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Tax season is upon us again, as people across the country compute which pennies are earmarked for Uncle Sam. Sitting down with pencil, W-2s, and calculator to look over the financial year can be difficult and time consuming. But tax preparation can also be beneficial, revealing habits of giving and getting that need to be surrendered more fully to the Lord's control.

Many Americans "give no money away at all," according to IRS statistics Tim Stafford cites. While economic and political events can influence an individual's giving, Stafford believes "none of these circumstances seems to make nearly as much difference as the character of the donors." For Christians, a transformed heart, not a tax write-off, should be the motivation for giving. In fact, Fred Smith cautions Christians against giving with hopes of something in return.

For, as D.A. Carson writes, "Christians will want to acknowledge with gratitude that they are mere stewards of all that they 'possess.' Moreover, New Testament ethics turn not so much on legal prescription as on lives joyfully submitted to God." A.W. Tozer calls this joyful submission "the blessedness of having nothing" and compares the Christian's sacrificial giving to Abraham's willingness to sacrifice Isaac. Indeed, sacrifice can prompt more generous giving.

To those struggling with developing the habit of giving, Fred Smith recommends reflection on Christ's sacrifice. "Christian gratitude, beginning at Calvary, should show itself in our love, and love is extravagant." Demonstrating that love, suggests Ron Sider, president of Evangelicals for Social Action, may even involve Christians expanding their concept of "charities" and lending support to government-led social reform initiatives that benefit those in need.

Many Christians do support charities and their local church, but they still struggle to make ends meet. For them, the specter of debt may loom large, making tax season especially stressful if they owe the government money. While some debt is unavoidable, much of it is related to "the consumer trap." "It's not uncommon for many young adults to have student loans, credit card debt, a cell phone bill, and a big car note and insurance premiums," Doug Pagitt laments. "Many young adults know more about moving their debt between multiple no-interest credit cards than they know about God's view of money." Mark Buchanan calls this obsession for more "the cult of the next thing."

Fortunately, Christians can avoid becoming servants of the money master. To challenge his congregation to free themselves from personal debt, Pastor James Meeks preached a practical sermon series. And Paul Hughes, a Crown Financial Ministries counselor, encourages couples to determine the difference between wants and needs. The Leadership article "Digging Out and Saving Up" provides still more hints for Christians seeking to give their finances over to God.

Right "giving," however, is equally as important as right "getting." "Many Christians associate the term stewardship with giving," notes Raymond Albrektson, "but it actually includes all aspects of managing the wealth that God puts into our hands." Indeed stewardship involves far more than just the number on the gross income line of a tax return. Taking the witness of Scripture into consideration reveals that pursuing material things is good, yet not the highest good. If all wealth belongs to God, then his children are merely custodians of the riches he has bestowed. As Andrew Carnegie writes, a person with money in his pockets should "consider all surplus revenues which come to him simply as trust funds, which he is called upon to administer."

Throughout church history, particularly in the early 20th century, Christians faithfully administered God's funds and found ways to love him fully with their money. And regardless of our personal financial situations, John Crosby says, we too can honor God with our earnings. Those among us blessed with material gain can challenge ourselves to love sacrificially with our abundance. And those among us blessed with less must remember that "we are all prone to idolatry, and comfort can cause us to put security in dead money rather than in a living God."

Perhaps Dallas Willard summarizes the task of the Christian best when he writes, "[Wesley's] famous formula 'Get all you can; save all you can; give all you can' must be supplemented. It should read: 'Get all you can; save all you can; freely use all you can within a properly disciplined spiritual life; and control all you can for the good of humankind and God's glory.'" During tax season and throughout the year, these words can serve as a guide for Christians every time we deposit our paychecks and open up our wallets.