Tithing our time...in relationship with our Lord Jesus

written by Patricia Ann    June 10, 2024

We often hear about tithing our money to the Lord and then He will prosper us. We hear testimonies of people who sit down at their table and write checks to different ministries and how God has blessed them. 

But I think that people aren't just called to tithe with money.  People are also called to tithe their time to Jesus, to spend time with Him and doing His work.   It seems like for far too long it's been more appropriate in our churches to give money more than spending time with our Lord. And that Almighty dollar is very often misappropriated and not used for purposes of helping those in need. Instead, it is used for more magnificent, selfish needs of a world view and "looking good" with new church building, new additions, new parsonage for the preacher, mega congregations, jets for the mega preachers, etc. Money will not buy parishioners a place in heaven, or a relationship with our Lord. It looks good on the outside, clothed with false richness, when in actuality, our riches in Glory are seen from the inside out. 

I think of the homeless man who by no fault of his own ended up living on the street, without a job or a place to lay his head for the night.  He was looked down on by society, even his family and friends now rejected him.  He wondered...had they only cared to know him when he had money to share?   He once had the best of the best, a nice home, a family, a car. Suddenly through an illness and loss of a job, a depression and other things, it was all gone. All he seemed to have left was his broken heart, a broken spirit. But somewhere inside, there was a desire to get back to where he once was, but he met setback after setback.  

How do the homeless tithe money?  They are just barely surviving. How many people have never even heard of tithing and have no clue of what the Bible tells us about it because nobody has ever shared who Jesus is with them.  

One day, that homeless man on the street, that one who was once very wealthy and found himself homeless, realized that all he had left was Jesus.  He knew Jesus once, before he got rich with money, before he lost it all.  Now, homeless and on the street, he has found that he is still rich, only this time he is rich on the inside. With the love and glory of God, this homeless man begins to feed and clothe the people on the street who have lost it all, too.  He encourages them and gives all he has. He gives his food to those who have children, so that the children won't be hungry. 

Day after day, this is his life. Then, one day, he realizes that it has been years of living the street life.  He is depressed, but he keeps going on day after day. He keeps loving and caring for those who have even less than he does. God has been providing for him and the small amounts that he gets, he also gives away.  

He is a preacher, a fisher of men, a minister on the lonely and lost streets. This man has been tithing his time for Jesus, doing the Lord's work.

Is this man's tithe greater in the eyes of God than all the money given by many of the richest people who are buying their way into heaven with rich looks on the outside, when inside their hearts have grown cold?  Are the rich ones with big offerings the ones who scoff and mock at the that the homeless deserve their lot in life? 

I've seen it! And I've experienced the heartfelt love of the homeless, the less fortunate...those without a physical home, rejection of family, complete loss.  

I've seen these less fortunate people, rich with the Glory of God shining forth from the inside. 

Our Lord's provision is greater than the world's.   Tithing time with Jesus brings a deep intimate relationship with Himself and allows us to share that deep, intimate love with others.  Tithing time with Jesus is greater than money.  Time is rich in His Glory. And when we are willing to tithe our time, we relinquish ourselves to go wherever, do whatever and be who He calls us to be. We may find ourselves homeless on the street, ministering and providing encouragement and love to the lost.  Some may find themselves in prison or handicapped or "broken" in some other way.  But in Christ Jesus, we are renewed and restored, as we are giving to Himself, as a tithe to those less fortunate.  We are the tithe to another with our time and His love through us. 

I believe that God is restoring His church, His people. He is calling the broken and lost hearts back unto Himself. When we share who He is in a helping way, in praise and worship, and when we seek Him, we come into His Glory realm. Here we find that true restoration begins. The problem is that people are "too busy" to spend time with God, too busy to help someone in need.  They may throw money at a situation, but they don't give their physical presence with hope and uplifting, reaching someone right where they are. God is everywhere we look, in the sunrise and sunset and everything in between. He is in the battlefield, on the streets filled with homelessness. He is with the poor, the broken, the hungry. He is ever present.  He is more than a Sunday morning ritual in a building with a few songs and then a sermon followed by a week of selfishness.

Look, listen and feel the Glory of God and sit in His presence. Sing praises. Talk to Him. Seek to know Him intimately. He is our God who sees us. right where we are...

People aren't just called to tithe with money.  People are also called to tithe their time to Jesus, to spend time with Him and doing His work. My prayer for today is that we live lives where our tithe is seen as riches in Glory ... seen from the inside out.

Love and blessings to All in Christ Jesus. Amen