Here is where a knowledge of God's Word and a good dose of common sense are going to pay off.

 

One of the earliest lessons in the written word is on giving. Cain and Abel were apparently not only commanded to give a portion of what they had to God but were also given some specific guidelines for that giving. While we don't have that specific instruction revealed to us, we see that both Cain and Abel gave from the proceeds of their possessions (Cain brought from the produce of the ground and Abel from the produce of his flock) and we further see that one offering was pleasing to God and the other was not. Common sense would seem to indicate that they had been given some standards on giving by God that Abel met but which Cain failed to meet.

 

The Old Testament continues to offer us glimpses of various offerings to God, from the tithes of Abraham and Jacob, the tithing commandment of the Law of Moses, and numerous sacrifices that ranged from specific commandments to freewill offerings. In the New Testament we no longer have the commandment for a certain percentage of our income when giving (though many modern-day groups like to hold on to the Old Testament tithing) but as far as commandments, we are given a set of requirements that include the first day of every week, in keeping with our incomes, purposefulness and generosity. From these New Testament instructions, each person will be able to figure out what amount will be pleasing to God.

 

That's the giving part. It is by no means an exhaustive list, but a person with the heart of Abel will pursue this subject until they are satisfied that their giving is pleasing to God. The person with the heart of Cain, however, will likely figure out how to give the bare minimum and then be mad at those whose giving is more thoughtful and less begrudging.

 

Now we come to an area which most people will give either too much or too little consideration: What to do with the rest of their time and money!

 

In Ecclesiastes we read of the prudent man putting aside some money for savings and investment through a thoughtful and diversified plan, (Eccl. 11:2). In Proverbs 31, we read of the prudent woman doing similarly, sometimes considering a field and buying it, sometimes being like the merchant ships that bring their goods from afar, and at other times supplying the merchants with products for them to sell. The idea is that God's people are not merely drones who mindlessly go about supplying the physical needs for themselves and their families, but are actually thoughtful people who are able to figure out how to be successful at making a living, at savings, and at investments.

 

The idea behind this set of instructions is that, once having made consideration for their offerings to God, God's children are then free to use whatever is left in whatever way seems prudent to them, with the obvious consideration that they do not do anything that would be greedy or otherwise sinful with their money.

 

But now we come to something that most people give scant consideration to: What to do with their time!

 

Under the Law of Moses, the people were commanded to set aside the last day of the week, the Sabbath, as a day of rest before God. It was actually a gift to God's chosen people, but so many seemed to "chafe" under this restriction. In the New Testament, we have commandments and examples for the first day of the week worship. While we are not commanded to give the entire day in worship to God, we are commanded to at least take the time to gather together with the church for the worship, with the focal point being the breaking of bread, also referred to as the Lord's Supper. Even though this command does not appear to restrict other things we might rightfully do on the first day of the week, again, many people are offended at the notion that God expects any sort of sacrifice for Him.

 

Now we come to the last point: Just as the first and best of our possessions belong to God as an offering, so too should our time. That means genuine and thoughtful consideration as to what to do with that time. As with the more general commandments of giving in the New Testament era in which we are living (as compared to the Old Testament commandments prior to the cross) the giving of our time to God is also a bit less restrictive, but no less required.

 

What would happen if you were to take the first and the best of your time for God, just as we are required to do with the giving to God from our possessions? I imagine that we would approach our service to God in a much different light. Instead of giving of our leftover time, our time in service to God would actually be carefully planned, with great thought and purpose. Suppose we were to take our calendars out and actually devote our time to God first, instead of last, Suppose we set aside not only the time required for the first day of the week worship, but also for some things as wild as a second worship that many congregations provide on that first day of the week, Suppose we also took advantage of scheduled studies with the church, such as Sunday school and mid-week Bible study. 

 

What if the first thing we did when we opened our eyes in the morning was to offer a prayer of thanksgiving to God? What if we asked for His divine assistance with our various activities of the upcoming day? What if we read a passage from the Bible before we had our breakfast, nourishing our souls first before feeding our bodies? Do you not think that your life would be fuller and richer for having done so?

 

And then what if we really got crazy and started planning enjoyable outings with our spouses and kids? What if we set aside a reasonable amount of time for those activities and hobbies we all enjoy, providing of course that those activities were not sinful in nature? The fact is that most of us have to work for a living, so of course the planning we do will have to be made around our work schedules for the optional activities, but our activities such as worship, study and prayer should get first consideration over our work schedules, with the obvious point that we will want the two things to be compatible. In other words, you have to work for a living, but God can still get the first consideration for the items of the soul.

 

The point of all this is that we need a balanced life, with our first consideration of all our resources (time, money, effort) all being given to God. After we have taken care of God's things first, I believe we will find everything else will fit in nicely, whether we are talking about our budgets, our schedules, or anything else that requires thoughtfulness on our part. Once God has been given the first consideration in your offering of money, you can spend as you wish and as is prudent on anything your heart desires, providing again that it is not sinful. Once God has been given the first consideration of your time, the rest of your time can be divided up anyway you desire, providing of course that you are living as a servant of God and Christ should.

 

God has given us an abundance of time and money; we just need to be a little more thoughtful in the way that we use them. If we can use a little common sense in our approach to these things, I believe that we will discover that our lives will be fuller and richer than we could have ever imagined. And then, of course, there will be heaven!