Hey, welcome to our broadcast today on business, money, and Christianity—a financial podcast from a faith perspective. I hope you’ve been enjoying our teachings over the last few weeks, where I’ve been ministering along the lines of the establishment of life. It’s from a ministry session I did within a church.
But today, I want to bring it back to speaking directly with you. One of the premises I talked about was believing God’s Word more than our circumstances. Let me step outside of the explicitly Christian framing for a moment and say it this way: believing in what we’re doing more than what we’re seeing.
So in our lives as business owners, as salespeople, or however we’re structuring our lives and generating income, my question today is: do you believe in what you’re doing? And I don’t just mean, “Okay, this is a good product; I can sell it.” I mean, do you truly believe in it? Because whatever you’re selling, your belief system is going to come through.
Now, we can fake it—and I did for a long time. I went to college for business management, and when I got out, I got a job in the financial sector where I was selling very high-interest-rate loans.
It’s always been my heart’s desire—and really the function of my life—to help people. And while I had a job that paid well, I was doing things I knew were not helpful. I knew that a person coming to me for a loan could go down the street to a local credit union and get that same loan 10–12 percent cheaper. There was no real reason for them to come to me.
Honestly, I wanted to tell them, “Don’t you know you can go to that credit union, that bank, or that place over there where the rates are far lower than mine?” But obviously, I didn’t present it that way. I had to put on a front. And I would go home at night dissatisfied with what I was doing because I didn’t truly believe in it.
I remember one family we put a deal together for. They might not have qualified elsewhere because of how we structured it—we took a loan against their house, took the title to their cars, and had to piece everything together to make it work. We did reduce their payments significantly so they could survive financially.
But then, within just a few weeks—three or four weeks before their first payment was due—one of them was diagnosed with cancer and couldn’t work. Everything went downhill from there.
One day, while I was home for lunch, I called them and said, “Let me give you some instructions. If you follow this, we can prolong things and work through it.” I laid it out for them. But instead, they went to a bankruptcy attorney who was only interested in collecting a fee to file bankruptcy. The attorney advised them differently.
As a result, everything they owned was taken—because the attorney didn’t consider the full picture. If they had followed what I told them, they likely could have stayed in their house. It would have been difficult and costly, but it could have been worked out.
This is why we have to believe in what we’re doing.
Recently, I was on a sales call. My wife turned 65 at the beginning of June this year, and in the United States, the insurance we had stopped covering her at that age. She transitioned to a government program. Personally, I prefer not to be involved with government programs—but that’s my view; you may feel differently.
We were on a call with an insurance agent, and he was trying to sell us what I would call junk insurance. There was one component that actually met a need—and it was free as an add-on—so we said yes to that. There was also a hospitalization policy that, at $33 a month, might be worth it given how expensive hospital stays can be in the U.S.
But then there were two other products. The agent kept emphasizing a “huge payout,” making it sound like a major benefit. I had to stop him and say, “Hold on a moment.”
What bothered me—and ties directly into what I’m talking about today—was that he was trying to present this as a great benefit. The total payout was $5,000.
Now, I don’t mean this arrogantly, but $5,000 is not a significant amount of money. I can write a check for $5,000 if needed. So why would I pay a monthly premium just so that, if a specific event occurs, I receive $5,000? It doesn’t make sense.
And yet, he kept pushing it—three times—before I finally shut it down and made it clear I wasn’t buying it.
So again, it comes back to this: do we truly believe in what we sell?
I have a life insurance license, and I set up what are often called private family banks. If someone just wants a term life policy, I’ll provide that. But when I sit down with someone, I believe in what I’m presenting—because I’ve used it myself.
It transformed our lives—from a negative net worth to where we are today. This approach was central to that transition. That’s why I became an agent for it. I believe in it. We have six of these policies in our own lives.
