Scripture is very clear that believers are to give generously, but it's not explicit that each local church should be the sole beneficiary of our tithes. So if you are a Christ-follower attending The Stone, to the extent that the work of The Austin Stone accomplishes the Biblical purposes of the church as "the hope of the world" (Matt 5:14), we would hope that we are a place where you could, in good conscience, direct the substance of your giving to the purposes of the church in redeeming our community and the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. As an attender, this is a matter to seek God on, and then obey how He directs you.

Of those who align the mission of their lives with the mission of the church through partnership, however, we do ask that a tithe be given to The Austin Stone. This is because we view partnership as a commitment to be fully dedicated and invested in our mission as a church, both in time and resources. For attenders and partners alike, we desire to see every Christian be a part of a church that they believe in so much that they would want to give their entire tithe and even beyond to support the mission that God has placed upon their local body.

At The Austin Stone, we take stewardship very seriously as we budget and spend to equip and mobilize the church toward the mission of Christ. For people seeking to re-establishing trust in the area of church and money, we'll be glad to walk through our budget with you by appointment.

If, as a believer in Christ, you are not currently at least giving a tithe, I'll encourage you to begin working toward this. The work of ministry and mission through the local church does require financial resources, but the primary purpose of generous giving in our lives is to tangibly place God on the throne of our hearts. Take a look at last week's post [Why Should We Give?] for more on what the act and heart of giving do inside our hearts. If you would like more information about some of our helpful financial training resources like counseling, small groups, workshops, equipping classes or other practical tools please let us know at info@austinstone.org.

Among many reasons the scriptures give us for why we should give, one that should move your heart most directly is because it makes us more like Christ. Giving is absolutely essential to following Christ. Take some time to read Luke 18: 18-25 and the last blog post if you doubt this. The rich ruler was actually saddened when Jesus told him to sell his possessions and give to the poor. Jesus knew that that the man's heart was more stirred by what his wealth could afford than it was by the promise of life in the kingdom of God. When we give out of love for Christ, and with a generous heart, it causes many changes within us. Here are a few to think about:

1)                  It increases our intimacy and directs our attention and heart to Christ. (Matthew 6:21)

2)                  It increases our character, conforming us to Christ's image as an unselfish giver.

3)                  It helps us realize the true ownership of ALL of our possessions. (I Chronicles 29:11-12)

4)                  It teaches us to trust and submit everything to God. (Deuteronomy 14:22-23)

5)                  It works as our greatest weapon against the idolatry of money and its illusion of power in our lives.

True giving is an act of worship and obedience. We should NOT give just because we feel obligated. This is idolatry even in itself by reinforcing a nature that thinks we can repay God in some way. When we are worshipful givers, we give with joy in our hearts without any strings attached. We trust that God is in control of His money, and will use it for His glory.

So if you are having a hard time giving, ask God to change your heart as you meditate on these reasons for giving, and how He desires to transform you through the renewing of your mind (Rom 12:2).

In the scriptures, God talks about money and possessions with great frequency - in fact it's mentioned more than 2000 times. Though this is interesting in itself, we have to ask the question, "why". Perhaps we can get a view into the answer by looking at one of the many places that money is mentioned - particularly the story Jesus told of the rich ruler in Luke 18:18-24.

18 And a ruler asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 19 And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.'" 21 And he said, "All these I have kept from my youth." 22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." 23 But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. 24 Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, "How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!"

In this story we see a man who, in his own estimation, has done everything that the law had commanded him to do and as such, should deserve the eternal life that Jesus has been teaching about. However, we see that he is still lacking one thing. Even if he had outwardly obeyed each commandment, there were still other things that he loved more than he loved God. For this guy, it started with his wealth. When Jesus called him on it, we learn that "he became very sad". Why? Because Jesus went after the god of his heart - the thing that he trusted in for his identity, security, comfort, and worth more than he trusted the God of the universe.

Perhaps money and possessions are addressed so often in scripture because when we view it biblically it is a powerful means by which God's purposes are accomplished in our lives and in the lives of others. But when we view it selfishly, the process of gaining it, having it and spending it, personal wealth is a means by which we enable and feed our other idols. The pursuit of it can achieve for us success, recognition, and identity. It can buy for us comfort, approval, power, control, influence, security. It's easy to see how powerful money can be when it becomes an idol and fuels our idols.

Money doesn't lie. Money is a crystal clear window into the true heart of man - what we love and what we worship. We get a monthly reminder of its hooks into our hearts with each month's bills, paychecks, and bank statements. It's the indicator of our idols that always has numbers attached. This is why money is such a huge topic - because it's both a huge idol, and also a huge microscope that reveals what God wants to change about our lives.

He wants our hearts. Man cannot serve two masters. We either serve the one true God or we serve money, but not both. I don't know about you, but I want to inherit eternal life, and I don't want to be found still lacking the one thing. So ask God to show you the things that you love more than Him. Looking at money is a really good place to start.

Money is a sensitive issue in our culture, yet the Bible speaks of our relationship with money as a window through which our love for Christ can be seen - and matured. 

"For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs" - I Timothy 6:10  John Piper explains it this way: "The root of all evil is that we are the kind of people who settle for the love of money instead of the love of God."

The purpose of Money Matters is to explore how God wants us as believers to love Him enough to become good managers of all that He's provided, so that He is given glory and made famous. Our prayer is that the Spirit of God would use these thoughts to open your eyes to the freedom we have in Christ-His radical liberation of our love of money and fear of being without.

If you have any questions on the topic of God and money, please email your questions to moneymatters@austinstone.org. We'll answer as many as we can and post answers to the frequently asked questions right here on this blog.

So, subscribe and keep checking back as we'll be adding new thoughts and tools to this site each week to help you along your journey to understand God's design for money.