When you give a tithe of your second tithe, how is it used? Not only does it help defray the costs of operating your Feast site and ensure that there will be many enjoyable activities; it first and foremost goes to helping the needy who could not otherwise attend the Feast at all.
We have our individual responsibilities to save our tithe for Feast attendance, of course. But Scripture also explains that we have an obligation to provide for “the Levite, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow” (Deuteronomy 16:14).
From the earliest days of the Radio Church of God, there were brethren who, for one reason or another, could not afford to attend the Feast. There were also expenses that had to be paid before the Feast to arrange activities and facilities during the Feast. To accommodate these needs, brethren who could afford it were asked to give a tenth of their Festival tithe to the Church, even before giving any “excess second tithe” on the Last Great Day.
To this day, when many brethren finish paying their expenses for the Feast of Tabernacles, they donate as “excess second tithe” whatever remains from the Festival tithe they have faithfully saved for the past year. They are grateful to be able to give that offering, knowing that their generosity has made it possible not only for “the stranger and the fatherless and the widow” to keep the Feast, but for the brethren together to enjoy many wonderful activities.
In recent years, a declining proportion of Feast attendees have found themselves able to donate a “tithe of the tithe” before each year’s Feast of Tabernacles. As a result, the Church has had to dip into the “general fund” to pay for basic Feast site expenses, diverting funds that could otherwise have been used to preach the gospel or feed the flock during the rest of the year. The Feast must go on, even though the total costs associated with the Feast—assistance, halls, ministerial travel and other direct expenses—substantially exceed donations of excess second tithe and “tithe-of-the-tithe.”
Certainly, in the present tough economic times, many brethren have been able to save so little second tithe that they are barely able to attend the Feast at all, and sometimes must spend more than 10 percent of their increase to do so. Brethren in such a circumstance should not give what they cannot. But what about those who have been blessed with enough increase to share their blessings with others? Jesus Himself stated, “For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required” (Luke 12:48).
If we look at our Festival savings and realize that we can pay all of our own Festival expenses after giving the Church a tithe of our Festival tithe, we are not only helping to pay direct costs associated with our own presence at the Feast; we are also helping many other brethren who could otherwise not afford to attend the Feast. And we are making possible a range of enjoyable activities at the Feast site we attend. As we do so, we are displaying the outflowing concern that Christ expects us to have for our brethren.
It is important to remember that needy brethren are not given Festival assistance out of third-year tithe funds. Festival assistance dollars come from donated second tithe. And it is not just third-tithe recipients who need help to attend the Feast; there are many brethren who do not qualify for third-year tithe but who still need full or partial assistance to attend the Feast, usually the elderly who live on Social Security or savings and lack the means to attend the Feast without some financial assistance.
Some do not realize the degree to which the Church strives to economize in every way possible in its Feast preparation expenses. For instance, when we are seeking to locate new Feast sites, the Festival Office is able to make the most of local Convention and Visitors Bureau funds, including free hotel “familiarization” trips, which typically pay for hotel stays, and often cover airfare to and from the location, along with various meals during the trip.
Even so, there are still some expenses the Church must incur in Feast planning, and if those expenses are not covered by “tithe of the tithe” and excess second tithe, those expenses must come from the general fund—“first tithe and donation income.” Interestingly, going back to the beginning of the Global Church of God more than 20 years ago, the Church’s total Festival expenses have never exceeded the amount that would have been received if every able attendee had given a tithe of his or her second tithe.
So, brethren, as you remain faithful in saving your second tithe as God commands, please remember that the same God of the Old Testament, the Logos, Jesus Christ, wants us to give as we are able to help others enjoy the Feast. Giving the Church a tithe of your second tithe is a long-established Church tradition, and we hope that many of you will practice it as you are able.
—LCG Festival Office