Keep it Simple: The Best Advice | Part 2

Welcome to the Awakening Church podcast.

We pray this message encourages you and provides the hope and light of Jesus Christ.

Thanks for tuning in.

Today we're uh in part two of a series called Keep It Simple: A Guide to Financial Peace.

What if financial peace is actually simple?

It's not complicated.

What if it's not uh some kind of difficult thing or disillusive carrot?

What if the pathway to financial peace is actually quite simple?

And we've been talking about simple practices that you can embrace today that actually produces financial peace.

Like, you know, I know we wrestle with this.

How do you truly experience financial peace?

Now, that word peace in the scriptures, especially in the Hebrew scriptures, the word is shalom, right?

It's the word not just the absence of angst or the absence of strife, it's the presence of something.

Peace is the presence of wholeness, of contentment, of well-being.

Think about that.

Like, how do you really experience financial well-being and contentments?

And then let's be real.

We live in Silicon Valley.

Is that even a possibility?

Because we don't uh experience financial peace here.

What do we experience?

We experience immense financial pressure.

And part of that is because of the culture of the valley, isn't it true?

It's what I call the Silicon Valley hustle.

And uh it's what we talked about last week of this hustle.

There is this pace, there's this pressure.

The Silicon Valley hustle goes something like this.

You show up here, it's success at any cost, right?

You come here, you do whatever it takes to be successful, work long hours, late nights, uh, at the expense of perhaps your health, at the expense of relationships, at the expense of your spirituality.

And what it produces is success uh at the expense of significance, at the expense of meaning and purpose, and those deep relationships.

And part of the hustle is not just success at any cost.

In the valley, we wear then busyness as a badge of honor, right?

It is this like anyone you talk to at work, on Zoom, at the store, you ask them, how are you doing?

Busy.

Like that's our code here.

As if that's the right thing to say.

And then if you're a Christian, uh maybe you want to spiritualize it, you say this, busy but good, right?

Like I'm busy, but it's a good busy, right?

It's not just a bad busy, it's a good busy, I'm busy but good.

But what happens is that we're overworked and yet underfulfilled.

And there's this aching and emptiness inside.

And then part of the aim and the goal of this is financial freedom, right?

For many, this is the reason you moved to the valley.

That you could make more than you ever made.

Maybe I'm gonna be here for a season to be financially free, maybe to retire young, to own the house, to you know, be able to drive what you want to drive, wear what you want to wear, travel where you want to travel.

And we have to be careful because financial freedom and financial peace are not the same thing.

In fact, I've met many people who we would look from the outside and say they're financially free.

Yes, they can retire early, yes, they can drive what they want to drive.

And wow, those trips, Instagram worthy.

And yet there is not financial peace.

And perhaps this is what you walked in today with more money, but less peace.

How do you experience financial peace?

And then Jesus speaks to the heart of the issue.

Did you know that he spoke about money more than he spoke about heaven and hell combined?

And as we were talking about last week, he he sums up the root reason for this, why this is such a big deal, and he says this.

He says, wherever your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Like the reason he speaks on this so much isn't because he needs your money.

He's God, he's fantastic, he owns it all already, but he wants your heart.

He knows that the chief competitor of your heart isn't Satan, it's your stuff.

That there's this kind of invisible connection or line that's from your heart to your stuff, and wherever your money goes, your heart follows.

It is a law of the universe that as you put your money towards that, you can't help it that your heart naturally goes that direction.

And peace, by the way, and you note this peace isn't contingent upon your circumstances, it's a condition of the heart.

Let me say that again because a few of you are like, oh, that's good.

It's not contingent on your circumstances because you've known people who have deep and abiding peace with little, right?

It is a condition of the heart.

And so if you want financial peace, you have to look at where your money's going because your heart follows wherever it goes.

And so we said last week the path to financial peace, it's actually simple.

It's so simple.

A 10-year-old Ryan Ingram, taught by his mom and dad, taught me financial peace is simply this reverse the order.

Well, what's the order?

The normative practice for you and I, the normative way we go about it is consume what you make, save if you can, give if there's any left over, or if there's a commercial that really gets your heart strings, right?

Um, or something happens major in the world, or you just really want others to think that you're generous and you want to give to that cause that's kind of going off on social media.

Called out.

Okay, give, you know, so we do this.

This is our consume what we have, save if we can, and then give if there's any left over.

And God says the pathway for financial peace, it's simple.

