The issue of Giving

I have been reading up on City Harvest Church saga. Because it bothers me.

The church was so much a part of my life. I believed it totally when they said it's the devil's work when my parents persecuted me. We even had a short form for it: P. O. which stands for 'parental objection'.

I believed whatever it delivered throughout my 6 full years there. Even after I had left, I never thought it was evil or anything like that. Like I mentioned, I just couldn't attend the church with my mind bursting with question marks and disagreements. I attributed my 'fallen away' or 'backsliding' as the church calls it to my own weakness in character.

The friends who gave along with me, also gave big-time. None were pretentious. None were hypocritical. As far as I know, everybody in the church had been most kind. I found the sincerest form of friendship in that church. Yes, even now, I still feel that the friends I made in that church are one of the best people around. They truly believe in the kingdom of God. A friend gave me a card that read 'In my father's house are many mansions. I hope yours is next to mine.' It's been many years, but I remember it fondly because the first sentence is quoted from Jesus and I thought it a creative to follow it up with a personal statement. I appreciated that friend's gesture because she has always been very faithful and staunch in her beliefs and had always been encouraging and never despised my weak foundation. Today, she's working full-time in that church, leading songs in worship on Sundays.

That same friend agreed to sing at my wedding without asking any questions. She didn't judge me or refuse to sing because it wasn't biblical for me to have a church wedding. For that, I'm forever grateful. It tells me I have a true friend indeed.

I was reading the comments online about Yeow Sun's home in LA when one of the comments struck a chord with me:

'Make your sacrifices for the church fund, to build a house for God!

Downgrade from a $28,000/month apartment to a $14,000/month apartment and give the difference to the church building fund!

Sell off your apartment and move back to a HDB flat, IF you REALLY believe God will honour your sacrifices.

And if you don’t, don’t tell others to make their sacrifices. You have no right to…'

How spot-on is that?

That's exactly how I feel. You've been preaching on giving to God cheerfully, giving to Him till your heart breaks, but there you are, living in the lap of luxury, and not giving to Him.

I remember Pastor Kong asking us to 'downgrade' the products we use so as to give to the church,"Instead of Lancome, use Max Factor." It left a very deep impression on me because I could not afford Lancome products then since I was a student. When you preach like that, it induces guilt in people even when they can afford the better things in life.

But you don't suffer a tinge of guilt when you spend like nobody's business. Yeow Sun showcased her favourite brands of clothings to the reporters who visited the couple at their River Valley home 5 years ago. The only brand I have heard of is Fendi.

And Pastor Kong's Boss suits were in that walk-in wardrobe as well.

I mean, the pastor who had worn his handicapped sister's self-sewn suits wears branded stuff now? Wouldn't it have suited his preaching better if he wore something not so expensive and gave the amount he saved from those suits to the church-building fund?

He and Yeow Sun are global icons and it does fine if they have a bungalow in Sentosa - this is what someone said in defence of them. It sounded fine as long as they could afford it, until the word 'building fund' comes in. He has been asking people to sacrifice so as to give more to the building fund. My question would be: what kind of sacrifices have they made to give to the building fund?

Remember the poor woman who gave her all at the temple? Jesus defended her when her contribution was scoffed at, saying that it beat the contribution of a rich man who gave many times more than she.

Likewise, even if they have given millions to the building fund, have they much more to give?

The church members are often challenged to give to the building fund, even beyond what they can give. Are they challenged to give much more than the average church members, or beyond what they can give, too?

I truly truly hope that they are not what the public have portrayed, because if they are, many Christians, including myself, will be stumbled.