Imagine getting a lot of criticism about how you spend your own money for a holiday?
Recently a civil servant got a lot of bombardment after writing about his family holiday in Paris. The holiday was estimated to be about $45,000 which was spent mostly on attending a cuisine cooking course.
Read this:
'A senior Singaporean civil servant has been reprimanded for publicising his family’s vacation at a top French cooking school when his country is suffering from a recession, a minister said Monday.
"It struck a discordant note during the current difficult economic circumstances when it is especially important to show solidarity and empathy for Singaporeans who are facing uncertainties and hardship," Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean said in parliament.'
Do you have a right to spend your own money and tell the world about it? Also, do you have a right to judge others on how they spend their money?
I did read this civil servant's article in the Life page of the Straits Times. Yet it did not occur to me at that time to criticize him of the huge money spent on such a cooking course. It was only after reading all the criticism in the blog that made me realized that what we do and say about money does make people envious or jealous.
Pastor David has always asked me to preach on his behalf when it comes to passages that talk about money, like 2 Cor. 9; 1 Tim 6. I have now come to realize that I should stop preaching about money. It is a sensitive issue and really nobody likes to hear such a message. Full Stop.
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2 comments:
Mark, i disagree with your comments that 'you should stop preaching about money' for the wrong reason. The reason for stopping should not be 'because Rev David asked me to preach". Rather if God asks you to preach, should you say no to God? You are delivering God's message. Not Rev David's msg. If you dont deliver, who should deliver? Someone else would anyway. But in this instance, you have been chosen to preach on this sensitive subject. Perhaps you are the 'right' person to preach this subject. Personally, i think you are the one. This is just my personal opinion.'
Chye Keng
Chye Keng,
Thank for you comment. I understand that when come to passages that deal with money, it is difficult for the Pastor to preach as it seem to be "asking for money" and he has always approach me to do so. For a lay people who is also giving tithes, I feel all the more to support him by preaching on his behalf.
However, during my study in Singapore Bible College, there is one course that I need to do a presentation that concern a every day issue. And guess what the topic I choose? Yes, I chose to talk about money! I choose this topic because every day you need to use money - for lunch,for transport, etc. From the look of the faces of my classmates, I knew that I have hit on a sensitive topic to these people who are Christian leaders in their own churches and also corporate bosses. (This is a part-time class). After the presentation, some people are just wary about me whether I live up to the standard that I preach - giving my all to the LORD. (One classmate actually indirectly told me that). Really, nobody like to discuss about money.
So I guess each time I talk about money, people would be guessing asking: "Sure or not? How much have you give, men?"
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