Did Being Honest Just Cost Me Money?

Speaker A00:00:37

What do you do when honesty cost you money? I'm talking real money. And part of you wonders if anyone would have even known otherwise.On today's episode, I talk with someone who's reported income on their taxes, even though no forms were sent to them. And now they're wrestling with the feeling that doing the right thing may have put them at a disadvantage. They could have just ignored it.They could have looked the other way. Instead, they chose integrity, and now they're questioning whether it was worth the cost.How do you keep choosing honesty when compromise seems easier and cheaper? That's what I'm breaking down on today's show. Hello, friend. Ralph Estep Jr. Here. This is financially confident Christian.This is the Daily show where every day we try to break that cycle of financial shame and. And help you live in confidence.And today we're talking about making that right choice and being honest on our taxes when maybe no one would have known the difference otherwise. This is a classic question I hear all the time, probably once or twice a week from my clients. But let's get right into the question.Person writes this Ralph, I reported income on my taxes that no one even sent me forms for. And now part of me feels foolish for being honest.It would have been easy to just leave it off and pretend I ever noticed, especially since no tax forms showed up. Instead, I did what I knew was right, and now I'm paying more because of it.I guess I'm wrestling with the tension of doing a responsible thing when it feels like no one else would have known. Ralph, did I make the right choice? Did a right call by choosing integrity even when it cost me? Yes, you did the right thing.Doing the right thing is still the right thing, even when it cost you something. So let's break this down today, because here I want to start with this.If you know anything about gangsters in America, what eventually brought down the gangster Al Capone? It wasn't murder. It wasn't any gambling. It was taxes. That's what brought him down. But let's get right into it today.First thing, I want you to recognize, recognize what integrity actually means. Old wise person once said, integrity is what happens at what you do when no one's watching and it matters.See, it's super easy to be honest when it benefits us. If we're going to get something from it, if we're going to gain something from it, hey, that's simple. Nobody's going to argue with you.Oh, that's super easy. But true character, the core of your character is Revealed when honesty cost you something, and this has cost you something, I get it.But the character is what's important. And you have to do something else, too. You've got to separate fairness from faithfulness.These are two very different words with very different meanings. And it may feel unfair. Why am I paying taxes on this, Ralph? I don't have to.You might be saying to yourself, ralph, I know other people get away with this all the time. I get it. I'm a tax accountant. That's what I do for a living. I know for a fact there are a lot of people out there that don't report stuff.But, friend, it's not your responsibility to manage others. Your responsibility is to walk faithfully in your own decisions. I talked about this yesterday. We all run our own race.What are the rules you're setting for your race? Your responsibility is to do what is right, regardless of what that means, regardless of what other people are doing.I remember my kids were really young. They used to say to me, dad, is it wrong if I do something that's not right if nobody's watching? And I said, well, you saw it, didn't you?And he said, of course, Dad, I saw. I said, dad, then it's wrong. And you've got to understand what you're really protecting here.You're protecting your peace, you're protecting your conscience, you're protecting your future from those hidden risks. That's the thing about tax stuff, right? It's all great till you get caught. It's all great till somebody finds it out.But bigger than that, you're protecting the kind of person you're becoming. You're protecting the kind of person you want to be. And listen, you can't put a dollar value on that. So let that cost reinforce your values.I want to rephrase this a bit. This wasn't money that you lost. What you lost was the price of living aligned with your convictions.Sometimes integrity has a visible cost, but compromise has a deeper one.And so many people don't see that till it's too late, when they've already let go of that, when their character has become so fouled they don't even know who they are anymore. So, friend, I want to encourage you keep building on that foundation.I want to encourage you continue handling money with honesty, continuing making clean decisions, continuing trusting that long term faithfulness. And that's what we're talking about here, that long term faithfulness. Jesus said it himself. He said, he goes, whose picture's on the coin?He said, caesar. He says, Give unto Caesar what is Caesar's, and give unto God what is God's.That long term trusting faithfulness matters so much more than that short term gain. But I want to take it a little deeper now. You come to the show because we go a little beyond the numbers, don't we?What may be the hardest thing here isn't the tax bill itself. It's that feeling that you're doing the right thing and it puts you behind. You said it. I'm gonna pay more.And that can make you question whether integrity's worth it when compromise looks so much easier. But that's not how God sees you. God honors faithfulness even when nobody else notices. God sees it all. So just trust in him.Let him know that you can be trusted in obedience even when it costs you. It's true, integrity may cost you in the moment, but it builds something so much deeper over time. So I want to share one win with you today.I want you to write down one sentence today, and it's really simple. I choose integrity because that is who I want to be. I want to encourage everybody listening. If you're watching this, write this down.Put it somewhere you see it. I chose integrity because that's who I want to be. And keep it where you can see it. Well, let's get to our Bible verse today.We're going to go to the book of Luke, chapter 16, verse 10. It says whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much.And whoever is dishonest with very little also will be dishonest with much. What a classic verse. Can you be trusted with the little things if you can be? I truly believe God is going to trust you with some amazing things.That faithfulness in small financial decisions shapes the kind of character God can trust with greater responsibility. Let's pray right now. Heavenly Father, I want to lift up the person who chose integrity even when it came at a cost. Me just champion that, Lord.And you see the sacrifice they're making. You see the tension that they're feeling, and you see those questions they're still wrestling with.So, Lord, I just ask right now that you would strengthen their heart and remind them that faithfulness matters even when no one else sees it, Lord. And help them trust that honoring you is never wasted.Building that character, deepening those convictions, Lord, and give them peace in knowing they chose what was right even when other people might not have made that same decision. And we ask this in Jesus name. Amen, friend. The right choice is still right even when it costs you.Because Your story matters, your faithfulness matters. And maybe right now you're wrestling with something like this.Or maybe you've got a life decision that you need to make and you really want to talk to somebody about it. I would love to hear from you. You can share it with me by leaving a voicemail at financiallyconfidentchristian.com/voicemail. It's super easy.You just follow that link, we'll put it in the show notes. Again, it's financiallyconfidentchristian.com/voicemail. You don't have to be polished, just speak in there. Click report.I would love to hear from you and your question might be featured on a future episode. Thanks so much for being here today. I want to encourage you to stay financially savvy, choose the faithful approach, and may God bless you.I'll see you again tomorrow on the. Oh, we.