The Washington Times
  • Subscribe
  • Customer Services
  • RSS
  • Mobile Headlines
  • e-edition
  • E-MAIL ALERTS
  • REGISTER
  • LOG IN
  • E-MAIL ALERTS
  • WELCOME
  • Your Profile
  • Log Out

  • Front Page Image
  • Classifieds
  • Autos
  • Real Estate
  • Jobs
  • Special Sections
  • Times News Services
  • Home
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Sports
    • NFL
    • NBA/WNBA
    • MLB
    • NHL
    • Tennis
    • Golf
    • Motorsports
    • Soccer
    • NCAA
    • Olympics
    • Outdoors
    • Алекс Овечкин
  • Culture
    • Home & Living
    • Family & Kids
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Travel
    • Health
    • Washington Visitors
    • Books
    • Military History
    • Life
    • Auto
    • TV Listings
    • Movie Listings
    • Death Notices
    • Entertainment
  • Themes
  • Communities
    • Donne Travels
    • Lives Common
    • National Pastime
    • Politics 101
    • Stories of Faith
    • Civil War
    • Middle - America
    • Chicago Blue State
    • Zadzooks
  • Marketplace
    • Autos
    • Jobs
    • Real Estate
    • Classifieds
    • Shopping
    • Dining Out
    • Education
    • TWT Store
  • Videos
    • Two Guys
    • Birnbaum on Washington
    • Liz Glover
    • Amanda Carpenter
    • Morning Briefing
    • Documentaries
  • Podcasts
    • About Headlines
    • Inside the Beltway
    • Inside the Story
Home > Culture > Life

Financial advice found in Bible

Families start by paying off debt

By Jennifer Garza SACRAMENTO BEE | Sunday, August 3, 2008

  • Bookmark and Share
  • Article
  • Comments ()
  • Print
  • [-][+] Font Size
  • E-Mail Alerts
  • Tell a Friend
  • Got a Question?
  • You Report
  • Click-2-Listen

Before David and Maura Reza hand out the $5 weekly allowance to their children, Mr. Reza reads a Scripture from the Bible about money.

This is a shift for the family, which has retreated from what Mrs. Reza calls years of "selfish spending." Now they have turned to a higher power for managing their budget, the world of biblical financial planning.

The five children - Brandon, Parker, Chandler, Lauryn and Aaron - squeeze around the dining room table in their spacious home to listen to their dad. They light up when mom walks in with the cash.

"The important thing to remember is that all of this," says Mr. Reza, opening his arms wide gesturing to everything in their house, "belongs to God."

It may not belong to the Rezas much longer. The family is in danger of losing their five-bedroom, 2,900-square-foot home. Even if they do, they believe their faith will help them with their finances.

The Rezas have turned to their church to help them climb out of debt. Courses on biblical financial planning - which emphasize paying off debt, saving and tithing - are now offered at more than a dozen churches in the Sacramento, Calif., region. More classes start in the fall.

"How we manage our money says a lot about how we feel about God," says Mark Eshoff, executive minister at Fremont Presbyterian Church in Sacramento, which has offered financial courses for several years. "When you are worried about money, you can't be free."

A half-dozen church leaders a week are asking about classes, more than twice as many as last year, says Pamela Christensen of Crown Financial Ministries.

"Their people are in a crisis situation, they don't know what to do," Ms. Christensen says. "They hear about what the Bible said about debt and it makes a lot of sense."

Ms. Christensen says money is mentioned more than 2,300 times in the Bible, more than any other topic, including the oft-cited Proverbs 22:7: "The rich rule over the poor and the borrower becomes the lender's slave."

Continue reading 12Next

[Get Copyright Permissions] Click here for reprint permissions!
Copyright 2009 The Washington Times, LLC

Bookmark and Share

Comments

Read Comments

Post your comment:

Please login or register to post a comment

Do you have another point of view, photos, audio, video or more information about a story?

Advertisement

Top Stories

Most Read

  1. Powell airs doubts on Obama agenda
  2. EDITORIAL: Passing unread laws
  3. EDITORIAL: Return of the Black Panther
  4. EXCLUSIVE: Israel declines to ask U.S. to OK Iran attack

Most Shared

  1. EDITORIAL: Passing unread laws
  2. EDITORIAL: Return of the Black Panther
  3. HOLMES: Deja vu on dictators, double standards
  4. EDITORIAL: Sotomayor plays the race card
  5. EDITORIAL: Dancing with the bear
  6. Israeli know-how
  7. Recession tea leaves 'misread'
  8. Chaos theory -- and practice
  9. Ouster a threat for Md. GOP chairman
  10. LETTER TO EDITOR: Coming to grips with Palestinian guilty trips

Most Commented

  1. Jeb Bush, GOP: Time to leave Reagan behind
  2. WH communications director leaving
  3. Freddie Mac acting CFO found dead
  4. Kerry aims to rescue newspapers
  5. Fidel Castro: Obama 'misinterpreted' words
  6. President Obama said those who approved harsh interrogation techniques for suspected terrorists may be subjected to criminal charges. Do you agree?
  7. President Obama said those who approved harsh interrogation techniques for suspected terrorists may be subjected to criminal charges. Do you agree?
  8. Gibbs: Pay no attention to what Rahm said
  9. Politics' Talking Heads Highlight Speaker Series
  10. Fleecing Mike Ditka

Poll

Do you think the G-8 is still effective in today's times?

Market Data

Advertising Links
TWT Store
  • e-edition
  • Print Edition
  • Weekly Washington Times
TWT Affiliates
  • Middle East Times
  • Golf
  • UPI
  • Arbor Ballroom
  • Washington Times Global
  • About TWT
  • Press Room
  • F.A.Q.
  • Work for TWT
  • Advertise
  • Sponsors
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Site Map

All site contents © Copyright 2009 The Washington Times, LLC.