The Formula
Adding It Up
A dilemma many Christians face is: How much time should I dedicate to God?
One answer is: 100%, all the time.
While that is a great inspirational answer, it is not really a realistic answer. Everybody has jobs and families, and everyone needs to eat and sleep. So then, what is the realistic answer to how much time I should serve God? Only spending one hour a week with God in church is way too low a target. While dedicating every waking hour of every day is realistic only for those who have dedicated their lives to being a priest, deacon, nun, etc. For your average working American, a more reasonable answer might be that we tithe our time.
A tithe is 10%, so if there are 24 hours in a day (1440 minutes) that works out to 2 hours and 24 minutes (144 minutes).
Wow! Who has 2 hours and 24 minutes to spare in a day. What working person with families, kids, and other commitments has even 1 hour? The answer might surprise you.
The first realization has to be that God doesn't want 2 hours and 24 minutes straight. I believe that God is just fine with smaller moments of dedication throughout the day. In fact that may be preferable, because those smaller chunks of time spread throughout the day can develop into a closer and closer relationship with God, reminding us to involve player and faith in God's will for everything that happens throughout the day, whether at work or at home.
Even if these chunks are spread throughout the day, this still might seem like an unreasonable amount of time. But, if routine and prayer becomes a part of your life, it might surprise you to realize how much time you can dedicate to God.
The items listed on the Example page add up to 2 hours and 24 minutes.