"O how I love Thy Law! It is my meditation all the day." Psalm 119:97
I have things on my mind this morning. :-) I didn't do a study yesterday because I really was having a rough time wrapping my brain around something.Yesterday was just one of those Sunday mornings. Those Sunday mornings that make you wonder how the heck the church seats manage to be filled from week to week. I am certain those mornings are a gift from Satan. Trying to keep me from going to church, and let me tell you, there are some times where it almost works.
Anyway. I've been thinking on tithing. That can be a hot button for many. Tithing often causes discussions about how much we are supposed to tithe, and what percentage is correct and so on and so on. For this purpose today though, let's say that the amount is ten percent. In fact, that percentage is mentioned in Nehemiah 10:38 "and the Levites are to bring a tenth of the tithes up to the house of our God." I grew up understanding a tithe to mean ten percent, so I will use that today for my thoughts. Let's look now at a verse in Matthew. (I promise there is a point coming.) "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former." Matthew 23:23.
Today I am not thinking about tithing in the financial sense. We do practice tithing in our household, and we do utilize the ten percent rule. But that verse in Matthew has me thinking this morning that when God's talking about tithing, he's not just talking about tithing our money. What else could we tithe? The one thing that we have more of than anything else, and that is our time. I've become quite fond of my morning study time, but there are days (like yesterday) where time gets the best of me and God's time gets pushed aside. So this morning I'm thinking about applying the concept of tithing to my time management. And what does that boil down to? 24 minutes. Just 24 minutes a day that I can give to God freely.
There's more to this though. When we tithe with our money, we tithe 10 percent before we pay any bills or go shopping, or pay anything else first. The first bit of money goes to God. Why can't I do the same with my time? Why couldn't I wake 24 minutes earlier in the morning and give it to God. Well, that's certainly easier said that done. Imagine, waking up an extra half- hour earlier to read the Bible and talk to God. That's hard for a busy Mom like me to really wrap my mind around! That would be a loss of 30 minutes of sleep. There are 800 reasons why I shouldn't wake earlier every day, but I suspect that God is leading my thoughts in this direction for a reason. I imagine waking up earlier and after spending time with God, actually getting something accomplished in the morning before the day really begins. I spend so much time every day thinking about all the things I could be doing, and they don't actually get done. And just as God blesses our finances when we give him the first portion, maybe my time would be better blessed if I gave God the first portion.
"She also rises before dawn and provides food for her household, and a portion for her maidservants." Proverbs 31:15
That could be me... something to pray on today and for a while I think. It will take a great deal for me to get up even earlier, and I wonder if I really can do it.
Happy Monday everyone! I pray that your week ahead is productive and wonderful.
1 comment:
HOw great to strive to be like the Proverbs 31 woman...I pray often that, as a wife (when that comes) I'll be like her and be able to submit to my husband as well. I hope that you are able to get up that little bit earlier. That's what I've had to do this year, too. I get up 1.5 hours earlier in total b/c classes starter an hour earlier and I've added 30 more minutes for God first thing!
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