Faith Meets Academia
Welcome to Faith Meets Academia!
Struggling to connect your faith with everyday life, career ambitions, or academic pursuits? Hosted by a university professor and ordained minister, Dr. Adrian Reynolds, this podcast will help you translate your faith-based values into personal growth, professional development, and academic success. Faith Meets Academia emphasizes that faith and work can forge a mutually sustaining partnership.
Each episode breaks down complex academic concepts into everyday language and connects them with timeless spiritual principles for transformational learning and development. By the end of each episode, you will be equipped with practical tools to set the tone for a purposeful, productive week.
Join the journey today!
Your host, Adrian Reynolds (Ph.D.), is an ordained minister, learning coach, and assistant professor of medical education at an R1 university. He is on a mission to merge educational innovation with biblical wisdom. Dr. Reynolds brings over two decades of teaching experience across the educational continuum: from working with underserved, high school students as a state-certified instructor of Spanish to coaching students in graduate and professional degree programs in evidence-based teaching skills and the science of learning.
Dr. Reynolds’ work is located within the rapidly growing field of applied learning sciences and is driven by both socio-cognitive and sociocultural approaches to learning and teaching. His preventive model of academic coaching has been published in journals such as Medical Teacher and Clinical Teacher. He has held over 1,000 (one-on-one) academic coaching sessions with medical students, residents, fellows, and pre-med students. Dr. Reynolds has developed numerous peer-teaching programs for medical students in addition to courses in the science of learning for residents, pre-med and high school students.
Dr. Reynolds has been preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ for over 10 years both nationally and internationally. He has long been recognized to seamlessly intertwine academic concepts with biblical principles: His approach to preaching and teaching the word of God is centered around growth mindset (Philippians 4:13), transformational learning (Romans 12:2), and reflective, mindful practice (Philippians 4:8, Joshua 1:8, Psalm 119:97).
As a missionary ambassador, Dr. Reynolds has embarked on transformative journeys that bridge cultures and continents, bringing tangible support and hope to those in need. Most recently, in the fall of 2023, his dedication to humanitarian causes led him to Mozambique: From the bustling streets of Maputo to the serene countryside of Inharrime, through the unwavering support and sponsorship from faith-based leaders and communities, Dr. Reynolds has played a pivotal role in the allocation of humanitarian aid and educational resources, providing essential support to elevate community wellbeing.
Earlier that year, he engaged in a mission focused on cultural exchange and relationship-building in the Maputo province to better understand and address local challenges. Through these missions, Dr. Reynolds exemplifies the true essence of a missionary ambassador, integrating service, education, and faith into impactful action.
Faith Meets Academia
Episode 43 (Part 2) - Money Talks: What Is It Saying to You?
Can money dictate your happiness, or is it simply a tool to be used for the good of humanity? Today, Dr. A delves into the complex relationship between money and morality through a biblical lens, guided by the thought-provoking scriptures of 1 Timothy 6:10, Proverbs 23:4-5, Matthew 6:24, and James 5:1-3. We'll unravel how the love of money can lead to greed and corruption, while emphasizing the virtues of godliness, contentment, and generosity. Reflect on your financial choices and discover whether they align with your principles or merely pursue wealth for wealth's sake. As you listen, consider sharing how your perspectives on money have shifted by engaging with these timeless teachings.
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DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely my own and do not reflect or represent the positions, policies, or opinions of my employer, any organization or academic institution with which I am affiliated. This podcast is a personal initiative, and is not connected to my official/ formal duties and responsibilities as a university professor.
Hey, fma family, happy Monday. So happy that you have returned, glad to have you back for episode 43, which is part two of the two-part series titled Money Talks. What is it saying to you? You were meant to be here, right here, right now, listening to this episode. That's not an accident, that's not incidental. There is a message here for you, there are some insights here for you that you have never heard before, and I guarantee you it'll help to transform your perspective on this topic. All right, so thanks again for coming along for the ride. All right, so let's dive right in.
Speaker 1:Just to recap, so in episode 42, part one of this two-part series, we explored or discussed the real meaning behind this quote from 1 Timothy 6.10, when Paul says the love of money is the root of all evil, or the root of all kinds of evil. Right, money itself isn't bad, right, that's the key thing. It's just a tool. Right, the real danger comes in when wealth or money starts to control us and then leading to greed, corruption and misaligned and misplaced priorities. So Paul's warning isn't about having money or building wealth, but it's about this unhealthy obsession with it. True wealth comes from godliness, with contentment, not hurting others and putting their livelihood and financial stability in jeopardy because you're chasing after riches. Your building wealth shouldn't hinder my growth. It shouldn't block my progress. It shouldn't prevent my family from eating as well. Bottom line handling money wisely, being good stewards of our finances, being generous and keeping our ambitions in check, making sure that we're using our skills, our abilities, our assets, our money, our finances, for good and not for evil. So what's your money saying to you? Drop me a line, send me, send me a message and let me know your thoughts on this topic. Is there anything new that you learned from the last episode or from this episode that you've tried to put into practice? Is your money helping you to do good or is it ruining your life? Remember, you can securely send me a text message on your preferred podcast platform, so, for example, on Apple Podcasts. At the very top of the page, right under the title, but before the episode description, you'll see a link that says send us a text, and you can click that. Send me a message, let me know. Let me know how your life has been impacted by Faith Meets Academia, as well as this episode or any other, by Faith Meets Academia as well as this episode or any other.