And my parents taught it to me.

I was 10 years old.

They got these um jars, these are the literal jars.

I put uh dinosaur stickers on it, and one jar said give, one jar said save, and the other jar said spend.

And that is the order that we give first because our heart naturally gravitates to what we give to, and we're gonna prioritize and give to God first, and then we're gonna save second and then live on the rest.

In fact, in your notes, I want you to write next to those the percentages.

Give to God first, 10%.

We talked all about that last week.

If you missed it, go back and listen to it.

God even says, test me on this.

That's why we had the stewardship challenge.

Not that you give more to awakening, but that you would begin to step in and go, you know what?

I'm gonna begin to test you on this and begin to trust that it's actually what Jesus said, more blessed to give than receive.

Next to save and invest, write 10%.

So give first, save second, 10%, and then live on the rest.

That is the pathway for financial peace.

Give first, save second, live on the rest.

Would you do this with me?

Uh, would you say that?

I want us to get that mantra, like it just in our hearts and our minds.

Would you say give first, save second, live on the rest with me right now?

One, two, three, go.

That was pretty darn good.

You did have your coffee today.

Good job, church.

Give first, say second, live on the rest.

Today we're gonna be talking about saving and investing second.

Uh, the sermon title today is The Best Advice.

Uh, and if I ran out of room, let's be real.

Uh I the the full title is The Best Advice I Didn't Take.

You ever have that where you had someone give you like great advice and you didn't take it?

And later you're kicking yourself.

You're like, if I only listened.

So my parents kind of taught me the principles give, save, spin at 10.

But there was a couple named Joy and Gordy Roberts that gave me the best advice I never took.

Now I was about 14 years old.

Uh, my older brothers had moved out of the house at that time.

Uh, they're in college, and my me and my younger sister, when my parents would go out of town, we'd stay with Joy and Gordy Roberts.

Now, I love staying with them because they had this basement, and down there they had all these, well, they're VHS's back then, uh, but they had all these movies that I wasn't allowed to watch at home, which was fantastic, right?

And so um I would stay up to like 1 a.m.

watching uh all the old Bond movies.

I'm like, this is amazing! And I can't wait to see the new one either.

Um, and then they had all the old Batman movies, you know.

This is the 90s, right?

So not the new ones, and they were like, I'd be up there like watching all night long, and I remember this one moment.

Isn't it amazing how moments just stick with you?

Like, like, why does this stick with me?

I was sitting in their kitchen, and for whatever reason, I don't know why, Joy was giving me a haircut, and so I had like the little apron thing on, and she's cutting my hair.

And at 14 years of age, Gordy then begins to explain to me the magic of compounding interest.

And he's like, Ryan, listen, at 18, if you invest a dollar a day, at 18, you'll be a millionaire, you'll be a multimillionaire by 65, and he's got a paper out and he's drawing it all out and doing all this.

And at age 14, I'm going like, thank you very much.

Uh invest, save.

I'm like, oh my goodness.

Now here's the thing.

We got married young.

I was just like turning 21, literally, when we got married.

We had kids young.

I think I was about 24 when Ella was married, stepped into, you know, like ministry full-time.

Life was crazy.

So in my 20s, uh, we barely had, you know, two dimes to rub together, like investing.

I'm like, no, I can't afford to do that.

We have nothing.

And obviously, just a dollar feels so insignificant.

And then, and then in my 30s, you know, life was full.

We started a church and and all of this.

And it wasn't until mid-30s that I began to realize I missed the boat.

And Gordy, sweet Gordy, what a great name, by the way.

How awesome is that?

The best advice I never took.

And my hope and my prayer and what we're about to talk about today, that you'll say, no, no, no, this was the best advice I did take, and I won't look back in regret, but I'll look back in gratitude.

And so let's talk today.

How do you build wealth that leaves a lasting legacy?

Not just to build wealth, to build wealth, but that leaves a lasting legacy.

And in fact, in your notes, would you just write down 1 Timothy 6, 17 through 19?

I would love for you to actually take time on your own and study it.

The Apostle Paul talks about how to be rich.

Many of us are focused on how to get rich, but he talks about how to be rich, uh, that you don't put your hope in wealth, that you're actually generous and how to give out a lasting legacy.

And our time, I want to give you a not so new perspective, but it's one we forget a lot.

It's a perspective Jesus wants us to have about our finances or about what we have.

