God created humans in His image—the imago Dei. So, what does that mean? Does that mean God looks like us, with arms and legs, a face and torso? Or does the “image of God” connote something much deeper, more about character than physical appearance?
We get our first insight into these questions within the Creation stories found in Genesis 1-2. There we learn that God took the initiative to create us, not because God was lonely or because He wanted someone to worship Him. God simply found the beauty of existing so lovely He wanted to share it. And when God created, He did so with astounding abundance and variety. But God gave a unique gift to humankind—the gift of freedom and choice. God could have created robots, conditioned and programmed to emulate and reflect His divine generosity. But no, God created us, gave us life and dominion over creation, and then set us free to choose whether or not we would reflect His generous heart.
So God, the One in whose image we are created, is first and foremost generous. And I think we are never more like God than when we give. Our generosity reflects God’s character and heart, brings Him glory, and helps fulfill that petition we recite in the Lord’s Prayer, “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
“…Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” – Matthew 6:10 (RSV)
But Christian generosity is not just a matter of giving money in the offering plate, or dropping a coin in the Salvation Army Christmas bucket, or donating millions of dollars to philanthropic causes. It is foremost a matter of the heart. Christian generosity is giving money or any other valuable “currency” (such as being generous with a kind word or deed, or giving time and influence in behalf of others), to be sure, but it is also important to reflect the motivation—the heart—behind the gift. When the heart of the giver reflects God’s heart, only then does the gift become Christian generosity. Allow me to illustrate…
There are a number of reasons and occasions when we give money. But not all of these are instances of generosity. For example, sometimes we give
because we are required to do so. We give money to pay a bill that is due or pay a toll to cross a bridge. Perhaps the most obvious of these is when we pay taxes. Not many people love paying taxes, and in fact, most of us do all that is legal and hire professional helpers to avoid paying more taxes than necessary. And yet, we all give a lot of money each year in taxes. We may complain about it, we may resent it, we may think the government wastes all of that hard-earned money, but we pay taxes nonetheless. Why? Because we have to. Paying taxes is not Christian generosity, it is an obligation.
Sometimes we give money because we are pleased with some personal service that has been rendered to us. We tip the valet who parks our car, the server who goes the extra mile at the restaurant, or the hairdresser who fixes our hair and never tells our secrets to other customers. Perhaps we tip the maître d’ in advance to help encourage her to find that open table at a crowded restaurant. These are gifts voluntarily given, unlike taxes or invoices, but they are based upon our feelings at the moment and measured by the personal benefit we received. Tipping is not Christian generosity; it is a swap for services rendered or anticipated.
But then there are times when we give money purely as an act of worship and joyous obedience to the God who loves us, created us, gave all things to us, and then trusted us to pass some of that abundance along in His name to make this world more like His Kingdom. This kind of giving is tithe giving. Of course, a tithe is actually one-tenth of a person’s income and was offered in the Bible as a model or example of how a person might think of their generosity for God’s purposes. We needn’t get tied up in whether that amount is based on the gross or net of our income, and it is not a fixed law that comes to us as if an invoice from heaven. But it is still a good standard to grow toward or grow beyond. A true tithe is enough of our resources to get our attention. It is not pocket change we wouldn’t miss or notice. Giving at that range helps us be better managers of the other 90% too. It is a gift that costs us something. And for all those reasons, such giving reflects God’s generosity, because one of the clearest and most profound aspects of God’s generosity is how sacrificial He is willing to be—“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son…” (John 3:16, KJV).
Tax, tip, or tithe—which describes our hearts and motivations when we give to God? Tax givers only give out of obligation or duty, or to receive tax credit from the government. Tip givers only give when they are moved at the moment, dependent on whether or not they liked the service at the time. Tithe givers give because God gives, because they want to continue the generosity wheel God set in motion, because they are obedient and deliberate in their discipline to grow in generosity whether or not they receive any public notice or whether they have been served personally. Tithe givers want to reflect God’s image in humanity—to give liberally, sacrificially, freely, and joyously.
Tax, tip, or tithe? It matters what we give, but it also matters why we give if we are to please God, and to reflect His heart.
by Pastor Allen Walworth
