In this episode, economist Tanner Nadeh presents a biblical perspective on finances from the perspective of the Bible. Tanner is a powerful and knowledgeable speaker who unapologetically and passionately defends conservative values, common sense, and Christianity. He is a frequent guest on numerous television shows and podcasts, and also has his own website and podcast. Tanner graduated with a degree in economics, and is the author of two books, True Christianity, published in 2020, and Kingdom of Cain, Escape the Insanity of Progressivism, released in January 2024.
00:18:10.240We say, you know, we give a prayer for provision, knowing that we need him to meet our daily bread.
00:18:15.580And it's when we rely on the Lord Jesus for our provision that we get to see these wonderful miracles take place in which we thought we wouldn't be provided for.
00:18:49.720It's so incredible how, for example, one day Mueller has no idea how he's going to feed these hundreds of children in his orphanage.
00:18:56.880But he sits down with the children at breakfast, and he thanks God for giving them their daily bread, even though they have no bread.
00:19:04.660And wouldn't you know it, the moment that the prayer is uttered and finished, a man shows up at the door with milk, and a man shows up at the door with bread.
00:19:12.740It's incredible to see how these prayers are answered.
00:19:15.020And I am convinced that if we prayed more than we do, if we were more faithful to pray and to rely on the Lord Jesus and what we are right now,
00:19:22.180if we weren't so fast to try and rely on ourselves and on our money, right, on hoping that the dollar is better tomorrow than what it is today,
00:19:31.020we would live far less stressful lives, you know, than what we otherwise might live.
00:19:36.300Now, all that to say, I'm not saying that we shouldn't fight for financial security and financial common sense.
00:19:43.720But there is a difference between you and I as Christians fighting for financial common sense and financial security and a non-Christian.
00:19:52.180Fighting for financial common sense and financial security.
00:19:55.980As for you and I, we fight for, no, let me be more accurate.
00:19:59.600As for the non-Christian, the man who doesn't believe in Jesus, he fights for financial security because he has absolutely nothing left, right?
00:20:19.620He has to put all his faith in himself, all his faith in that massive machine in Ottawa, printing the most exorbitant amounts of money every single day.
00:20:29.460And if he loses that faith, he's got nothing left.
00:20:32.640And so he fights for financial security in order to be saved.
00:20:37.580You and I, however, as Christians, fight for financial security to, or no, not to, because we're saved.
00:20:46.240You and I fight for financial security and financial common sense precisely because we are already saved.
00:20:53.920We know that our needs are met in Jesus Christ.
00:20:56.440We know that our goods and services that we require are provided by the Lord.
00:21:00.740And we work hard to do that, of course.
00:21:02.600We work hard to provide for our families and do what we can.
00:21:06.060But we know that at the end of the day, every good thing comes from the Lord.
00:21:09.660There's no more perfect picture of that than, of course, Israel in the wilderness with manna.
00:21:14.000Here you have all of this manna falling from heaven, literally miraculously.
00:21:17.740Their needs are met day by day by day.
00:21:20.800So, too, it's true with the Christian.
00:21:23.120Thus, what's the answer to our problem?
00:21:25.580How do we ensure that we don't rely on government to meet our daily bread and so become beholden to government as they want us to be beholden to them?
00:21:33.980The answer is to put our faith in Jesus Christ and only Jesus Christ and no one but Jesus Christ.
00:21:41.360It's by doing that that we free ourselves from the powers and the influence of government.
00:21:46.840And so we're allowed to criticize them.
00:21:48.960And so we're freed up to say what you're doing is wrong.
00:21:51.900And so we're freed up to say even if you devalue the dollar as you are right now, we won't fear because we put our faith not in man, but in almighty God.
00:22:01.020It's a fantastic piece in knowing that Christ provides for me.
00:22:04.900It's a fantastic piece in knowing that no matter what Justin Trudeau tries to do, as malevolent as what he is doing right now, he cannot, he cannot take away from the Christian the provision of almighty God.
00:22:18.320Now, of course, there are financial principles we ought to follow.
00:22:21.780I am of firm conviction that we shouldn't spend more than we have.
00:22:25.140That sounds simple, but when you think about it, it's profound in this society that's always encouraged to go into debt.
