After giving financial advice for over five years, I have seen that, even in the Church, people are extremely disorganized with their finances. Many use an emotional faith when it comes to spending their money and then find themselves drowning in debt, wondering why God does not bless them. When they are in front of a store window, they don’t think about payment plans or not having enough money to pay the bills the next day. What they do instead is buy everything they see, in “faith” that God will provide and enough money will appear to cover their needs, even if they have spent their money irresponsibly.
Many come to me, and the first thing they say is that they are tithe and offering givers, yet they haven’t seen the windows of heaven open, according to the promise in the book of Malachi. So, they begin to think that perhaps the promises of God “are not exactly like what is being preached”… However, I have observed some behaviors from these “faithful” people that I would like to share.
Some time ago, a purpose was made a in my Church that, during the entire month, we would not present ourselves before the Altar of God empty-handed; this is, every time we went to Church we would give an offering according to each person’s condition. Well, those same people who said they didn’t have time to think about a payment plan, began to think about how they could give an offering every day and found a way: they exchanged R$10 and R$20 bills for ten R$1 coins or R$2 bills. This way, with R$10 and R$20, they would have an offering for the next 10 or 20 days. It’s funny that, before the store window, they spend what they shouldn’t believing that God will provide for their future expenses, but before the Altar of God, they calculate, do things their way and say, “God will understand”. Where is the faith to give the best of what they have today believing that God will provide for Himself tomorrow’s offering?
In regards to the Israel Challenge, I have seen the same thing: people started writing down their earnings and expenses, then wrote to me on my blog that they had “nothing left”, so they couldn’t participate in the campaign and that “God will understand”. To justify their “expenses” they say that they’ve read my books and in them it’s written that we must honor our commitment to responsibilities so that we give testimonies, so they cannot fail to pay their bills. Funny that before the campaign, many of them had never put their bills on a spreadsheet to see if they could buy the clothes they wanted or if it was possible to buy new living room furniture… they simply passed their card or pre-dated checks and more checks without thinking about their Christian testimony. And then they still charge God His blessings without measure. How can the Righteous Judge give something without measure to people that, when it comes to Him, give with measure and calculate each step they take towards the Altar?
When it comes to sacrificing their earnings with irresponsible spending they say, “God will provide”. But when it comes to sacrificing on the Altar of the Most High, they excuse themselves and say, “God will understand”. Will He understand though?
Sincerely, in the faith of Abraham!