At this time of year, we come across many advertisements urging us to take a summer vacation somewhere exotic. Pictures of Mexico, Portugal and Spain beckon the work-weary individual to enjoy all the amenities that those balmy regions have to offer. When the potential traveler wonders about the costs involved, the real figures are often hidden by the use of the preposition “from.”

The principle God employs is just the opposite of the one the world offers. It is not at all “go now, pay later.” Instead it is “save now and go later.”

But then it doesn’t really matter because the promoters encourage the traveling public to “go now and pay later.” It is so easy. All we have to do is use a major credit card and then hope we can handle the 18 percent interest rate that we will be charged until the amount is finally paid off. As a result, a high price tag becomes ever higher! How different is God’s approach toward travel and associated costs as evidenced by His instructions related to the observance of the Feast of Tabernacles.

God’s travel plan

Our loving Creator has given us this annual fall festival as a vacation with Him. We experience more than a week of educational and spiritual learning. We meet different people in various venues. We travel to different parts of the country and different parts of the world. The opportunity for broadening our horizons on many levels is vast. But what about the finances? How do we pay for all this?

The intent of our Creator is that we can rejoice at His festivals and do so without going into debt.

The principle God employs is just the opposite of the one the world offers. It is not at all “go now, pay later.” Instead it is “save now and go later.” That makes far more sense to the fiscally-responsible person. According to the directives given in the Bible, the believer is to save 10 percent of his or her income for expenses incurred in observing the annual Holy Days.

Deuteronomy 14:22-25 states: “You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year…[T]hat you may learn to fear the LORD your God always. But if the journey is too long for you, …then you shall exchange it for money, take the money in your hand, and go to the place which the LORD your God chooses.” Thousands of adherents to God’s Holy Days have followed this savings plan for decades. The festival tithe is deposited in a separate account and is used exclusively to observe each of the seven festivals. Of course, the bulk of this expense occurs while celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles.

The Church asks festival attendees to donate 10 percent of their festival tithe amount in order for the costs of planning and maintaining each Feast of Tabernacles site to be met. We have customarily used the term “tithe of a tithe” for this amount. Several months have transpired since the Feast of Tabernacles in 2006. How much festival tithe have you saved up until now? Have you chosen to diligently set aside 10 percent from each income source for future festival use? Probably you have. And if you have, you will be blessed accordingly. You will be able to meet all of your festival costs and you may even have something extra with which to help others. Often, many faithful festival tithe savers find that they accumulate more than they require for their own needs. They then kindly help those less fortunate than themselves. Such generosity and kindness is greatly admired and appreciated. Most of all, God notices and is pleased.

Still time to save

The fall Holy Days are a few months away. There is still time left to save for those wonderful occasions in accordance with God’s saving plan. The intent of our Creator is that we can rejoice at His festivals and do so without going into debt. His design is that instead of “going now and paying later,” we “save now and feast later.” God’s ways are superior and they really do work. How wonderful are the Holy Days and how wonderful is the financial plan to observe them.