Hi there. I'm a stay-at-home mom that never feels like I have enough time in my day. Recently I was listening to a Seacoast pastor challenge us to give generously of our time. You can watch Geoff Surratt explain it here. He talked about how we use up all our time on ourselves...and how we should pre-decide how we should give a little of our time every week.
Biblical?
I really don't know how to answer that. I can see that God has blessed us financially because we follow his guidance with our money. There isn't the same clear guidance on how much time to give him though. Any one out there have some ideas on that?
My Greedy Side
I can't claim to be high-minded. In fact, it's my own greedy desire to have more time that first attracted me to this concept. I know without a doubt that our material wealth has come from God. Chris works really hard, but he also gets really 'Lucky' (Christians might call it blessed). So if tithing has met our financial needs, then maybe tithing my time will help us meet our time needs.
Is 4 Hours Enough Time?
I open this up to any reader with an idea on this. I'm currently basing my tithe on a 40-hour week even though moms work way more than that. As with tithing money, I don't believe the concept of "Give Till It Hurts" is biblical, I think that is just manipulative. When you talk about time, too much focus on ministry is not healthy for family life if you have to sacrifice too much of your time with them.
Burn-Out Prevention
The problem with giving 'all your time' to God is that you will burn out. I've had to force myself to only use the 4 hours and not sneak in extra time. I've even gone to using a time log sheet to keep myself on track and then I also have notes of how far I have gotten on particular projects and what work was done.
Passion for the Mundane
The upside of taking a measured and ordered approach is that you will take the time to plan the work to be done. While a new project is exciting and your passions are at their most flushed you can write down all the different aspects that need to be completed. Days or weeks later when you've lost that original head of steam, you can continue to 'work your plan' and take care of mundane tasks that are still necessary components of the over-all vision. As an example, in my case, it took many, many attempts to get my DVD burner to work so that I could get high-quality video for small-groups. If I hadn't budgeted for that time and recognized that it was the perfect late-night task, I would have missed an opportunity to maximize my time and energies.
Race Horses
Race horses are amazing creatures. In general, their natural drive can cause them to plow ahead blind to the obstacles and dangers of traveling at the speeds they love. There are times when a race horse must be held-back for its own good. I'm certainly no physical specimen these days, but I do find that my natural drive gets me in more trouble than I care to admit. I use the time-log to reign in my enthusiasm and pace myself. In my youth I never learned to pace myself, but now I'm having to learn.
In My Past
I had trouble keeping my interest in volunteer projects when I was younger, and now I realize that my heart was not into it. Mostly because God is the only thing that can really solve the ills of this world. Even my seasonal interest in politics I recognize is a band-aid for a world that only God can 'fix'.
Wisdom From Bill McDonald
My dad was a firm believer in tithing and was even known to challenge close friends to try it and he would pay them back if they didn't feel like God was blessing them for their tithing. Dad had a opinion about how new tithers should begin though. He believed that every new tither should only give 10% and no more. He didn't think it right for them to give offerings on top of their tithe because he felt that a "learner" needed to establish the discipline of 10% no matter what was going on in their lives. He had seen new tithers that excitedly gave their 10% then gave offerings and also picked up some charity cases and well before the month was done...all their money was gone. Some may view that as a person moving in faith, others may see it as a peril of inexperience. Dad's logic also insulated the giver from the constant guilt trips that come around for every charity that comes down the pike.
Here's the application for a tithe of time: Don't let yourself do more than 10%. Today as I write it has only been a few weeks since I began working on this concept. I am tired tonight because I had a busy week of phone calls and planning for how I plan to use my tithe of time. I have used way over 4 hours this week. In fact, I have given my tithe for the next 3 weeks. If I weren't keeping records I wouldn't know that I must take the rest of this week and next week off. I would be "weary of doing good" and feel like giving up because I'm overwelmed and have neglected some of my parenting duties. However, because I'm aware of what I've done, I can take the next two weeks off with no shame from my God and I can focus extra energy on the foremost calling of my life at present: raising three small children and being a help mate to my husband. No small thing, and no less important than planting a church or hosting a small group.
First Fruits
Now the bible speaks of giving our first fruits and this could be simple in tithing our time. You could try to 'Tithe Your Time' early in the week or even a week ahead. I find that I'm more efficient when I'm all 'tithed up' so I like to try to stay a week or a little more ahead. If you're a mom, you may find this is the only way you can stay on top of it...because diapers and laundry stop for no man!
Tithe To What?
I'm going to get some back-lash on this, but I think a "Tithe" goes to church, God and his purposes only. Volunteer at the local animal shelter if you want to, but if you want to "Tithe" your time to God, then choose an activity that speaks as directly to your Christianity as you can. CHOOSE what is going to happen with that tithe of time...don't let well-meaning issues steal your time from God's Big Vision.
E-mail Me With Your Ideas and Input About How A Time Tithe Would Work.
