Having used our last two articles to look at giving in both the Old and New Testaments it is time to turn our attention to the ways in which giving is a spiritual discipline. Before we do, however, I want to offer a couple of thoughts about tithing. Tithing is the practice of giving 10% of one's income to the church and other helping organizations. Our examination of giving in the scriptures offered us a Biblical basis for tithing. However while I believe in tithing (it is something that Cindy and I practice) there is no hard and fast rule that one must tithe. It is a goal…toward which people are encouraged to work…as well as a benchmark beyond which some people are able to go. The other thing I want to offer is that tithing is a total of our giving to charities which serve the needs of those around us. While I would love to have everyone tithe to the church, the needs of the world around us are great…and any assistance we can give to those in need gives glory to God. Now, let's look at giving as a spiritual discipline.
The first way in which giving acts as a spiritual discipline is that it orients us to God. The reality of our lives in the 21st Century is that we are pulled in multiple directions by our culture. As one speaker put it, we are pulled by the three "A"s; accumulation, appearance and achievement. When combined with the pull from the "F"s, family and friends it is a wonder that we can keep our wits about us at all. What giving offers us then is a reorientation of our hearts, minds and lives to God. By giving to the church we are practicing the imitation of God in Christ who gave his life for the world. Though we are never going to inoculate ourselves from the pull of the "A"s and the "F"s, by giving we realign our compass to true north, that is to the very heart of God in such a way that we are more intimately connected with God.
The second way in which giving acts as a spiritual discipline is that it reminds us that all we have is a gift of God and that gratitude is the appropriate response to God's generosity. In the movie "Finding Nemo" the seagulls are portrayed as flying around saying, "Mine, mine, mine." In a sense this is the way we as human beings often act. It is the "possession is nine-tenths of the law view;" that whatever I have acquired is mine and no one can tell me how to use it. By giving, we practice letting go of the attitude of "mine, mine, mine" and instead say to God, "Yours." This helps to set us free from the self-centeredness that infects humanity and replaces it with a conciseness that we are all the beneficiaries of God's good gifts of creation and community.
The third way in which giving acts as a spiritual discipline is that it helps us set aside fear and deepen our trust in God. The interesting thing about Americans is that regardless of our income/assets, most of us feel insecure. A recent survey showed that among Americans with assets of between one and five million dollars only 28% felt financially secure. This sense of insecurity causes many people to hold on tightly to all that they have believing that if they give any of it away they will be at risk. By giving, we practice setting these fears aside and we discover that God is continually present with us, insuring that we have what we need (even if it is not always what we want).
The final way in which giving acts as a spiritual discipline is that it connects us with other people. You and I live in a world which, even with all the social media around us, is becoming more and more disconnected. By giving we connect with others to work for a better world. We also connect with those whose lives are changed. A friend of mine who gave to and volunteered with an inner-city eye-care ministry in San Antonio once had a woman launch herself into his arms in a grocery store and say, "Because of you I can see." My friend had become part of a larger community of humanity than he ever thought possible. This is what we can do when we are willing to give of our resources. We can become more closely connected with our church, community and world.
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