And then just real simply, let's get practical on what does it look like to save or invest second?

So here's the perspective.

Here's what Jesus wants to say to you today.

The new perspective that's not so new is simply this there is more to life than having more in life.

That's it.

And you already knew that.

You're smart, you get that.

There's more to life than simply accumulating more in life, having more stuff, driving, wearing, owning, and we understand that, and yet we miss it all the time, don't we?

You know, one day Jesus was approached by two brothers, uh, and these brothers were in an argument because uh their parents had passed and the older brother wasn't sharing the inheritance.

Tragically, I've seen that story play out so much that the minute uh inheritance is involved, you see this dispute.

Family members, people who love each other all of a sudden are at each other's necks.

Why?

Because of money.

And they come to Jesus and they ask him, like I say, it's the younger brother.

I'm a younger brother, so I get this.

Uh, and he says, Tell my brother to share the inheritance.

They want Jesus to be the arbitrator.

And he says, Who am I?

Am I your judge?

And he doesn't even give them a response, but then he says this this is so good.

Watch out, be on your guard against all kinds of greed.

Life does not consist in the abundance of possession.

Watch out, be aware of all kinds of greed.

Now, truth be told, I've actually never seen anyone or heard someone say, I'm greedy.

Have you been around someone said, yeah, hey, guess what?

I am greedy.

Woohoo! Right?

You just haven't been around someone that's ever said that.

Maybe I'm a I'm frugal.

You might someone might say stingy, but that's kind of like the borderline of it.

Uh, I'm very thoughtful, but greedy.

Well, what does it mean to be greedy?

In fact, just circle that word.

Let me give you a biblical definition of greed.

Biblically, greed is wanting more than I need.

That's what greed is.

Wanting more than I need is having this drive and desire.

If I have what I need and then I want more on top of that, that is the starting place of greed.

And then he says, watch out for all kinds of greed.

And we live in the Silicon Valley hustle with the Silicon Valley pressure and the Silicon Valley pace, that then says you have to achieve and look and attain and get more and more and more.

And by the way, your value is dependent on what you drive and what you wear and how much is in your bank account and what trips you can go on.

And you begin to live out and run after.

And if we're honest, and if you look at your life, your life wouldn't say that there's more to life than having more in life.

Many of us, wouldn't it?

Be the other way around.

That life's all about having more.

And yet I've sat with people at the end of their life.

And nobody said, I wish I worked more hours.

Nobody said, you know what?

If only I had another car, because it doesn't matter in that moment.

I wish I would have leaned in and been more generous with those around me, with my time and with my attention, with my resources.

I wish I would have invested my life differently, not just my money differently.

Why?

Because there's more to life than having more in life.

And so here's the practice for us as we begin to think about this.

The practice there is no secret formula to simply spend less than you make.

We kind of think there, Ryan, there's gotta be some kind of secret formula to figure this out, some magic, you know.

Um, if we just hit the stock market at the right time.

You know, my my son Miles loves to invest.

He's well, he's 11 now.

Um, and he hit the stock market at the right time.

It's like the worst teaching lesson as a dad ever.

He's like wanting to invest.

I'm like, yeah, think long term.

And uh Jenny like coaches him, find something that you're interested in that you know it was closed over COVID that will open up after.

So he invested in AMC.

He made like 150 bucks off of 20 bucks.

I'm like, son, you're not learning the lesson.

Because we think we just gotta hit it at the right time or be a part of this startup and and all those things.

There's nothing bad with it, but here's the here's there's no secret formula, just spend less than you make.

Proverbs says it this way dishonest money dwindles away, but whoever gathers money little by little, what?

Help me out.

Little by little, incremental over time makes it grow.

In fact, uh that word dishonest actually can mean uh wealth gain quickly.

So it's not necessarily just dishonest, it's actually one translation says, wealth gained quickly will dwindle away.

When and you've seen this, you've seen this with people who've all of a sudden got a lot of money early, they didn't know what to do with it, and they just blew it, right?

And you're like, I wouldn't do that.

Well, maybe you would, maybe I would.

We just didn't have the character, but one who gathers little by little will make it rich.

Uh, and we think it's complicated.

Even as we're thinking about, okay, spending less than I make and saving, right?

If I just put it in a savings account, I'm actually losing money.

Don't you know inflation?

Absolutely, I do know inflation.

That's one way to look at it, and certainly there is a way to invest, and we'll talk about that.

