Share til You Care

Generosity, Gratitude, and Making a Change

Around this time, a visiting pastor preached on tithing and quizzed the congregation, as if he were speaking directly to me: “Well, ask yourself: would you rather go back to making less?”

I’m not a generous person by nature—are you?

For a long time, when I gave- to my church or charities, or even to loved ones- I did so guardedly. Today, less so. Maybe it was my upbringing, or simply the way I was calibrated from birth, but generosity didn’t come naturally.

Psychologists sometimes call this anxiety “fear of poverty.” Whatever it was, it took time and effort to soften. As my faith deepened and a growing income afforded some measure of security, something changed. I began to want to share more of what I had with those who had less.

I experienced that giving is a sacred act of love, one of the places where we meet God, and God meets us. In many important ways, giving benefits us more than single-mindedly storing up material things for ourselves. By giving, we become more fully human- and that feels great. Think of the sheer joy of Ebenezer Scrooge on Christmas morning as he experiences generosity, maybe for the first time, in “A Christmas Carol.”

This may be what Jesus meant when He said, “It is better to give than to receive.” Like so much of what He taught, this is completely counterintuitive- and utterly true.

It’s what Paul talks about in 2 Corinthians 9: God loves a cheerful giver. Unlike Scrooge, I wasn’t there quite yet.

One pledge season at church, things began to shift. It was when I was beginning to find my financial footing that an elder took me aside, with impeccable timing, to explain that church is like any other service we use: heat and lights, rent, pastoral care, staff support. It all has to be paid for. The elder’s common-sense message sank in.

The concept of tithing, or giving one-tenth of our income, comes from the Old Testament and has endured. Giving at that level seemed unimaginable when I had little- and strangely, it felt even less feasible when I had more. Funny how that works. Because I was earning more, giving proportionately meant giving much more. It felt easier when I made less.

Around this time, a visiting pastor preached on tithing and quizzed the congregation, as if he were speaking directly to me: “Well, ask yourself: would you rather go back to making less?”

Once again, I got the message.

Today, my heart has softened around giving. Though I’ve never reached the full ten percent, generosity flows more easily than it once did- not from obligation or guilt, but from gratitude, and because it is satisfying to move in sync with the Divine. I believe that everything I have is a gift from God, and that He asks us to share our gifts with those who have less.

In Matthew 25, Jesus says something that has always spoken powerfully to me: “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

So what is my advice for someone like me, who wants to be generous, but whose giving spirit needs a little nudge from time to time? I’ve adapted something like “fake it till you make it” when it comes to giving, which might be better described as share till you care. And I did- and I do- more and more.

The song pairing tells the rocking story of “Making a Change.” Until next time, stay safe, be brave, and keep walking in the light.

Making a Change
I woke up on the right side of the bed
blew out all the ghosts living up in my head
had me a cup of coffee or two
made my bed, put on my shoes
I don’t feel the same, I’m making a change

Yeah, I’m making a change
I’m gonna rearrange
Yeah, I’m making a change,
I’m making a change

I’m gonna find me a brand new tribe
follow ‘em down to a place where I can’t hide
I’m gonna find me a treasure map
dig down deep to where it’s at
I don’t feel the same, I’m making a change

Yeah, I’m making a change,
I’m gonna rearrange
Yeah, I’m making a change
I’m making a change

Now I’m gonna take you to Jakes
and buy you a coke
a fat cheeseburger, some fries
and a vanilla float
and when I’m walking down the street
I’m gonna smile at everybody I meet
I don’t feel the same
I’m making a change