Are You Giving God A 10th Of All He Gives?

Time for God? Genesis 28:22 (NIV) “…and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.”

Jacob has just been visited by God in a dream and God has promised to be with him wherever he goes. Jacob responds by promising to give back to God a tenth of all he receives.

When we read this verse, most of us immediately think

“We each are given the gift of 24 hours in a day, and out of that 24 hours how much are we giving back to God? A tenth would be 2.4 hours or 144 minutes a day! That calculation was a bit sobering for me, 16.8 hours a week should be given back to God.”

of giving of our money, tithing to the church. We mostly consider money when we are thinking about giving back to God. Money is part of what we receive from God and we should be giving back to Him, but God gives us so much more than just money and possessions.

When I read this verse today I thought of time, one of the most precious things

God gives us. God gives us time here on earth to experience His beauty, enjoy the love of family and friends, and to share Christ with others. Giving of our time is sometimes harder to do than giving of our money.

We each are given the gift of 24 hours in a day, and out of that 24 hours how much are we giving back to God? A tenth would be 2.4 hours or 144 minutes a day! That calculation was a bit sobering for me, 16.8 hours a week should be given back to God. Here is something to compare it to, the average person spends 22.75 hours a week on their phone.

Do I give back to God 144 minutes of my day? If I just counted the time spent in prayer and quietness, reading and meditating on God’s Word, the answer would be no.

But that isn’t all that is involved in giving our time back to God.

We give our time back to God when we put others needs before ours, when we are focused on caring for others. We are giving back to God when we set our plans aside to visit with a co-worker who needs comforting. We give back to God when we make a meal for a family who is in need. We are giving back to God when we pick up an elderly person and take them to church. We give back to God when we take time to talk to a child and see what is bothering them instead of just scolding them. We are giving back to God when we put aside our wants and needs to care for others.

I am fairly certain that I often fall short of giving 144 minutes each day or 16.8 hours each week back to God, but I do know that He gives me plenty of opportunities to do so. What about you? How are you spending your day? How much is devoted to giving back to God? What opportunities are you ignoring or missing because you don’t think they fit into your schedule? May we all be a bit more aware of how much time we are giving back to God each day. In all that He gives us, may we give Him back a tenth.