Malachi 3:10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.
I was listening to a sermon recently and at one point the pastor eluded to tithing and this got me thinking. Does the principle of tithing apply equally to our time as it does to our money? How much of our time should we set aside for the work of the Lord each week? How am I using the time God has given me?
Time is the same for every person, there are only 24 hours in a day. Many necessities and opportunities demand much of our day. Our work takes up a large percentage of our life. Being a good husband or wife, father or mother, employer or employee requires time.
As Christians, we have spiritual priorities as well. How many hours or days in a month should we set aside for evangelism and discipleship and the ministries of our church? What about caring for the poor, the orphans, and widows. With all these tasks competing for our time, how can we balance our responsibilities to fulfill our temporal and spiritual duties?
Tithing reflects a thankful, obedient attitude and acknowledges God as the source and owner of all that we possess. A voluntary act of worship, tithing teaches us to put God first. A faithful steward serves because he has such a heart for God. As we have seen, everything we have is a gift from God. Every second of every minute, every minute of every hour, twenty-four hours a day belong to Him. Although God's Word does not specifically require us to tithe our time, our Lord did command us to put Him first in all things.
Matthew 6:31-33 So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Giving back a percentage of our time enables us to give God priority and assurance that we will fulfill our service to Him.
The Pastor did give us an example of what happens when we tithe our money, but what could happen if we tithed 10% of our time to God? Okay, so 10% is 2.4 hours every day, so who has 2.4 hours everyday to spend time with God? For me that is my daily round trip commute. If I spent that time in prayer, studying the bible, on CD, or listening to praise and worship music, what can God do with that? I am not quite sure, but I am trying to find that out, come talk to me about what God is doing in my life.
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