But can we address the other issue in the house, the the kind of bigger one?

You're like, if I save it, you know, it's actually not keeping up with the rate of inflation.

And have you seen the rates lately?

Yes, we all have.

But can we talk about this angle?

Sorry, I apologize.

This is going to get personal.

Um here we go.

It's 20% off.

I saved money.

It's a sale.

I saved money.

No, you didn't.

You spent money.

You did not save money.

See, we think if I save it, it's not keeping up with the rate of inflation.

Why would I put it there?

But I'm saving money by spending it all over here.

No, you're not.

You spent just 20% less than you would have.

But you wouldn't have purchased it if it wasn't 20% off.

So you just spent 80% more.

Oh, that's how that works.

Perspective, there's more to life than having more than life.

The practice, there's no secret formula.

Simply spend less than you make.

So how are we gonna do that?

Let's lock in.

Number one, here we go.

Stop buying things you can't afford.

I didn't get one, amen.

I got it right.

Thank you very much.

One, amen.

Stop buying things you can't afford.

Proverbs 13, 7.

One person pretends to be rich yet has nothing.

Sound like the Silicon Valley to me.

Another pretends to be poor yet gains great wealth.

Proverbs 21, 17.

Whoever loves pleasure will become poor.

Whoever loves wine and olive oil will never be rich.

Stop buying things you can't afford.

We're gonna make it a song.

So my son and I uh we just picked up fishing.

And uh, yes, for you fishermen, this is my tackle box.

Yes, it is lame.

I get it, it's pathetic, but I can afford it.

Okay.

Um here's what happens for us, and the reason this is such a challenge.

Instagram and TikTok is not your friend, and all you see are people who are spending money on what they cannot afford and then showing it off, and you feel like you're missing out, and you somehow have to keep up, right?

And it's this dangling of these trips, it's this dangling of wow, look at where they're eating out in San Francisco or in Napa or whoo, look at that night, and look at that dress, and look at that outfit, and it is this lure.

It's a shiny thing saying this is the more to life, right?

And if you run after it, you chase after it, it will it'll finally satisfy you in life.

And we already know there's more to life than having more than life, but if you buy into it and you bite into it, the problem is there's hooks attached to that.

Every single time, and I watched so many.

People who are lured in, whether it's on Instagram or TikTok or what's going on around them, and they just constantly are going, Yes, yes, I want that, I need that, I need, I need, I need.

Sorry, that we've been quoting uh Bill Murray's um uh movie.

Sorry, that's that was a Bill, anyways, sorry.

I was I was channeling my kids and moment with my kids there.

Okay.

But we look at it, go, I want that, I need that, I have to have it, and we buy things we can't afford.

You know, this generation at 25 often what is once what it took the other generation's 25 years to get to.

I was helping a young man a while ago as he was working through his finances and we're working through getting out of debt, and I I showed up and I saw him, and he had a brand new iPhone and brand new sneakers on.

And I went, hey man, what's we already know you we've already walked through?

I already know his finances of like I know you can't afford it.

It's like, no, no, no, listen, um, this is only like$29 a month, and then my sneakers.

Well, I I really needed new sneakers.

Like, did you need new sneakers?

Because the last ones I saw, they looked pretty darn good, but you keep buying things you can't afford because you are caught up with the latest and the greatest, and it keeps you stuck, and it keeps me stuck.

Stop.

If we're gonna start spending less than we um make, we first have to stop buying things we can't afford.

Can I afford it?

Secondly, we have to then get out of destructive debts.

We have to get out of destructive debt, namely credit card debt.

You know, when you spend credit card, uh spend money on a credit card, you spend on average at least 12 to 18 percent more than you would with cash.

And I don't even know what the stat is for Amazon and clicking.

Seriously, and I love it, right?

I'm like, my that's my daughter laughing because I am an online shopper.

You don't know this about me, but I love Amazon and I love just to be able to click it and it's here tomorrow.

I'm like, wow, and you don't feel it, and we spin without thinking.

69% of bankruptcies are attributed to credit card debt, 19% of bankruptcy filers are college students.

We have to get out of uh destructive debt.

Did you know you already know this, but the credit card companies already understand the magic of compounding interest, and they're just using it against you to keep you stuck.

On average, the interest for a credit card uh is 16.5%.

That's the national average that you're gonna be paying and paying and paying.

If you start paying the minimum, that for interest only goes up to 22, to 26 to 28 percent.

