Growing in Generosity
By Dr. David Swanson
Published in The Orlando Sentinel on 08.02.26
Dr. David D. Swanson, Senior Pastor, First Presbyterian Church of Orlando
Shel Silverstein’s timeless children’s story, The Giving Tree, has been read to generations of children as a means of teaching the joy of generosity and selflessness. In short, a boy and a tree become friends. The tree loves the boy, and as the boy grows up, he needs things from the tree which the tree happily provides: apples to sell, branches for a house, the trunk for a boat until finally the tree is left with nothing but a stump which the boy, in old age, comes back to sit upon. The book closes with a simple line: “And the tree was happy.”
The simple beauty of a children’s book reminds us that it is not the accumulation of money and things that bring true joy, but rather the sharing of oneself with others. I see this reflected in Central Florida. I see scores of volunteers and non-profits tirelessly giving, personally and financially, to support those who need it. I also find joy on their faces.
Even so, we have room to grow. Solomon describes the state of the human heart well in Ecclesiastes 5:10: “Whoever loves money never has enough…” The word for that insatiable desire for more is greed. Gordon Gekko famously declared that “greed is good” in Oliver Stone’s movie Wall Street, but greed left unchecked not only pierces the human heart, but our communities as well.
Full confession: Greed is absolutely at work in my messy Christian heart, and I’m pretty sure I’m not alone. It’s why the storage facility business is booming. We just want more. The communal problem greed inflicts is also one Solomon identifies in Ecclesiastes 5:8: “If you see the poor oppressed in a district, and justice and rights denied, do not be surprised at such things; for one official is eyed by a higher one and…the increase of the land is taken by all…”
When we bring our greed into the social and economic structures we occupy, who suffers? The people at the bottom of that structure. We want more and the people above us want more and so everyone takes their slice of the pie until nothing is left for those without power or voice.
We have a compelling case study of this in Central Florida. Right now, a committee appointed by Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings is meeting to determine what local projects will receive a cut of the hundreds of millions of dollars annually raised by the 6% Tourist Development Tax. Sadly, not one dollar supporting those at the bottom of our social structure will be allowed. Why? A state law prevents it.
To be clear, I am not trying to demonize the tourism industry. It is the backbone of our economy. I want a wonderful football stadium in which I can go see the Jags play an entire season of football as much as the next guy. We need to keep investing in many such areas, but with hundreds of millions of dollars now in play, spending all of it on ourselves is not what makes our community stronger. It’s our generosity. It’s how we “see” and serve those at the bottom that makes us stronger. Originally, our tourism industry needed a law to protect TDT dollars. It was burgeoning and precarious, needing protection, and I doubt anyone at that time knew it would grow to what it is today. Even so, we must adapt to a new reality. It is time to recognize the way inherent greed, yours and mine, is keeping our low-wage earners on which the tourism industry is built from experiencing a life of true human flourishing.
Perhaps the biblical concept of the tithe would work. This year, 10% of the TDT would generate $40 million for transportation and affordable housing and mental health and homelessness. Sin City, Las Vegas, has no such law and they have made great progress on all of those issues because they have chosen to give.
In short, the peril of greed is both personal and communal, something we all need to grow in understanding, so let’s get generous. Let’s reach out to our representatives and gently say, “It’s time to spend this on more than what enriches and entertains us. Let’s take a small portion and be sacrificially generous.” And maybe, just maybe, Central Florida will be more happy.
