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If Money Solves Everything, Why Do Rich People Still Seem Miserable? · Becoming Financially Confident

• 0:37
  Money isn't everything.
• 0:39
  Money can't buy happiness.
• 0:41
  The best things in life are free.
• 0:43
  Sure, keep telling yourself that.
• 0:45
  Today we're going to pull back the curtain on what we actually believe about money and the bigger lie hanging underneath of it.
• 0:52
  Let's get into it on today's show.
• 1:04
  Hello and welcome to Financially Confident Christian.
• 1:06
  I'm Ralph Estep Jr.
• 1:07
  And I just want to thank you so much for joining me today.
• 1:11
  Today feels a little different.
• 1:12
  Let me tell you right now this listener question.
• 1:14
  Today, he came in hot.
• 1:16
  Not asking for advice, he's actually arguing a position.
• 1:20
  His basic contention is this.
• 1:21
  I'm going to read the story in a second.
• 1:24
  He basically says that money solves nearly every problem.
• 1:27
  And anybody who says otherwise is delusional.
• 1:31
  Now, I'm not going to tell you they're wrong, but I'm going to talk about something harder and I really believe.
• 1:37
  And as you listen to this question, start thinking along the same lines I am.
• 1:41
  I think they're looking at the wrong problem.
• 1:44
  So if you've ever felt like money is the answer to your life or you felt that desperation that one more dollar could fix everything, this episode is for you.
• 1:53
  And if you've got a question for this show, I would love to hear it.
• 1:57
  You can send me the question by going to financiallyconfidentchristian.com/question We'll put a link in the show notes, but again, that's financiallyconfidentchristian.com/question Well, let's get right into this listener question.
• 2:12
  Like I said, this is a hot one.
• 2:15
  Listener writes this.
• 2:16
  Hi, Ralph.
• 2:17
  I'm sick of people saying money isn't the answer.
• 2:20
  It solves nearly every problem.
• 2:22
  Health problem.
• 2:23
  Hey, with enough money, nearly everything except death can be solved.
• 2:27
  Ugly?
• 2:28
  Not anymore.
• 2:29
  Access to the best fashion, the best hairstylist, the best skin scare, the best everything.
• 2:36
  Fitness is a joke.
• 2:37
  With money, you can optimize every single push towards your goal so you get there faster with substantially less effort.
• 2:44
  Housing, travel, taxes, retirement, the law itself, none of it's a problem with money.
• 2:51
  Speed limits, they're just a toll.
• 2:52
  Ralph, don't like a law, contribute to enough political campaigns and it's no longer a problem.
• 2:58
  People say you'll be miserable when you have everything you want.
• 3:02
  But novelty is purchasable.
• 3:04
  You can buy happiness, supplements and peptides and you can buy experiences like escorts.
• 3:09
  Drugs is where it gets a little dark.
• 3:11
  And sunny beaches.
• 3:13
  Why does everyone keep saying money isn't everything?
• 3:17
  It covers nearly every problem.
• 3:21
  Like I said, that one came in hot.
• 3:25
  And this person really believes that money solves everything.
• 3:29
  But I don't believe that to be the case.
• 3:32
  I think money solves money problems.
• 3:35
  But you're not asking about money problems.
• 3:38
  You're asking about a deeper problem.
• 3:41
  And no amount of money can solve that.
• 3:44
  Let me get right into it.
• 3:46
  You're right about money solving a lot of problems.
• 3:49
  But look at what you're listing here.
• 3:52
  You are right.
• 3:53
  Money does solve some things.
• 3:54
  You talked about health.
• 3:55
  Sure.
• 3:55
  If you have money, you can get better doctors, you can get better treatments, you can have prevention.
• 4:01
  That is absolutely true.
• 4:02
  With money, you can do that.
• 4:04
  Hey, you talked about appearance.
• 4:06
  You can have the best people, you can use the best products, you can have the best procedures.
• 4:10
  Hey, look, in Hollywood you'll see what I'm talking about.
• 4:13
  Housing, travel, legal problems.
• 4:16
  Sure, money helps all of those things.
• 4:19
  And I'm not going to insult you by pretending money doesn't matter.
• 4:22
  It does matter.
• 4:24
  The person saying money doesn't matter usually hasn't paid rent in three months.
• 4:28
  They just don't.
• 4:29
  They don't care anymore.
• 4:31
  But look at the list you actually built.