00:22:31.020And to spend and spend and spend as much as you can and to buy the biggest home and to buy the nicest car and to buy the very best food.
00:22:38.960It's like perhaps as tough as it might be, it's better to not spend absolutely every cent we have and to instead be, you know, be very careful with our finances.
00:23:13.880You know, is it better to put money in in, you know, metals and silver and gold and so on?
00:23:18.900Now, I'm very careful to not provide financial advice, but but biblically, it talks a lot about proper investing techniques and, you know, having gold and silver.
00:23:29.440And if you look at historical trends, gold is is clear that it seems to be, you know, a hedge, a sort of hedge anyway against inflation in the long run.
00:23:37.920And so we have all of these little things that we can do.
00:23:42.280Really, the principle is, you know, act as common sense as possible.
00:23:46.540That's the simple principle of finances that we can do to try and mitigate the destruction that Trudeau's economics causes.
00:23:54.600But when all is said and done, unless we put our faith in Jesus Christ, all of it is lost.
00:23:59.980Even if we do well financially throughout our lives and we're financially secure at the end of it all, we can't take that money anywhere.
00:24:31.780Faith in Jesus Christ is what's first.
00:24:33.420And after that, a peace follows, which cannot be described so that no matter what Trudeau tries to do financially, we know that we're secure by the, you know, in the resurrected Lord.
00:25:02.520But, you know, how would you respond to people, to our viewers right now who aren't believers and may be struggling and thinking, I don't understand the concept of faith solving my financial problems?
00:25:18.340Is there a way that you could elaborate a little bit on that?
00:25:21.640I think I could probably give an example as well.
00:25:25.320I've told my viewers before I went through 20 years of really difficult times.
00:25:31.480It was a real season as the Lord was honing me down and getting me to focus completely on Him.
00:25:55.780And so I would save in order to purchase something and, you know, use those principles throughout my life.
00:26:01.900But you are right when you're saying that what we have been inundated with, not only with COVID, is this military psychological threat towards, you know, our thinking.
00:26:15.960I guess you could say psychological manipulation in it's all about you, right?
00:26:25.060And as my son and my daughter-in-law, they just had their first baby in February.
00:26:30.240They're living in a little one-bedroom because of the cost of things.
00:26:33.200And they've chosen that because it would cost double what they're paying to move to, you know, a two-bedroom.
00:26:40.300And I think about my mom and dad when they had my brother and my sister and I, we were in the same room until we, I would think I was four and my sister was six, somewhere in there, before they built a house.
00:26:52.380And so it wasn't uncommon for parents to hunker down and for kids to live in close, confined, you know, quarters with their siblings.
00:27:03.400And we have become so used to some sort of extravagance that now that we're being hit with these hard times, a lot of people don't know the concept of living within their means.
00:27:16.340Well, I'll just put more on my credit card.
00:27:18.080And if you could think about the 20 plus percent that you pay on a credit card and the interest and how they could just begin to manage those funds and bring it back under control.
00:27:29.940I liked what you said, you know, about thinking about what you have in food.
00:29:46.480And when he promises to meet our needs, he will indeed meet our needs.
00:29:50.100Now, I like what you said at the end as well, actually the whole thing.
00:29:53.860That doesn't mean that Christ is going to give you the boat and the biggest house and, you know, the rich expensive caviar and the ribeye every single meal.
00:30:02.960No, quite the contrary, you know, not necessarily the contrary, but that's never promised to the Christian.
00:30:08.900Instead, right, it's Christ is going to provide for you.
00:30:11.880And it might be manna or it might be something else, but he is going to provide.
00:30:16.160He hasn't failed his people and he will not fail them.
00:30:20.080So, in the case of your grandchild, you know, who's more free?
00:30:26.040The man who puts all of his faith in money and lives in a great mansion or a family who puts their faith in Jesus Christ and maybe lives in a smaller home, right?
00:30:36.340Who is more free, the man who is scared day after day that his stocks are going to fail and crash or the man who says, no matter what Trudeau tries to do, no matter what the market does, Christ is still going to provide for me.
00:30:50.260It's certainly a difficult one that, you know, takes a lot of testing and trial and patience and hope and faith, but it is one that's superior.
00:30:59.920And yes, as for living within your means, it's true.