Speaker 1:Okay, so to continue the conversation, let's talk about some warnings against wealth obsession that we see in the Bible, and we're going to go through these along with a few points for clarification. All right, so let's look at Proverbs 23, 4 and 5. Here's what it says Do not overwork to be rich Because of your own understanding cease. Will you set your eyes on that which is not For riches? Certainly make themselves wings. They fly away like an eagle toward heaven.
Speaker 1:Not work hard, of course, as they say, hey, work hard, play hard, right. I mean it's a beautiful word out there and I mean if you work hard for your money, I mean you deserve to enjoy it, right. But we got to put it into perspective, as with anything in life. So this doesn't mean that you shouldn't work hard or plan for financial success. It just means don't make your wealth, your money, the foundation, because it's unstable. You can have a whole lot of wealth today and tomorrow it can be gone.
Speaker 1:I mean look at the fires that swept through LA. I mean one day you could have a multi-billion dollar home and the next you lose it all. I mean when you think about 401ks and the stock market and all that. I mean sometimes up, sometimes down right, our assets, our money, our financial systems, our possessions, I mean none of these things are totally fixed or stable. At the drop of a hat things can change drastically. So that's why we put our confidence in God, because he, as the supreme being, is the only entity. That's why we put our confidence in God, because he, as the supreme being, is the only entity that's constant, never changes.
Speaker 1:As James 1.17 says, every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. God says in Malachi 3.6,. For I am the Lord, I do not change, therefore you are not consumed. O sons of Jacob, here's another scripture that cautions us against being obsessed with money or wealth Matthew 6.24,. Jesus says no one can serve two masters Matthew 6, 24. Jesus says no one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon or mammon meaning wealth or riches. To clarify, this verse doesn't say you can't have money. It's not even saying that you can't have a lot of it either. It's simply stating that you should not allow it to be the driving force of your life. Money should serve you, not the other way around.
Speaker 1:Let's also consider James 5, 1 through 3. Ye rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches are corrupted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days. This is specifically directed at the hoarding of wealth without purpose. You know like being wealthy just to be wealthy.
Speaker 1:The issue here isn't being rich, it's when the wealth is accumulated selfishly, with no regard for others, for their livelihood, for their very existence. Think about it today Wherever you are financially, socioeconomically, are you content? Are you happy, or is your money dictating your joy? How can you use your God-given resources to bless others? Now let's shift gears for a minute to the psychology of wealth and contentment.
Speaker 1:There's a concept called hedonic adaptation, and this refers to the tendency for people to quickly return to a baseline level or an original level of happiness after experiencing gains or losses or after going through a positive or negative life event, and that includes financial success as well. So here's what this is saying While accumulating more money can bring temporary happiness, people will quickly adjust to their new financial status or situation. And then, when they adjust to that and they get comfortable with that, as they say, when the novelty wears off, they start to want more. And so this kind of cycle, it just fuels the discontentment and the stress and the endless chase for more and more and more wealth. And so this is right, in line with what Paul is warning against in 1 Timothy 6.10.
Speaker 1:Here's another concept I want to bring to your attention that will help tie all this together, and it's one called relative deprivation. Right, it's both a psychological and a sociological concept that refers to the feeling of being worse off compared to others. Right, ever felt that way. So, even if one's actual situation is relatively stable, or even improving, that act of comparing one's situation or one's financial status to others a reference group, if you will, whether that group of people are friends, colleagues or society at large that comparison causes people to perceive or think they lack something that other people have, such as wealth, status, opportunities, etc. And this perception can lead to a lot of resentment and dissatisfaction and stress, even when one's material conditions are relatively sufficient. So, for example, somebody earning a six-figure salary may feel happy content. Until they start comparing themselves to a friend making twice as much, despite their own financial security, they start to experience a lot of frustration or inadequacy or feeling like they're not doing enough or they're not working hard enough, simply because they are now comparing themselves to someone who is making way more than they are. And we see this behavior with respect to social media. We see that a lot People comparing where they are, whether it's academically or in terms of employment, in terms of wealth, material possessions. They see the bells and whistles and they see the glamour and the glitter of social media posts and then end up feeling like they're not achieving what they want to achieve or that they are just so much worse off than everyone else, and on and on. So relative deprivation explains why some people never feel satisfied with their wealth. They're just never happy, still not happy, no matter how wealthy they are, no matter how much they have. They always compare upwards, if you will, feeling like it's not enough.
Speaker 1:Now let's talk about the societal impact, the real-world consequences of 1 Timothy 6.10. What actually happens when we see this playing out in real life? What are the implications? Who gains and who loses? Yeah, let's look at the impact of being obsessed with money. We often think about money in personal terms our bank accounts, or careers, or financial goals, et cetera but what happens when the flow of money stops for an entire country?
