I Give a Lot of My Time, Why Must I Give Money, Too
- From David Plunkett, Stewardship Committee
The reality that people give away a lot of money is surprising enough. For Christians giving is a reflex…how much we give is a choice determined by our hearts. Is money all that we give or are their other ways to give?
I used to wonder if I could just tithe my time and have that be good enough. Did you know that Americans spend at most 17 minutes a day in religious activities, according to the American Time Use Survey? A mature Christian is in constant communion with God. This cannot be measured by a survey. Most likely this survey looked at visible religious practices like prayer, Bible reading and going to church. However, a survey that finds people spending only 17 minutes a day on religious activities indicates some things. First, it supports the words of Jesus, “the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few” (Matt. 9:37). It also, shows that many do not always support their faith with their time. In other words, they are not showing their faith in their “works” (James 2:18). Both of these thoughts should convict us.
When a person commits their life to follow Jesus they are giving over all their time to the Lord. Their life becomes that 24/7 resource for God to use as He sees fit. Some would rather give money instead of time while others would minimize their time investment by using the “tithing principle”. Either attitude short changes God and settles for a less fulfilling faith.
The same is true if we try to substitute the giving of our time for the giving of our resources. “Well, I volunteered at the church work day so I don’t need to tithe this week.” This is substituting one discipline for another and causes an imbalance in ones spiritual growth. As mentioned earlier, a healthy Christian has already given all their time to the Lord. They walk consistently with the Lord and seek to give of their resources to support God’s Kingdom work.
It’s true that sometimes all we have to give is time. That’s okay. Peter and John didn’t have any money in Acts 3 when they encountered a beggar, but they gave him time and attention. They gave what they had.
Can we substitute time for tithes? Not a good idea, but to increase the amount of time we put into prayer and the study of God’s Word cannot help but strengthen our giving in other areas. The challenge is simple: What can you do to increase the time you “live out” your faith? And, What can you do to increase your giving financially? Both areas of our lives should be growing and a witness to others of our faith in our God. It is the practice of using all we have to bless others!