity tax free.

Without this provision, an IRA owner who wanted to make such a donation would first have to receive the money as "income," then make the donation - meaning that a significant amount of the money would be consumed by income taxes.

But there is more here than just an income tax consideration. An IRA distribution received as income can affect the taxability of Social Security benefits, the size of Medicare Part B premiums, and eligibility for moving funds from a traditional IRA to a Roth.

The reinstated tax law creates a "win-win." The person with the IRA avoids taxes, while the church or charity gets a larger donation than it otherwise would have if the money had passed through the tax man's hands first. (If a husband and wife each have IRAs and meet the age requirements, both can take advantage of the tax break.)

Two things to watch out for if you want to make a donation directly from your IRA:

• Be sure the money never comes into your possession (if it does, it will be considered a taxable distribution);
• Make certain the church or charity knows your name and address - you'll need a proper receipt in case you get audited.

Also keep in mind that the tax-savings benefit of a direct-from-your-IRA donation means you cannot claim the donation as a charitable deduction, too. No "double dipping" allowed.

Any direct-to-charity donations from your IRA must be made before New Year's Day 2010. That's when the tax break is scheduled to expire once again - unless, of course, Congress makes yet another change.

For more on "qualified charitable deductions," see IRS Publication 590 (HTML | PDF).

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