Gratitude and generosity have the potential to be profound spiritual practices. They are habits that shape us and help us to grow in Christ. At creation, God declared each new thing “good” and then invited humanity to live in joyful relationship with all of creation and with God. We were made to experience joy. While there are many hardships and challenges that we face,  in the midst of all that,  at our core, we are meant to know and contribute to the growth of joy.
Gratitude is a practice that helps our mind acknowledge and take seriously all that is beautiful, true, loving, and redemptive in our lives. To give our hearts space to embrace those and be shaped by them.

Next week is Commitment Sunday when we are all invited to make a pledge to Trinity – and we have talked about things like investing in the future and making contributions that will help cover our budget. But I’d also like to talk about generosity as a spiritual practice. I wonder how your own history with giving has shaped you. What has it helped you see more clearly? How has it helped you feel like a true partner with others in the work God has given us to do?

I grew up in a family that often struggled financially, but every year my parents would very intentionally set a budget that prioritized giving to the church right alongside paying the mortgage and household expenses. When I found my own apartment, they encouraged me to do the same.

And sometimes that was hard. I can remember a period of living paycheck to paycheck but giving the church the same as what I spent on gas. That became my tithe. But during that same time, a woman came to me one day with $200 after feeling like God was prompting her to give me something. That helped me live with less fear. Another time, when I was married, someone put $500 through the mail slot when my husband was out of work, and we were struggling to pay for a piece of furniture. That gift from an anonymous friend helped us feel seen and supported when we felt emotionally low.

At times, giving generously has also helped me feel less powerless in the face of life’s big problems. Instead of feeling too small to make an impact, my financial contribution has helped me participate alongside others who have found effective ways of living out the kingdom of heaven in the here and now, helping others experience greater freedom, safety, stability, and joy.

As a spiritual practice, generosity allows me to enter the alternative economy of the kingdom of heaven, one marked by grace, abundance, and faith – in opposition to self-interest, scarcity, and competition.

If I am honest, there are some days when I think about what else I could do or buy with the money I pledge each month. It would probably allow me to live in a more charming neighborhood or have a more interesting wardrobe! It would provide more to spend on concerts and travel.

But those things don’t provide the kind of lasting gratitude that I feel when I see lives being transformed and people applying their gifts in service to each other. When I give to Trinity, I feel like I am a part of God’s holy and mysterious work of love in a time marked by polarizing violence, isolation and loneliness, fear of the future, and revolving natural disasters. When I am generous with people who are responding to God, I experience significant joy because it increases my sense of connection and my ability to see God’s faithfulness.

How has generosity helped you feel like a true partner with others in the work God has given us to do? And, how does living within the alternative economy of the kingdom of heaven set you just a little more free to live the life that truly is life?

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Let us walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself for us, an offering and sacrifice to God.