DAILY DEVOTIONAL
June 16 — Attention as worship
A spoken reading of this is being recorded — it will appear here soon.
June 16 — Attention as Worship
"For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." — Matthew 6:21 (KJV)
The version of this verse most people remember puts the heart first. Jesus puts the treasure first. Where your treasure is, there your heart will be. The direction of the verse matters. We do not place our heart where we choose; our heart follows what we spend on.
Replace the word treasure with attention and the verse reads close to home. Where you give your attention, your heart follows. This is one of the few times the marketing world and the New Testament agree. The platforms know it; they call attention the new oil. The Lord knew it first. He framed it as worship.
This means the question for a Christian household is not do you worship? but what do you worship? The screen is an answer. So is the work. So is the child. So is the spouse. So is the assistant in the pocket. Most of these are good gifts when they are gifts. They become small gods when they are given the place worship was meant to occupy.
The fix is not to despise the gifts. The fix is to put first things first. A morning that begins with five minutes of Scripture and prayer changes the slope of the rest of the day. A meal that begins with grace is differently lit than a meal that begins with a notification.
Today, before any screen turns on, give one minute of attention to the Father. He is not a metric. He is the place worship was made to go.
May the Lord bless you and keep you.