I did this one time, uh it was with the the gentleman with the what uh the the new shoes and he just putting it on his credit card.

I'm like, okay, so those shoes cost a hundred bucks.

Let's just let's just do the math.

You want to do the math?

Did did you plan on spending$180 on the shoes or$100?

No,$100.

Would you buy them if they were$180?

Of course not.

But the buy now pay later has the hooks in them, and you really do pay later in ways you never anticipated or wanted.

Proverbs 22, 7 says, the rich rule over the poor, the borrower is slave to the lender.

Get out of destructive debt.

By the way, if you make the minimum payment, you're gonna experience the maximum amount of pain.

It's free money.

Nothing is free.

So how do we go, how are we gonna do that?

First, if you're in debt and credit card debt, no shame.

There's so many people, no shame.

But make it your top priority to get out of debt.

If you're in credit card debt, it is absolutely possible to get out of debt.

Here's how.

First, cut non-essential spending.

Like, well, what is non-essential spending, Ryan?

Because I feel like all of my spending is essential.

Okay.

Let's pick on one.

Um eating out.

And I love to eat out, by the way, so I'm not down on it.

It's one of my favorite things uh in the whole world is to eat out.

Did you know that the average American eats out 4.2 times per week and spends on roughly$3,000 per year just eating out?

That's the average American across the US.

Think about what it is in the Silicon Valley.

And restaurants, by the way, they charge approximately about a 300% markup on the food so they they can cover and pay what they're paying.

So, did you really want to pay on consistently 300% more for your food when you're trying to get out of debt?

So if you just begin to cut eating out, or oh, this one's gonna hurt.

What about that coffee addiction?

Yeah, groans.

I need you don't need a caramel frappuccino or whatever.

I don't even all like the four names for a cut, you know, like I need a well, it's fall, Ryan.

I need a pumpkin spice latte.

Um and at five dollars a day, you can add that up.

Okay, what about all the subscriptions?

Don't mess with my Netflix, Ryan.

Don't do it, don't mess with it.

You know why the subscriptions are so low?

Right, nine bucks a month, of course.

Because then you pay it and it's automated, and then you forget about it, and then you're connected to all these subscriptions.

And you really, if you just add those up, you're like, oh my goodness, I had no idea.

$50 a month is going out.

That adds up real quickly.

Cut non-essential spending.

Then number two, save$1,000 as quickly as you can.

Once you cut that money, are you gonna pay off all your debt right then?

Not just yet, please.

Spend save a thousand dollars.

Here's why.

Inevitably, something will come up that will be an emergency.

You might have to go to the hospital or to the doctor.

Your car might need new tires.

I needed four this last year.

Um, what oh kick you.

Um and our tendency is to put it on a credit card.

Save$1,000 as quick as you can so that if anything comes up, this isn't like, hey, I need a new dress for that.

It is, hey, if something emergency, I don't have to put things back on my credit card and then use the debt snowball technique.

And here's the debt snowball technique.

This is powerful, this is great.

It think about a snowball.

You know how a snowball starts small and you keep rolling it, it gets bigger and bigger the more you roll it.

Like you build momentum.

And so if you have multiple credit cards, take the smallest one first.

Not only does it feel awesome like you paid it off, but you're making progress.

And so you cut necessary spending, you use uh all unnecessary spending, you use that money to pay off your credit card.

You pay off the smallest one first, and then you go to the next one.

I was doing this with a young man as we were talking.

He had$7,000 worth of credit card debt, and he felt like that was an insurmountable amount.

And I said, Well, how long do you think it would take for you to pay off all your credit card debt?

He said, Well, it'd be more than a year at least.

I said, Okay.

Well, let's get after it then.

Let's just take one step, let's get after it.

But I think you can do it quicker.

He said, Okay.

He started getting after it in less than six months, he was debt free.

Friends, for many of you, you've been living under a burden, feeling like it's an impossible task that you can't ever get ahead.

And yes, you need to make some decisions, some adjustments.

This is the best advice I long for you to take.

It is not impossible to get out under debt.

Stop buying things you can't afford, get out of destructive debt.

Number three, invest for the future.

Like, well, now we're to finally the save invest point of it.

Yes, because in our culture, in our day and age, we have to do those first steps.

Proverbs 13, 22 says, a good person leaves an inheritance for their children's children.

The wise store up food and olive oil, but the fools gulp theirs down.

