Finding Financial Freedom

(Digital Editor's Note: This article appeared first in the May 2023 edition of the print version of The Stand.)

In Seven Checkpoints on the Road to Financial Freedom, investment advisor Rob West shares biblical guidelines and practical steps to reach freedom in money management. The 33-minute DVD is among the latest productions of American Family Studios (AFS).

 “For Christians who care about budgeting, spending, saving – all things financial – Rob West defines a path to freedom in managing their finances,” said Austin Brooks, AFS director. West is CEO of Kingdom Advisors and host of Faith & Finance with Rob West on American Family Radio.

His straightforward presentation will be welcomed by viewers who desire guidance in this Christian discipline. 

Fighting frustration

West recognizes that fear and guilt often frustrate Christians who wonder if their investments are managed by firms that abandon biblical morality and support today’s amoral (or even immoral) woke culture. Subsequently, he helps them channel their money into biblically sound investments.

“I have spent my entire life at the intersection of faith and finance,” West said. “Money issues are heart issues. Our financial journey is one of the key ways God shapes our spiritual journey.”

According to his count, there are 2,300 Scriptures that address money, and half of Jesus’ parables have a money context. West suggests two overarching questions one should ask when considering personal money management:

▶ Who owns it?

▶ How much is enough?

Finding freedom

West then follows those two questions with seven probing checkpoints that specify details of the fiscal responsibility of every Christian. 

For example, the first checkpoint cuts to the heart of the matter. He cites Matthew 6 (NASB), in which Jesus teaches, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (v. 21) and “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth” (v. 24).

Checkpoint six addresses debt management – likely a challenge for everyone at some season of life. “Debt mortgages the future,” declared West. He cites the biblical warning that “the borrower becomes the lender’s slave” (Proverbs 22:7).

Again, West tacks on a few more intrusive questions to discourage borrowing. Is the economic return greater than the cost? Is it presuming on the future, i.e., does it depend on wishful thinking about future income? Does it deny God the opportunity to provide?

It is true that West spotlights some unpopular principles such as discipline, restraint, and planning ahead. But his brief DVD is solid food for thought about sound money management.