00:31:02.680We've been taught to be extravagant, low interest rates.
00:31:21.900And so it might be financially prudent to downsize, to have a smaller house or to not get the massive yacht or to not get the new diesel or to not do these things that the world tells you to have.
00:31:32.480None of those goods provide salvation.
00:31:47.400And, you know, what I learned through that time as well is I've said many times that Action for Canada is uncompromising to the Word of God.
00:33:12.040Some people need the security of a home that's bought and paid for.
00:33:15.640Others are okay to rent, but they're not good on being on their own.
00:33:19.860And so, their desire of their heart is to have a faithful spouse.
00:33:24.080And so, if we're faithful to God, He will meet the desires of our heart, knowing what those desires are more intricately than we do.
00:33:33.000I hope that makes sense in what I'm saying.
00:33:35.320But having the faith to tithe will bring you such an abundance from the Lord as well.
00:33:41.880And I've experienced that throughout, you know, my life, of how miraculously God has provided for me, in spite of the hardships that I'd gone through that get me to where I was.
00:35:12.080He has the means by which he can meet all of his daily bread, all of his needs.
00:35:16.900Whereas the poor man, who doesn't have that opportunity, has to rely on Jesus Christ.
00:35:22.520That's why it's easier for him to enter the kingdom of heaven.
00:35:25.720He hasn't had that luxury of having everything provided for him.
00:35:28.940He hasn't had the luxury of having every need and desire and want met almost instantaneously because of the amount of wealth that he has.
00:35:37.300No, he has no other option but to rely on Jesus.
00:35:41.060And so when you talk about tithing and how important tithing is, it is a manifestation of a man's desire to see that he serves the Lord his God with everything he has.
00:35:51.900I've read a lot of quotes, and I can't remember where this one's from.
00:35:55.980I don't really remember, but it's a good one that says you almost wonder if it isn't ideal to be right on that precipice of, you know, a financial pinch when you tithe.
00:36:04.880John Wesley, for example, I think it was Wesley.
00:36:08.760This stunningly, stunningly eloquent preacher and brilliant man and famous across America.
00:36:13.700When he dies, he has pennies to his name, not because he was poor and not in that sense, but because he willingly gave everything he made away, right?
00:36:21.880Now, I'm not saying everyone should do that.
00:36:23.580I'm not saying a man should plunge his family into poverty.
00:36:47.460Yeah, and it may seem odd for some people who are hearing this for the first time, but I always say, you know what, just pray.
00:36:55.840Ask God to give you, you know, even the smallest bit of faith, and we know that, you know, even for my kids right now, they're not going to be able to come up with $800,000 for a condo.
00:37:06.560It's just not doable, and that's what we're not.
00:37:09.620That's not what we're talking about, right?
00:37:11.560And it's not wrong to own a home outright.
00:37:15.360If you're being responsible with your finances, no matter where you are, whether, you know, you're working to pay the rent and put groceries on the table, or you've got a home, it's to spend it responsibly, find those opportunities to be generous to those in need as well, to also be responsible, you know, to leave an inheritance for your children.
00:37:37.180There's also sorts of biblical scripture, you know, that talks about all of these things.
00:37:45.020There was another question that I'll veer to that's a little bit off topic at this, but I just want people to know that it doesn't mean that, you know, God is going to bless you.
00:37:57.360Okay, if I do this, that, and the other thing, God is going to provide all of these needs.
00:38:02.620It's like, no, the other thing to pray for in the midst of it is contentment and for God to give you a spirit of joy, because you can be living from paycheck to paycheck and be at peace.
00:38:16.780You can be content because you know that you're going to be okay.
00:38:20.140And especially in this society, you know, what we find a need is that we need to be helping our neighbors out as well and thinking about them and showing our love in that way as well.
00:38:30.440Okay, so I'm going to veer in a little different direction right now.
00:38:33.740I know that you've also spoken about pensions.
00:38:43.140So, you know, along with this talk goes the principle that we should be financially responsible, of course, you know, and I think that if we can, without compromising our morality, earn more money, then we ought to do so.
00:38:55.200It allows us to, whether it be tithe more or whether it be use it for some other purpose in life or, you know, make the home nicer, whatever it might be.
