Whether we like it or not money is an important part of our world. Money is the second most frequent issue Jesus taught about. This says to us that we can’t hide, ignore, or play down the role money plays in our life. We have to treat it with the respect it is due. We do that by having a “God response” to money.

Personal response:

"You can’t worship two gods at once. Loving one god, you’ll end up hating the other. Adoration of one feeds contempt for the other. You can’t worship God and Money both.” Matthew 6.24

Money has a way of controlling us. If left unchecked it will consume us and compete with our worship of God. Our happiness, purpose, fulfilment, security, identity, or value was never meant to be found in money. We were designed to find all these in our relationship with God. When we replace this central relationship with God we distort life the way God intended.

We need to be intentional so that money won’t control and consume us. The Bible has many principles that help us out.

Listed below are some principles on handling money wisely (in a Godly way)

Earn
"In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we appeal to such people—no, we command them: Settle down and get to work. Earn your own living." 2 Thessalonians 3:12

We need to be careful to not over spiritualise. While God does supply all our needs He expects us to work and earn a living. Money does not just magically appear.

Plan
"Plan carefully and you will have plenty; if you act too quickly, you will never have enough."
Proverbs 21:5

Have you ever said, “I just don’t know where all my money went!” This should be a warning sign to us. Haggai warns us, “you earn your wages only to put them in purses with holes in it. Haggai 1:6

All of us need to know and prioritise how we are going to spend our money. A budget helps us do that best. A budget is simply planned spending. It is telling your money where you want it to go rather than wondering where it went.

Give
“On every Lord’s day each of you should put aside something from which you have earned during the week and use it as a offering. The amount depends on how much the Lord has helped you earn.” 1 Corinthians 16:2

Giving to God first in this way recognises Him as our provider. It expresses our desire for him to be first in every area of our life, It is a statement of faith that as we give, God will continue to supply all our needs.

Save
“The wise man saves for the future, but the foolish man spends whatever he gets.” Proverbs 21:20

In our “now culture” credit cards make it too easy for us to fall into debt. Saving is a discipline that helps us really identify what we want and what we need. Saving causes us to stop and think, “ is this necessary?” “Do I really need this?” “Can I really afford this?”

Enjoy
“Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don’t have.” Ecclesiastes 6:9

We are so busy getting more and more that we don’t enjoy what we have. Contentment breeds gratitude; gratitude breeds generosity; and generosity breeds freedom. Freedom to live life the way God intended.

While most people live by these principles we often have them in the wrong order

We Earn — Enjoy (get into debt) — Repay — Save — and Give if there is any left over.

The order God blesses is. Earn — Give — Save — Repay — Enjoy.

(adapted from Rick Warren)

Community Response:

“Don’t you know that those who work in the temple get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.” 1 Corinthians 9:13-14

The income to support the ministers and ministries of the church almost entirely comes from donations received through the Sunday offerings. Our community does not teach that you need to give in order to belong but we believe each Christian has a responsibility to support the ministry of the church through their finances.

To manage the money given we have a finance team that is responsible to ensure the community’s running costs are met and that the money given is used in conjunction with the community budget we set each year.

A question that is frequently asked is. “How much should I give?” “Should I give a tithe” (tithe meaning first 10% of our income). Even though tithing is predominately an Old Testament covenant between God and the nation of Israel, we believe the principles still relate to us today and therefore we recognise this as a biblical principal. Tithing is a discipline that in a very practical way expresses our worship, trust, obedience and dependence on God our provider.

Our own community budget reflects this principle by giving a minimum of 10% of our annual budget to people and ministries beyond our own community.

As leaders of this church we believe God has challenged us with the same challenge he gave Israel.

“Bring the full tithe…..test me in this and see if I don’t open up heaven itself to you and pour out blessings beyond your wildest dreams." Malachi 3:10

Kingdom response:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” Matthew 6:19-21

What an amazing thought and challenge. Consider how something as temporal as money could build for us an eternal inheritance.

Imagine if the Australian dollar was going to be phased out and the new currency was going to be British pounds. The moment that it did all Australian currency would become worthless. The smart thing would be to convert as much of our money to British pounds as possible and only keep enough of the Australian currency to live off in the meantime. This is the challenge Jesus gives us when he says to store your treasures in heaven. The proper use of money is not for us to live a high life now, but to use as much of it as we can to invest in the lives of people. This is an investment with eternal consequences. We want to be able to free up as much as we can in order to place it where the return is eternal. (Foster, 1985)

Many people devote large amounts of time and energy to build up an inheritance by building a retirement fund and an investment portfolio. In fact we can become quite creative and skilled in doing this. Imagine building a kingdom investment portfolio that goes beyond retirement, beyond death, beyond resurrection and into the Kingdom of Heaven where treasures do not rust nor can be destroyed. God is building his Kingdom for eternity. He wants us to be a part of it.

“For God is the one who gives seed to the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will give you many opportunities to do good, and he will produce a great harvest of generosity in you. Yes, you will be enriched so that you can give even more generously. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will break out in thanksgiving to God.” 2 Corinthians 9:10