• 4:33
  You started with health, then you went to appearance, then you went to fitness, and then you went to the law.
• 4:41
  And then you went to the thing that I think you've overlooked a little bit, happiness itself.
• 4:48
  And that's where we need to park here for a second.
• 4:51
  Your solution for happiness was supplements, peptides, escorts, drugs and beaches.
• 4:57
  What a mix.
• 4:59
  That's not a solution, it's what you buy when the real problem isn't solved.
• 5:05
  And that problem isn't financial, it's existential.
• 5:09
  Money absolutely solves money problems.
• 5:12
  But when you have to buy happiness instead of feel it, you've already lost.
• 5:19
  So let's talk about the problem that money can't solve.
• 5:23
  Money will never be able to buy you.
• 5:25
  Meaning?
• 5:26
  Yeah, you can optimize every workout, but you're filling a void.
• 5:31
  And that void's never going to close.
• 5:34
  Money can't buy you purpose.
• 5:35
  Sure, you can travel to every beach in the world, but if you're running from something, instead of running towards something, you're still running.
• 5:45
  Money can't buy you peace.
• 5:48
  And peace is the one thing that I hear you screaming so loudly that you actually need the richest person on earth.
• 5:57
  They don't have a money problem.
• 5:59
  They have a meaning problem.
• 6:01
  You don't have a financial crisis here.
• 6:03
  You've got an identity crisis dressed up as a financial one.
• 6:08
  Now why does this matter?
• 6:10
  You said it yourself.
• 6:12
  If you believe money solves everything, then the logic follows.
• 6:16
  Enough Money fixes your life.
• 6:19
  So so many of us chase it.
• 6:21
  We work that job, we hit that income target, we get the money, and then we still feel empty.
• 6:28
  And then we're confused because we think that the thing that was supposed to work, it didn't work.
• 6:36
  And that's the trap.
• 6:38
  And you can't buy your way out of a trap.
• 6:40
  That was always spiritual, it was always existential.
• 6:45
  Chasing money as a solution to emptiness is how you end up with everything, nothing.
• 6:52
  I want to say that again because you need to hear that.
• 6:54
  Chasing money and so many people are locked in this right now.
• 6:59
  If you're chasing money as a solution to that emptiness you're feeling is how you end up with all kinds of toys and stuff, but you feel nothing inside.
• 7:10
  Let's talk about what actually matters.
• 7:12
  This is the question that you didn't ask, but the real question that I think we need to answer today.
• 7:18
  I want to start by saying something truthful.
• 7:20
  Money does matter.
• 7:21
  It absolutely does.
• 7:22
  Money pays your bills, it helps you build your savings, and it helps you have security.
• 7:27
  Those are all true statements about money.
• 7:30
  But that's not the goal.
• 7:31
  It's the foundation.
• 7:33
  And if you don't have that, your foundation is going to be weak.
• 7:36
  So you got to figure that out.
• 7:37
  That's why I do this show.
• 7:38
  But once the foundation is solid, you build something on top of it.
• 7:43
  The people at peace with the money are the ones who stop thinking it was the answer.
• 7:49
  They use it, they respect it, but they don't worship it.
• 7:54
  You're allowed to want money and also know it's not the answer.
• 7:59
  You said something that caught me.
• 8:02
  You said, maybe you'll be miserable when you have everything you want, but you can buy happiness back.
• 8:08
  That's not hope.
• 8:10
  That's despair dressed up like optimism.
• 8:13
  Here's what faith knows that money doesn't.
• 8:16
  You can't buy your way out of emptiness.
• 8:18
  You can spend your whole life trying.
• 8:20
  You can buy experiences, you can buy pleasure.
• 8:23
  You can buy the best version of yourself.
• 8:27
  And you're still going to wake up empty one day because the thing you are actually looking for isn't for sale at all.
• 8:34
  You can't buy meaning.
• 8:35
  You can't buy purpose.
• 8:38
  It's being known by someone who loves you.
• 8:41
  Not because you're rich or you're beautiful or you're successful, but because you're you.
• 8:49
  And that's what money can't ever buy.
• 8:52
  But, friend, that's what God offers for free.
• 8:56
  You've been looking for the answer in the wrong place.
• 8:59
  And I Think you know it.
• 9:02
  You're asking these questions.
• 9:04
  And that's the good thing about this.
• 9:05
  I'm so happy you sent this in.
• 9:06
  At first I wasn't going to cover it on the show.
