When I wrote the "Doubts about tithing" blog, I also received many questions about the Israel Challenge. Since we are about to begin the campaign, I decided to touch on the subject. The questions I received are many, such as:
- Is it wrong to have a savings account? I haven’t opened one because the Israel Challenge is around the corner and I'll have to close it because I’m going to give everything...
- I wanted to buy a car, but the Israel Challenge is about to start and I'll have to sell it and give everything, so why buy one?
- How am I going to buy a house if I’m never able to save enough to give as a down payment? When I’m able to save up some money, the Challenge comes around and I have to give it all...
Is it just me or do you also think these people see the Israel Challenge as a burden rather than an opportunity to achieve their dreams? Anyway, I think it can all be summed up in the most frequently asked question:
"If I’m always giving everything I have, how will I ever have something someday?"
My personal conclusion is: a person that gives everything he has in every campaign really won’t ever have anything. I can almost hear you questioning yourself: "So the pastor is wrong to ask for my all?" Here goes another personal conclusion: no, the pastor is not wrong, but those who think that they have to give everything every 6 months are not understanding the Israel Challenge properly. The big question here is identifying what this all really is.
The all that the Challenge refers to is not everything you have in life: your salary, plus your savings account, plus your car, plus your house, plus your clothes, plus everything else you have that is valuable. What you should give is EVERYTHING THAT GOD ASKS FOR and not everything that you have (or whatever you think you should give).
I’m sure that you have always heard the pastor say, during every Challenge, "listen to God’s voice and find out what He wants from each one of you." This is the answer to the question and that, unfortunately, many people do not understand. Think about this with me: if the pastor asks you to understand what God wants from you, this means that God is the One who will ask you for something, not the pastor. After listening to the voice of God and understanding what He wants, then you should give 100% of what He is asking for.
Therefore, during this Israel Challenge, strive to listen to the voice of God and don’t be deceived by anyone. Next week, I am going to talk about whether or not you are listening to the voice of God
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