“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror.” ~ James 1:22-23 (ESV)

Most of us know the importance of spending quiet time with God, especially those who have been Christians for a long time. However, we owe God more than just a few minutes at the beginning and end of each day. Since the average believer spends less than half an hour in prayer and quiet contemplation each day, and since so many of us have so little time to spare, how then can we honour God with our time, and what does that have to do with our finances?

Here are just a few answers to help you understand this vital concept and how it can affect your money:

• If we are not taking the time to seek God’s face earnestly, how then can we know His will for our money? Instead, we turn to what “feels” right…often leading to impulse decisions or bad investments in the long run. Sometimes it takes God more than that thirty minutes’ devotion time to answer a question, but we have to be willing to wait for the answer. Otherwise, financial disaster may loom on the horizon.
• Honouring God with our time also means spending time in doing what He wants us to do, as implicated in the Scripture reference above. We can’t just be hearers, sitting in our tidy pew every Sunday morning and walking away to live a different life as soon as we leave church. This person who hears but does nothing is like a man who looks and looks at his own face in a mirror, changing nothing and examining only himself. Get out there and do, don’t just listen. Ask God to show you different ways that you can honour Him aside from church.
• Pay those tithes even when it hurts. Real faith is giving when you don’t know how you can afford to – like the old widow in the New Testament that Jesus credits with giving a great offering.  We are honouring God with our time when we work the schedule that we are assigned, since He’s the One Who provided the job and the income. In turn, make sure to pay your tithes even when it makes the budget very tight or you have other things you’d rather do with the money. If you have questions about tithing, such as the right amount or why we tithe, check out our other blog posts about tithes and offerings.

It’s a sad fact that so many Christians today feel like paying their tithes, spending a few minutes with a devotional, and attending church once or twice a month is enough. While it is enough to get started, it is not enough to run the race that’s set before us. Constantly strive to do more, be more, for God, including giving more of your time—of yourself—to Him this year. Whether it is doing volunteer work, helping with a church program, ministering to the lost, visiting the sick or elderly, or having a family devotion time to start teaching your children about the Lord, honour Him with as much time as possible.

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