That we begin to save and invest for the future.

First step to this is build a three-month emergency fund.

Build it, begin to save, put it in a money market account.

Yes, I know it's not yielding a huge return, but you need to be able to access some money quickly if you have an emergency.

Okay.

And so roughly have about three months.

We have that as a church uh as well, so that if giving completely stopped for three months, we could completely cover and not have to change anything.

Most Americans uh say this that if they um 78% say they would borrow on credit if a rainy day came.

And certainly over the last 18 months, a rainy day came.

56% of Americans do not prepare for retirement by investing.

I remember uh when Ryder was born.

So I have three kids, Ella's my oldest, Rider's next, and then Miles.

So when Ryder was born, we were in Georgia, uh, and my mom, I love my mom's right over there, uh, and she came over to watch Ella for uh so that when Jenny's giving birth, and I was just I don't I was doing nothing, let's be honest.

Dads do nothing.

Um I was there, and and I remember my mom going, like, wow, the house really is cold.

It's February and winter time.

I'm like, oh yeah.

And she thought maybe we're trying to save money.

No, our our heater went out, and um, and so we got back and our house was freezing cold.

It's like you can't bring a newborn baby into this.

And so we went and stayed with my parents for a couple days, had the the guy come out to fix the heater, he said, I can't fix this.

This thing's too old.

You need a new one.

I'm like, oh my goodness, how much is that gonna be?

$5,000.

My father-in-law gave me some of the best advice.

I still use it to this day.

He said, You know, Ryan, just pay it and forget about it.

Because I had an emergency fund, we could pay for this.

And by the way, um, for those who are adulting, let me just tell you, as adults, you pay for a lot of things you don't like paying for.

This last year, four tires, a thousand dollars for my Achilles uh at the emergency room.

There's lots of things just like, man, I hate paying for that, and then you like just obsessed about it.

And if I didn't, and what would I do with that money?

Such good advice.

You got some of those sort of things, these emergencies, just pay it and forget about it.

It's so freeing.

But it's freeing because we had an emergency fund.

Build a three-month emergency fund.

Second, save up for big purchases and trips.

Don't put it on the credit card.

It's tempting.

Don't do it.

We saved up for a trip to Italy.

And then you know what our Christmas uh wish list was from all our family?

Money.

I felt like a college student again.

Just send us money for us to go to Italy.

We're saving up for a house right now.

Build a three-month emergency fund, save up for big purchases and trip, leverage the magic of compounding interest.

Whether it's in an IRA, a Roth IRA, whether it's uh working with your 401k at your company, time is more valuable than money when you start young.

Now, on average, in America, the average car note is$568 per month.

Most Americans will carry that for the uh remainder of their life.

That amount invested at 18 to 65 uh years of age represents 6.1 million dollars.

Now, the question is: do you want to drive a nice car now or be have$6.1 million in the bank at 65?

For many, that's the choice.

And where you go, you know what, I could actually invest now, and the earlier the better.

Did you know that that same amount invested only 20 years yields uh$394,000?

It's the magic of compounding interest where if you're in your 20s, please, please, please listen.

If you need help figuring out how to open up like a Roth Ira, if your company does a matching program, match with them.

Just start doing it.

It's the best advice I didn't take.

And so automate to stay disciplined.

This is what I do now.

I just have it direct withdrawal out of the bank account.

This is what I do with my giving, and that's what I do with investing, so that I just don't even have to think about it.

It immediately goes out when the check comes in, and then you're never like tempted, like, oh man, we could go do this.

Stop buying things you can't afford, get out of destructive debt, invest for the future.

And number four, don't delay what you could do today.

Don't delay what you could do today.

This is what I say around the house, it's kind of like for procrastination.

You know, don't delay what you can do.

So many of you are focused on what you can't do, but there are some practical steps that you can do today.

You know, we've been talking through the Proverbs, and the Proverbs are all about uh navigating wisely and well in God's universe and these practical, wise principles for us to apply.

Do you know the difference between uh smart people and wise people?

You know, Silicon Valley's filled with lots and lots of smart people, but I'd argue there's relatively few wise people.

Here's the difference smart people know uh the right things.

Wise people do the right things.

Chances are, out of our time together, you might be a little bit smarter financially.

The question is, will you be wiser?

Will you be wiser?

Or will you like me look back and go, remember that Ingram guy and that church?

That was the best advice.

I just never.

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