The preference for present-tense, imperative-style commit messages comes from Git itself. From Documentation/SubmittingPatches in the Git repo:
Describe your changes in imperative mood, e.g. “make xyzzy do frotz”
instead of “[This patch] makes xyzzy do frotz” or “[I] changed xyzzy
to do frotz”, as if you are giving orders to the codebase to change
its behavior.
So you’ll see a lot of Git commit messages written in that style. If you’re working on a team or on open source software, it is helpful if everyone sticks to that style for consistency. Even if you’re working on a private project, and you’re the only one who will ever see your git history, it’s helpful to use the imperative mood because it establishes good habits that will be appreciated when you’re working with others.