Speaker 1:So recently, the U? S government made a decision to freeze USAID funding, and the impact on a number of countries has been devastating. Let's take Malawi, for example, a nation that relies heavily on foreign aid. The US had been sending $350 million annually to Malawi to cover over 13% of his national budget. And what was that money used for? It supported healthcare, education, infrastructure projects, and the list goes on. I mean things that we often here, and the list goes on. I mean things that we often here in the US take for granted. But when that funding suddenly stopped, so did a number of critical services.
Speaker 1:What's the reality on the ground? I'm in contact with folks from Malawi, I mean, I communicate with them almost every day. Hospitals are running low on life-saving medications, food supplies for children are running out. Students who relied on USAID sponsorships have been told to drop out of school or find another way to fund your education. Farmers are losing access to agriculture and research projects meant to improve crops and improve farming technology and fight food insecurity. But what does Proverbs 14.31 say? He who oppresses the poor reproaches his maker, but he who honors him has mercy on the needy.
Speaker 1:Dismantling USAID is more than just a policy decision. It's a matter of life and death for millions of people, particularly on the continent of Africa, some of the world's most vulnerable people. Let's take another country, for example Mozambique. I know a lot of folks there too, have been there twice. Real world consequences. We're talking about the United States. Freezing up its foreign aid is putting lives on the line. What's happening? Well, the US suspended over $400 million in aid to Mozambique, and this includes $250 million specifically for HIV AIDS programs. So far, fewer people will get life-saving antiretroviral medication. The AIDS freeze is forcing NGOs, non-governmental organizations, to shut down, leaving the country, leaving thousands without access to healthcare, education and essential community support. Hospitals are running out of medication. People relying on this aid for food, for their very existence, day to day, are now left with nothing.
Speaker 1:And so we who have a voice, we who have leverage, we who have influence, cannot be silent. Proverbs 31, 8 and 9. Open your mouth for the speechless in the cause of all who are appointed to die. Open your mouth, judge righteously and plead the cause of the poor and needy. So all you believers out there, of all faiths, or even if you have no allegiance to a particular religion or faith, but you're just a well-meaning, decent human being, when you see 1 Timothy 6.10 playing out in real life, you cannot be silent. This is about people's lives.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the situation in Malawi, the situation in Mozambique and other countries who suddenly no longer have access to millions of dollars that was supporting their very existence, this unprecedented funding freeze has brought countries such as Malawi and Mozambique just to their knees and that has led to the loss of human lives. Think about it. Think about it. Who benefits when funding is cut? Who suffers the most? What does that say about our priorities as a society?
Speaker 1:The bigger lesson here is that money isn't just numbers. It translates into power and influence and impact. And when wealth is hoarded or withheld, when funding is cut for the wrong reasons, what happens? People die, people suffer. But how does this change the way you see money? How does it change your perspective, not just as a personal resource, but as something that can shape entire nations, entire communities, entire country? What role do we play? What role do you play in making sure that the resources that we have, whether big or small, are being used to help others and not harm them?
Speaker 1:So, while some use money as a force for evil, some use it as a force for good. For example, a philanthropist, melinda Gates, co-founder of the Gates Foundation, has invested billions in fighting poverty and disease. She continues this work through her organization, Pivotal Ventures, which focuses on gender equity and family health, and she recently pledged a billion dollars to support women and families all over the world. Then there's David Green, founder of Hobby Lobby, who takes a faith-driven approach. His family funds faith-based charities and are committed to preserving religious heritage which led to the creation of the Museum of the Bible in Washington DC. Both these individuals, among many others, show that wealth, when used with purpose, can transform lives. They demonstrate that wealth can be used as a tool for lasting change when there's a commitment to improving the lives of others, and their communities and their families.
Speaker 1:Here's a question what are some ways in which our personal values can be used to drive our financial decisions so that we can bring about meaningful, lasting impact? So, friends, the key takeaway here is that money itself is not evil. It's the selfish lust after money that's the danger. Wealth money is a tool that can be used to the glory of God by carrying out his will right here on earth. It's not to be used as a tool to replace him, but to meet the needs of his people.
Speaker 1:Setting goals, big visions, having grand aspirations that's all good, but we have to remember to find peace and joy and contentment at whatever stage of the money continuum, if you will, we find ourselves. Whatever your bank account looks like. What's important is that your joy, your happiness, never fades. It's all about your perspective. Are you seeking God first? Is he at the center of your success, your money, your wealth, etc. Use money wisely and hey, as I'm talking to you, I'm talking to myself Save, invest, be generous, be kind. Don't let wealth define you. Your money is not who you are, child of God. What's one small way you can use whatever resources you have, great or small, to bless others today? Hey, if this episode really spoke to you, share it with somebody else, and there has to be someone out there who needs to hear this. Let's continue to grow in faith and wisdom. You can access Faith Meets Academia on your preferred podcast platform, whether it's Spotify, apple Podcast, amazon Music, etc. You name it. We're there Until next Monday. Have a blessed, productive week. Thanks for joining.