Generosity is a characteristic at the heart of God, who gives life as a gracious gift. We see God’s generosity on display most accurately in Jesus’ life and sacrifice. This is why our pastor likes to say that you are never more like Jesus than when you share. As disciples of Jesus we are beckoned into lives that reflect Jesus’ life offered for the world. This is why growing in generosity is essential for disciples. As we learn to share of our resources, we are shaped into more genuine humans, a truer reflection of Jesus. A life that looks more like Jesus’ life, though, does not merely happen with the passage of time. Disciples grow in generosity when our intentional practices give way to enduring habits, which in turn remake us personally and communally.
Why then do disciples tithe? Why do we give ten percent of our income to the local church as the staging ground for God’s mission to which we are called together in this place? It’s easy to answer this question in terms of a church’s financial obligations. We tithe because we the church have an electric bill we need to pay, so we can turn on the lights and have air conditioning in August (praise the Lord!). Tithing, though, is not first about financial obligations. Tithing is first a practice that teaches faith. Tithing is second an intentional practice that rehabituates disciples into more genuine humans. Tithing teaches faith because it is a concrete practice that reminds people who God is. God is the Creator, Provider, and Sustainer of all creation. Everything that exists belongs to God. Therefore, when we tithe ten percent of our resources, we offer back to God what already belongs to God in the first place! This practice is an act of faith. Tithing tangibly reinforces that God is the Creator and that we trust God to be our Provider and Sustainer.
Tithing is also an intentional practice that rehabituates disciples into people who look more like Jesus and are thus more genuine humans. Rehabituation is the slow, long-term process of our remaking, of the Holy Spirit altering our way of being in the world. Dallas Willard says that “spiritual growth and vitality stem from what we actually do with our lives, from the habits we form, and from the character that results” (The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives, 20). It is easy to fall into habits that reinforce selfishness as the standard for life or consumerism and consumption as the human vocation. Consistent tithing, though, rehabituates us personally and communally into people who live generously and resist selfishness.
Our life choices become habits over time that in turn shape our character. I encourage you to consider who God is calling you to become. What intentional, even habitual, steps might you take to grow in your generosity?
