In my decades of vocational ministry I have talked about “giving” a lot. I’ve preached on it, counseled on it, I’ve raised capital campaigns, and debated with many a church leaders. 

Should we give 10%? 

Does it have to be to the local church?  

Can that include missionaries? 

And the questions go on and on…. 

Here is where I land: 

Generosity is a condition of the heart. 

The more you work it, the stronger it will get. And that posture begins to change your relationship with everything else you steward in the world. 

After all, it’s all God’s anyway, so what I am doing is working diligently to be generous with all that God has given me. And in that work, I find that God continues to fill what I have so that I can continue to be generous. I know that feels counterintuitive, but the truth is, the more I am a vessel of God’s work the more God gives me. 

Generosity stems from our relationship with God. When we are generous, we trust God for provision, stewardship, and wisdom. Some people call it an “abundance mindset.” When we are not generous we hold on to things fearful of what might happen, some people call it a “scarcity mindset.” 

Generosity as a spiritual discipline always leads to an abundance mindset. 

And here is the beautiful thing – it’s true with everything, not just money. If you are generous with your time/talents you are living into an abundance mindset with those gifts. Generosity changes everything because in the discipline is the faith that God will show up and refill your cup! 

So, as we continue to wrestle with what this all means, I just want to encourage you to wrestle with the question: 

Where is God calling me to be generous? 

Together in the Mission, 

Pastor Tony