Why are we so far away from what we read about in Acts?

(Photo: Getty/iStock)

Despite once being a world leader in generosity, the UK has steadily declined in global generosity rankings over the past decade. While still within the top ten for financial giving, our nation ranks lower when it comes to helping strangers or volunteering – symptoms that suggest that a broader mindset of generosity is missing, especially regarding how we give our time.

Historically, the church has played a key role in filling this gap, and today's congregations are no different, contributing an estimated £55 billion in annual economic and social value to the UK. However, according to Stewardship's Generosity Report, the average individual Christian in the UK donates less than 3.2% of their post-tax income³ to churches or charitable causes. While commendable, this contrasts with the radical mindset of generosity we see in the early church.

In Acts 2, the believers didn't view their possessions as their own; instead, they practised generosity by surrendering everything they had to God and being devoted to each other. It was not a new concept, but there is a difference between common ownership and sharing food, homes, and all our possessions. It was a change in perspective brought about by the Holy Spirit after Pentecost, leaving the church willing to give up everything to make sure that no one went without.

Generosity was woven into Jewish culture through practices such as leaving the edges of wheat fields for widows and orphans and providing offerings to God. The principle of tithing, which was likely closer to 20-25% in the Old Testament, emphasised a giving mindset far beyond anything we see today in the UK, whether Christian or otherwise.

Our goal at Generosity Path is not to boost giving in the UK, but to rekindle the generosity mindset that reflects a surrendered life – a life shaped by God's call to love others and live generously. Of course, we'd love giving to flow from that, but it's about seeing generosity more as a joyful pursuit, instead of a mandatory obligation.

Today, the church in Acts is often seen as the ideal model, but it wasn't perfect either. Even there, human frailty and deception crept in, as Paul's letters and the story of Ananias and Sapphira demonstrate. But what remains timeless is the principle that God cares more about the state of our hearts than about how much we give.

We can see this in Matthew 6:19-21 when Jesus told the disciples not to store up treasures on Earth and focus instead on storing up treasures in heaven, 'for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also'. Having an eye on eternity by giving up things on earth to invest in it would have had a profound impact on those listening to it for the first time.

Generosity therefore came more naturally to the early church than it might do today, partly I suspect because they also believed that Jesus would return in their lifetime. This belief gave a sense of urgency and immediacy to their actions, which we can sometimes lack. For most of us, we believe that there is always tomorrow to give or help someone. This mindset affects not only Christians but also our wider community too.

If we too lived each day as if Jesus were coming back tomorrow, imagine the transformation that a generous mindset could have in the UK. Instead of being a time-driven culture, where church is packed with programmes and activities that can sometimes leave little space for the Holy Spirit to move, we could be a Spirit-driven culture, focused on how God is moving and bringing us into surrender, trusting Him to guide our financial decisions and making room for Him in our everyday lives.

The early church's giving was an expression of their openness to the Holy Spirit. Everything started with surrender – putting God's purposes above their own and intentionally giving the Holy Spirit space to move. Fast forward to today, and the same eternal truth still applies. We need to create space for the Spirit to move, rebuild the culture of giving as an act of joyfulness, and make generosity a cornerstone of our daily lives.

To find out more about how Generosity Path can help your church spark the joy and freedom that comes from giving, visit our website and get involved with our Journey of Generosity, or visit generosity-month.com to help fuel a global movement of generosity that will bring hope and transformation to our neighbourhoods.

Steve Wood is a pastor and product and marketing director at Generosity Path.