MinistryCPA - Corey A. Pfaffe, CPA, LLC

Question: Three Christian teens from a church youth group heard at school one morning that the Lance and Britney Kramer family in their community lost all their possessions in a fire the night before. They began talking about what they could do to help and by the afternoon had gained widespread support from their friends and even from many of the school teachers and staff. They agreed to give every hour of free time in the next seven days to pursuing odd jobs, selling stuff they really could do without, and soliciting donations from people in the community. It worked! At the end of the week the three teens made a public presentation to the family of money, clothes and furnishings. A lot of people showed up to the apartment building that was the new home of the Kramers; even the local news people were on hand. Lance and Britney and their kids were overwhelmed. One of the teens gave a short speech: “It’s great that we could get so much stuff in so short a time, but we did a lot of wo...

Question:   A 16-year old Christian becomes concerned that the violent and suggestive video games he owns and plays are damaging his relationship with Christ. Many are in the Mature category according to the ESRB rating system. But his collection includes some rare and valuable games that might be worth a good amount of money someday. Plus, a lot of his earnings from his part-time job has been “invested” (his word) in them. What are his alternatives? What could he do? Answer: Of course, our young man could simply ignore the conviction God has brought to him. But because he values his relationship with Him, he knows that he must make a God-honoring choice. Selling the games to someone else only shifts the temptation to others. Putting them away, out-of-sight, does not remove the temptation. He must accept the reality that the rewards for obedience are greater than any material blessings, even if it means  discarding something that others would value. One pastor has said...