The Bottom Line

The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. (1 Timothy 6:10 NKJV)

             The bible does not speak of money being evil, but the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.  The Lord created us to be fruitful and multiply in our areas of life. The biblical story of Gideon once he became convinced that the call on his life was genuinely from the Lord is one of fearless and creative leadership.  He was the judge of Israel who reduced an Army of twenty-two thousand Soldiers to a special team of three hundred men armed with trumpets, torches, and empty pitchers, who created panic and confusion among the Midianite enemy forces.  Further conflict with the Midianites resulted in Gideon’s uncontested victory and a significant bounty of gold, from which Gideon created a sacred object to commemorate the win.  People came from miles around to see this golden ephod and ended up worshipping the object rather than the Lord, who had given the victory.

            Gideon’s falling was in taking the resources he had been blessed with and using them for a purpose that became a spiritual snare for the Israelites.  The wealth he received became an end in itself.  It appeared at first to signify a profitable win for the nation, it proved in the end to represent a regrettable loss.  Whether you are dealing with personal, business or organizational finances, the bottom line for us as Christians need to signify something much greater than a dollars-and-cents figure.  Shift your thinking away from the figure on the bottom line of a financial statement and toward the end result you want to achieve; the aim of your mission in your life and in your other areas of responsibility.  That desired result becomes your new bottom line, and the money and resources you control become a means toward that end.  As a believer, you are accountable to God for all that has been entrusted to you. Keep your eyes on the bottom line that matters, the calling  that drives your real purpose in life.