00:39:03.600I think if a man can do so, you know, he ought to do so.
00:39:07.220So, as you mentioned lately, I've been talking then about pensions.
00:39:09.720Now, in particular, I've been talking about the Canadian pension plan.
00:39:13.120And part of what we're trying to do, this group that I speak with or town halls that I go to, is expose just how government uses programs like the Canadian pension plan to, wouldn't you know it, make people financially responsible on the government so that they have to put all of their hope and faith in the government.
00:39:33.060It might not even be true that the government provides a service that is that excellent or provides that much money.
00:39:40.160As long as they can convince the citizen that without them, without the government, they'd be broke and destitute, then people will follow them abundantly.
00:39:49.480You know, when I talk about the Canadian pension plan, we'll say, for example, that, you know, it's a bloated piece of bureaucracy, which is true.
00:39:59.200Then, well, people will stand up in response and they'll say, no, I need that pension to live.
00:40:23.880Is government really servicing you that well?
00:40:26.800You know, when you think that the average rates of return for the individual pensioner on his or her Canadian pension plan is about two and a half or three percent, and that's all, it doesn't sound like a very good investment to me.
00:40:41.140When you think about the fact that when you pass away, your pension is gone.
00:40:45.640It's not as though your beneficiaries receive anything.
00:40:48.260No, instead, it's swallowed up by the government machine.
00:40:51.340That doesn't sound like a very smart financial decision to me.
00:40:54.380When you think about the difference in what you could have earned with, you know, your own private investment over 40 years versus shoveling thousands of dollars every year into the Canadian pension plan and come away with far less, that doesn't sound like a very sustainable or proper financial plan to me.
00:41:13.500And finally, when you think about how government manipulates the numbers, it's so egregious.
00:41:19.160For example, the federal government right now says that the Canadian pension plan has amassed a surplus of some 600 plus billion dollars.
00:41:28.140They have a big pile, a 600 billion dollar pile worth of assets in their in their organization.
00:41:36.400Let's just for the moment suppose that's true.
00:41:38.660Whether or not it is is a different conversation.
00:41:40.440But let's suppose that they've they've, you know, piled up this 600 billion dollar surplus.
00:41:45.600The federal government takes that number and they add it to their budget, you know, to their yearly budget, and they add it to their budget, obviously on the asset side.
00:41:55.480So they say we have a 600 plus billion dollar asset here.
00:42:01.040It puts us in a pretty nice financial position.
00:42:03.060But notice, government does not, as it puts that number on the asset side, add the correlating liability that comes with the 600 billion dollar asset.
00:42:16.580What I mean to say is the CPP has built up that asset to be used to pay you and me when we retire down the line.
00:42:25.960That's what that big pile is there for.
00:42:28.020It cannot be used, at least officially, for general government business.
00:42:31.900So then why wouldn't government put that in the budget?
00:42:35.260Why wouldn't they say we have a 600 billion dollar asset?
00:42:38.360Oh, but look, we also have a 600 billion dollar liability with the CPP because that big pile of money must be used for pensions and pensioners.
00:42:48.500If they did that, however, their books would look so much worse than what they do right now.
00:43:34.560But he when he was younger, they went through the war.
00:43:38.780He would go out in the fields and work so hard and labor so hard all day.
00:43:43.680He was in a terrible motorcycle accident where he had one leg shorter than the other.
00:43:48.220They had actually set him aside when he was a teenager because they later actually early 20s because they thought that he was just going to die.
00:44:55.020And they were told it was in a secure pension.
00:44:58.360There is no way there should have been any risk on this pension.
00:45:01.520So what would you recommend that people who are paying into a pension right now, can they opt out of pensions?
00:45:08.400Or is this something we should be working towards in getting legislation?
00:45:12.040Because I think the same advice could go for I don't want to say advice because we don't give financial advice or we could consider the the role of RSPs and rifts.
00:45:23.160Once I wish I'd known 30 years ago, I'd put money in RSPs for a while, but I'd taken them all out a long time ago.
00:45:30.040Had I put them in silver and gold when I was in my early 20s and just hung on to it personally or in a safe or however you want to store that, I would have been in an incredibly good situation right now.
00:45:43.480And right now, I have a relative, say, I'll give an example, $200,000 in RSPs to take that money out.
