We should ask questions like: How can I use my time wisely to please God?
It is so easy for us to waste time. Days and nights go by and we sit around not doing anything to further our personal relationship with God. And since we aren't doing anything to further our own relationship with God, we don't do anything to help bring other individuals closer to God either. In a book I was reading for this topic they had a suggestion for using your time more wisely that I think is a pretty good idea... You've heard people tell you to tithe your money (by giving one-tenth of your money to God). Try tithing your time by giving one-tenth of your time to God each day. If you're awake sixteen hours in a day, that's about an hour and a half. Use that time (you can break it up) reading your Bible, praying, volunteering at church, a soup kitchen, or some other service. Give 10 percent of your time to God, and you will discover that the rest of your time is more wisely spent as well.
I think this is a good way to make sure we are spending time daily with our Heavenly Father. This suggestion doesn't have to be followed exactly, but we should set aside time each day that we spend with God. This will help build our knowledge of God and help us grow closer with God. Although school, work, and other interests like sports are important, we need to set our priorities so that we can attend church and help our relationship with God grow. As believers, we are a part of God's family. It is important for us to meet with God on our own time and meet with other believers in order to stay connected to God's family, which is essential for growing in our faith, being accountable for our actions, and giving and receiving encouragement to stay loyal to God.
We should realize that without God, we are incapable of anything. We may be existing, but we are not truly living. We should discover God's will for our lives and we should walk in His guidance daily. We should take Paul's advice in Ephesians 5. Ask yourself, "What's my purpose?" Ask God for direction as you prepare how you will spend your time here on earth. You should remember that life is not about how long you live; it's about how you live. It is never too late to change your habits. We should place our trust in God and let Him take care of our time.
We should seek to grow in wisdom and let God have control in our lives. We should not shy away from meeting together, instead we should use our time together to encourage one another in our daily Christian walk. I think that the following verses do a great job describing how we should spend our time and the types of things we should do with our time:
Check out these verses:
Ephesians 5:15-18
Luke 6:38
Psalm 90:12
Hebrews 10:25
Colossians 4:5
5 comments:
I think giving God 10% of our time each day is a great idea. I am going to try to incorporate that into my daily life. Maybe we could all try it and let each other know how it is going. I look forward to hearing from you.
I agree with gene. I get busy with things going on in my life and God is the One that gets left out. The question that is asked is one that I have asked and used for an excuse. We put school, work, family, and other things ahead of God and that is not the order that it needs to be. All these are important but we must remember that God needs to be first in our lives. My goal for this year is to put God first, family second, and the other "stuff" will fall into place. I remind myself daily that the things that occupy our time today only last for a short time but the time I spend growing with God matters today, tomorrow, and for eternity.
I know I have been, and at times still am, guilty of putting my school work, my job, and other interests before God. I get so disappointed in myself. A few months ago I had a nice long sit-down with God and He is helping me get my life back in the right direction and helping me focus on the things I have always known I should be focusing on. I pray that God will help me keep my passion to get to know Him better and further my knowledge of His Word. I think this idea of tithing our time to God is awesome. I feel it is important to read our Bibles daily and pray daily. I try to talk with God as much as possible. I got away from praying and reading my Bible for a while and I can't tell you how much better I feel now that I have renewed my faith in Him. The devil will use anything he can to separate us from God. I feel closer to God now than I have for a long time. I know the devil will be attacking me from every angle but I am not afraid because I know God will be right there with me helping me through the hard times. We are fortunate to have such a loving and forgiving God. I pray that God will help me grow in wisdom and that He will help me and give me the strength to let Him have control in my life.
One overlooked way of worship is approaching even the things that we may view as a task outside of God, as a task for God. An example would be just going to your day to day job and working hard. The bible has many passages describing how important it is to develop good work habits.
"Proverbs 22 29 Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve before kings; he will not serve before obscure men. "
"Proverbs 14 23 All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. "
"Proverbs 12 11 He who works his land will have abundant food, but he who chases fantasies lacks judgment. "
These are just a few examples of how just being a hard diligent worker in any and everything you do is another way of uplifting the Lord; so this can be a different way of putting in time for the Lord.
This tithing idea comes at such a great time in my life. Like Jon mentioned in his comment, I too went through a time before exams and the break where I had no desire to read the Bible or talk with God. I could not figure out what caused it or why it happened when it did, but i was frustrated. It stinks to feel that God has pulled himself away from you, but that was partly what was wrong with my attitude. I kept relying on my feelings of loneliness and confusion, and ignoring the facts God has plainly laid out for me in His word. I love this idea of giving God 1/10 of my day and i look forward to hearing how this helps and encourages each of our unique relationships with Jesus.
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