Proverbs 3:9-10 NKJV
Honor the Lord with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase; So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine.

This scripture prescribes for us how to honor God. We can come up with our own ideas of how to honor God – serving in church, singing to Him songs, prayer, living a holy life or whatever else we do to honor Him. In my reading of scripture, this is the one verse that tells us how: with our possessions and with the firstfruits of all our increase. Isaiah tells us a contrasting picture when he talks about people who “honor God” with their lips (songs, prayers, promises and others), but their hearts are far from Him.

Isaiah 29:13 NKJV
Therefore the Lord said: “Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths And honor Me with their lips, But have removed their hearts far from Me, And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men.

It is possible to “honor” God with your mouth and your lips but your heart is far. And yet honor is really about the heart; your heart-posture toward someone. Isn’t it interesting that our Lord Jesus taught us that where your treasure is, there your heart will be also? This then tells us that honor without treasure is no honor at all.

Matthew 6:21 NKJV
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

The tenses in this verse seem to suggest that one thing follows another. Our hearts can be unruly sometimes. The Bible teaches that our hearts are wicked! But our hearts can actually be directed towards someone or something. Once we get invested in anything, our hearts are there. That’s why it is wise for husbands to give treasure to their wives because their potentially wandering affections can then be directed to the right recipient. This also explains why money is the number one cause of trouble in marriages. Once you are arguing about it, it means you are not giving it to one another.

Treasure leads (where your treasure is), and the heart follows (there your heart will be also). So, the treasure gets there before the heart. If we really want to love God, we must learn to give sacrificially to Him and what He cares about. God cannot have your heart without having your wallet first!

Today’s devotional is taken from the book The Principle & Practice of Honor