• 9:08
  Like, this is a silly one.
• 9:10
  But you ask these questions and it means some part of you already knows that money isn't the answer.
• 9:16
  And I just want to ask.
• 9:17
  I want to encourage you to listen to that part of your conscious.
• 9:20
  I believe that's your discernment speaking to you.
• 9:24
  But here's your win for today.
• 9:26
  I want you to stop for one moment and ask what you're actually looking for.
• 9:31
  Not what culture tells you, not what you think you should want, what you actually want.
• 9:38
  Run the four security.
• 9:39
  Sure, money can buy that status.
• 9:42
  Yeah, money buys that.
• 9:43
  But it's empty.
• 9:44
  It doesn't mean anything.
• 9:45
  You have anybody to share it with.
• 9:47
  Peace.
• 9:48
  Money can't buy that, but you can get it for free.
• 9:53
  And love, hey, you might buy relationships, you might buy escorts like you said, but money definitely can't buy love.
• 10:01
  And then write down three things that you think money could fix for you.
• 10:05
  And then write down what you actually feel after you got them.
• 10:09
  The gap is where the real conversation starts.
• 10:13
  I think you're going to be surprised at what you write down.
• 10:16
  Well, let's get to our Bible verse for today.
• 10:18
  It comes to us from First Timothy, chapter 6, verse 10.
• 10:22
  It says, for the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.
• 10:26
  Some people eager for money have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
• 10:34
  Now think about this for a second.
• 10:35
  This is often misquoted and I've done shows about this.
• 10:38
  Paul isn't saying money is evil.
• 10:42
  Money, as I said, it's a tool.
• 10:43
  It will help you.
• 10:44
  It builds that foundation.
• 10:46
  What he's saying is the love of money is evil, and there's a difference there.
• 10:52
  So if you fall in love with money as the solution, if you trusted it to do what only meaning and purpose can do, that love is piercing you with griefs.
• 11:02
  You can have everything you wanted and still be empty.
• 11:07
  Knowing you can't buy your way to peace, you can optimize your way out of joy.
• 11:11
  That's Paul's warning.
• 11:13
  Not having money, loving money more than truth.
• 11:17
  And that's what we really had to be on guard against.
• 11:20
  How about we pray together?
• 11:22
  Heavenly Father, I'm praying for someone who's been looking for answers in all the wrong places.
• 11:28
  I'm praying for someone who's optimized everything except that thing that matters.
• 11:34
  Someone convinced one more purchase or one more experience or that optimization will finally work.
• 11:42
  But Lord, you know better.
• 11:44
  They're searching and they're substituting.
• 11:47
  They're looking for peace and buying pleasure.
• 11:49
  They're looking for meaning and buying status.
• 11:52
  They're looking for love, Lord, and buying experiences.
• 11:56
  And I just ask today that you would open their eyes to what they're actually searching for.
• 12:02
  Help them to see the answer isn't in their bank account.
• 12:05
  It's in surrender.
• 12:07
  It's in purpose.
• 12:09
  It's in being known.
• 12:11
  So Lord, I just ask that you would encourage all of us to have the courage to want something that money can't buy.
• 12:18
  And I ask this in Jesus name.
• 12:21
  Amen, friend.
• 12:25
  You're not wrong that money solves a lot of problems.
• 12:28
  What you're wrong about is what the actual problem is.
• 12:32
  So as I get back to it, money absolutely solves financial problems.
• 12:36
  That's real and it's important.
• 12:38
  But that emptiness you're feeling, that's not a financial problem.
• 12:42
  Neither is meaninglessness.
• 12:44
  Neither is loneliness.
• 12:46
  And when you optimize everything and you're still empty, the problem was never money in the first place.
• 12:53
  As I said earlier, the richest people in the world have the same void that you do.
• 12:58
  They just got more stuff around them.
• 13:01
  So stop looking in your bank account and start looking for meaning.
• 13:04
  Start looking for purpose and start looking for peace.
• 13:09
  Those things are free and they're the only things that actually work in the long term.
• 13:15
  And if you're seeking something, if you're looking for help with your finances, I would love to hear from you.
• 13:20
  You can reach me by going to financiallyconfidentchristian.com.com/voicemail again, that's financiallyconfidentchristian.com/voicemail thank you so much for joining me today.
• 13:33
  I want to encourage you to stay financially savvy.
• 13:35
  May God bless you and you have a great.
• 13:56
  It.