00:45:53.040It's going to cost them nearly 50% in taxes, the government.
00:45:57.640And that's not even with an inheritance tax, which Trudeau is trying to push right now.
00:46:02.420So the goal would be get as much of your money out of your RSPs.
00:46:07.100I mean, that's something to consider, but do the research on it.
00:46:10.620We've got a page on our homepage for the for purchasing precious metals.
00:46:18.520We've had Steve Merrill on a couple of times and there's videos at the top of the page, but it helps to educate you on your investments.
00:46:26.460And then you can make at least a decision, a knowledgeable decision.
00:46:32.800And so that's what I would really encourage you to do, because the longer you leave them, anything that's in paper and you can't touch, who knows where this is going with the government.
00:46:41.360And when I saw what happened to my uncle's pension, I was just so angry about it.
00:46:46.480And I'm so angry to see what's happening with the RSPs right now with this family member who is in the midst of trying to take this money out.
00:46:56.980I mean, tax upon tax upon tax, it's absolutely criminal what the government is doing.
00:47:59.440If you're employee, if you're an employee, you're paying into that pension.
00:48:02.940And so then considering that we have to be active in looking at what the pension is investing
00:48:08.200in and putting pressure on government or on the CPP IB, writing letters, as I know your group does, and equipping people with the information and the knowledge that they need in order to counter arguments made by that massive bureaucracy.
00:48:21.960The principle is quite simple of, you know, being as financially, yeah, common sense, having as much financial common sense as possible, being active and involved in what our money is doing is a good thing.
00:48:35.280We have to be careful to not let it control us, but we also have to be careful to not say, well, whatever happens, happens, I guess.
00:49:24.680Yeah, that is just really good information, I think, that we've been able to discuss tonight, as well as in your verbal presentation that you've provided.
00:49:36.700I was just seeing if there was any questions.
00:49:38.520I know somebody's asked, have you read The Great Taking?
00:49:40.900It's funny because I've got a video open on my other computer, and I've been meaning to watch it on somebody that has, it had to do with The Great Taking.
00:49:51.100I think the individual that had written it.
00:49:55.760You know, I'll trade the individual books.
00:49:58.720There's a book on investing, well, kind of called The Richest Man in Babylon, and I know it's Babylon, but it's a very simple book to read that talks about simple principles for being wise with money.
00:50:11.180And that really, that principle is don't lend to foolish people.
00:50:14.400And I think that's a good principle to follow.
00:50:21.560I've been, it's been on my list to dig a little more into that.
00:50:24.900And yeah, so I'm just trying to think if there's anybody that has any further questions, please submit them.
00:50:32.620And because we're going to be wrapping up the show very shortly.
00:50:35.700Is there anything else, Tanner, that you feel that maybe was missed in your room?
00:50:43.840Because I know you speak on this topic all of the time.
00:50:46.960And what do you have to say, this is one thing.
00:50:50.540I was speaking recently at a church, and I said, could somebody please tell me, and it was so hilarious, that this is a pastor that is teaching the Word of God that didn't shut down during the pandemic.
00:51:04.040He is informing his congregation on the sexualization of our children, on, you know, our rights to the sovereignty and upholding God's laws in Canada, etc.
00:51:15.380But I said, could somebody please tell me where it says in the Bible that churches are supposed to hand out a tax receipt, you know, when we tithe?
00:51:24.920Because it's completely not scriptural.
00:51:28.020And I know that Action for Canada has chosen not to get charitable status, because it would give the government too much oversight into what we're doing.
00:51:37.340And we probably would have been shut down if it was based on that.
00:51:40.680So come the end of the year, I'm looking at all of these other organizations who have given themselves over to the government and have charitable status.
00:51:48.360And we're sitting there and we're not receiving the donations at the end of the year, because people want that tax receipt.
00:51:53.820And so within love in my heart, I just want to challenge you on that.
00:51:59.640And that when you tithe or when you give, do it thoughtfully of where the Lord directs you to do that without considering anything in return, because you will get blessed beyond what you could possibly imagine if you're obedient to the Lord.
00:52:14.280And so I know the more I talk about this, pastors are really starting to, you know, consider this aspect, and that it was really something that the government did to control what the pastors and the churches say and do.