How about a little trivia? Jerry McGuire and his one and only client Rod Tidwell, exchange this line during an emotional telephone call; Jessie J sings about it in her song Price Tag; and Donna Summer sang about working hard for it. What are we talking about? I won’t torture you by asking you to read the answers upside down, here they are: “Show me the money”, “It’s not about the money”, and “She works hard for the money”. Money talk has definitely made its way into the cultural conversation in songs and movies and is definitely a part of life, so why don’t we talk about it in the Church? Is it impolite? Do we believe it’s the root of evil? Taboo? St. Paul writes about this in his 1st letter to Timothy (6:10) and clarifies the point. It is not money itself that is evil, it’s “the love of money.” Given our notorious inclinations toward sin, we would be wise to talk about it more and pay attention to how we deal with it, especially, how we deal with it in the context of marriage. Two decades ago now, Creighton University released an in-depth study about the factors that are most stressful in the first five years of marriage. [1] Making an appearance at #3, is, you guessed it… money. Because of the potential for money and finances to be such an explosive issue in marriage, social scientists and marriage educators have since then, tried to find different ways to address finances in the context of marriage education. Author and speaker Thomas Zordani (Faith Finances), who is presenting our upcoming three part webinar: Bible Based Finances from a Catholic Perspective (September 16, 23, 30) addressed why money is often the source of marital trouble. “Money impacts the mental (habits and attitudes), emotional, physical (life-style oriented) and spiritual well-being of all involved,” he notes. “Most fail to recognize just how deep this impact is,” Zordani cautions. “Jesus recognized this very adeptly when he said ‘…where your treasure is, there will your heart be also,’ (Mt 6:21).” Money is in fact one of those issues that people tend to compartmentalize and not include in their practice of the faith. “Far too many people view money simply as a secular, non-religious area of their life,” explains Zordani. “They believe that it has nothing or little to do with their faith. When couples take the step and open up this area to God, they will experience a dramatic growth in their faith, often far beyond what they could have ever expected,” Zordani exclaimed. As far as advice for couples? “It’s important to study God’s Word and pray together, as a couple, about these matters,” he concludes. Find out how you can do both, achieve financial success and grow in your faith by attending Thomas Zordani’s webinar. Click on the registration link below.