Because of that, I can sit with someone, explain it clearly, and even accept rejection if they’re not interested. I understand that—it requires understanding the numbers. But I never pressure a sale. I simply say: if your objectives are this, here’s how this product fits.
I’ve lost sales because others come in promising unrealistic outcomes. I try to explain, “That’s not how it works—you need to look at this, this, and this.” But I’m okay with that, because I believe in what I do.
Within what I offer, there are also add-on products that I consider junk. They don’t pay out meaningfully. I could earn a commission on them, but I can’t look someone in the eye and say with conviction, “This is a wise decision.”
One of the most common questions I get—since I work mostly with adults—is whether there’s a way to insure their children. I tell them yes, there is. It’s a rider that can cover a child for $15,000 or $20,000.
I could sell it and earn a commission—but I don’t believe in it.
Statistically, the death of a child in the United States is extremely rare. Does it happen? Yes, tragically. But the policy would only pay $15,000 or $20,000, and most children will live well beyond 18.
So I tell them: “I can add it if you want, but I don’t recommend it. You’re better off self-insuring—making sure you have enough savings to cover a funeral if needed. Mathematically, it doesn’t make sense.”
Very few of these policies ever pay out.
Another example is accidental death and dismemberment insurance. Again, I consider these junk policies. They’re very cheap—because they rarely pay.
When I worked in finance, we sold these. I could insure someone from age 18 to 65 for about $250, and we’d earn a 50% commission. That means the insurance company takes in $125, assumes a $5,000 risk, pays employees, and still profits. That alone should raise questions.
In all my years selling these policies, I saw exactly one payout. Most policies were canceled.
In fact, we used to joke that for one of these policies to pay, you’d have to die on a Wednesday between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. from something falling out of the sky—there were so many exclusions. Yet people bought them because they were cheap.
But for us, integrity must be central to how we make money.
I don’t believe that making money is the ultimate goal—though you may have your own perspective. In God’s system, when we believe in what we’re doing more than what we’re facing, we will always have enough.
Zig Ziglar said that if you help enough people get what they need, you’ll always have what you need. That’s a principle—a spiritual law. I’ve seen it at work.
If we conduct our lives with integrity—if we sell, serve, and act from genuine belief—it changes everything.
I remember being in Kisumu and Kakamega in Kenya, riding with a pastor. He told me about fixing something on his car. I asked how he knew how to do it—I can’t fix cars, so I’m always impressed by people who can.
He said, “You have to learn. Here, if you take your car to a mechanic, they’ll tell you that you need a new carburetor, show you one, but install a used one while charging you for new. If you don’t know what to look for, you’ll get taken advantage of.”
So people are forced to learn—because otherwise they’ll be deceived.
That’s what happens when money becomes more important than integrity. People cut corners, deceive, and rely on the ignorance of the buyer.
Early in my career as an independent contractor, I brought a client to a company where I was being trained. The professionals were leading the meeting, but every time they asked the client a question, the client looked at me for the answer.
Afterward, the trainers told me, “You have a very high trust ratio. The people you bring believe you.”
I told them, “It’s because I do what’s right for people. I don’t try to sell them something that doesn’t fit.”
I make sure the solution aligns with their needs. And if there are downsides, I explain them—because no product is perfect.
Even with what I offer, I say: “Here’s the good, here’s the bad, and here’s the ugly. This product won’t solve this area, but it will help in these areas.”
By doing that, I’ve built a reputation for integrity. People trust me. They come to me with questions because they know I’ll tell them the truth.
And sometimes I say, “I don’t know. This isn’t my area.” But then I refer them to someone trustworthy.
Build integrity into your life. Believe in what you’re doing more than in the obstacles that try to stop you. Stay strong, stay confident, and your faith in what you’re doing will carry you through.
Thank you again for joining us this week on Business, Money, and Christianity—a financial podcast from a faith perspective. I look forward to seeing you next week in another live episode. I hope you’re getting something out of this.
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Have a great weekend, and we’ll see you next week.
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