Some time ago, I was listening to KPIO 1570 AM (Catholic radio). They were interviewing a man from Denver, Thomas Zordani, who had written a book: Faith Finances. His story grabbed my attention, because he was speaking of his journey from homelessness to relative affluence. In his words, he had been so deeply in debt that he was ready to try anything, even listening to the Lord. I chuckled when I heard that: don’t we all tend to do that? For instance, when I get a new cell phone, the LAST thing I want to do is read the instructions. Consequently, I am only able to call out and receive calls; all the other features remain unused. In fact, the last phone I bought is so complicated that I don’t even know how to set up my mail box! But I’m not willing to suffer through the technical details in the “instruction book.”

Back to finances. Most of us follow one rule: “What I make, I spend ….” and don’t bother me with saving for silly things like electric bill, rent, insurance, dentists and those boring things that don’t provide me with any fun! Isn’t that how many of us feel? And then, when the car breaks down, the roof leaks, the kids need braces or… we lose our job, panic sets in.

Back to Thomas Zordani’s story. He was in a panic alright; he was in debt and was engaged to be married to a woman with children. He was self employed and thought he could pay off his debts by taking on… two extra jobs and sleeping two hours a night. He did this for five months and then, as you may guess, his body rebelled and he ended up so ill that he spent a month in the hospital. Now he was broker than ever and no job. Yes, he got married and juggled his debts for one year, digging deeper in debt.

Eventually, his family was evicted from their home for failure to pay the rent. Homeless, they moved in with relatives and friends. The strain on their new marriage was almost too much. He did not know where to turn; the IRS was after him and he had a number of pending lawsuits because he had bounced checks right and left. Then, one day he walked into a store and was thumbing through greeting cards. One card caught his eye and he picked it up; a Bible verse from Jeremiah spoke to him: “Call to Me and I will answer you; I will tell you great mysteries of which you know nothing.” (Jeremiah 33:3) Thomas felt like he’d just received a personal phone call from God, and began to weep right in the store. That’s when he picked up the Bible and began to search for answers.

In prayer, he became convinced that he needed God to help him figure out his finances, and that only by following His blueprint would he be able to turn his life around.

Of course, I was so intrigued that by what I heard that I had to buy the book. No, I am not and never was in a financial mess. My thrifty Lombard parents and grandparents trained me well, and without knowing it, I pretty much followed Biblical principles all my life, simply because that’s how I was raised and I knew nothing else (some folks would call me cheap).

But I admit that I had never, until I read Thomas Zordani’s book, realized that the Bible is full of financial advice. Ahah! I bet you didn’t know either! For instance, did you know that Sirach (or Ecclesiasticus) 42:1-7 teaches us how to set up in business? Here it is: “But of these things be not ashamed, lest you sin through human respect; of the law of the Most High and His precepts, or of the sentence to be passed upon the sinful; of sharing expenses of a business or a journey, or of dividing an inheritance or property; of accuracy of scales and balances, or tested measures and weights; of acquiring much or little, or of bargaining in dealing with a merchant; of constant training of children… or of recording all that is given or received.” In other words, of being careful in our financial dealing and set up a budget! And Haggai: “Now thus says the Lord of Hosts: consider your ways! You have sown much, but have brought in little; you have eaten, but have not been satisfied; you have drunk but have not been exhilarated; have clothed yourselves, but not been warmed; and he who earned wages earned them for a bag with holes in it.” (1:5-6)

As someone who had not kept track of his expenses, Mr. Zordani felt that in the past he had dropped the wages that he had earned into a bag with holes in it. Yes, now he and his family are doing well (I don’t mind giving away the end of Thomas’ book, because the best part is reading it). They followed the Book of Instructions (the Bible) and straightened out their finances. No, they did not take bankruptcy because they became convinced that they were morally bound to repay their debts. And, like most folks who have tried the ways of the Lord and found them good, they began to tithe even before they were out of debt. So, if you haven’t taken Finance 101, pick up this book; It’ll be money well spent!