Our Mission 

To present Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord to business and professional men and to develop Christian business and professional men to carry out the Great Commission.          

Joshua 21.8 observes, the Israelites allotted to the Levites these towns and their pasturelands, as the Lord had commanded through Moses.  

The Levites were the designated tribe of priests for the nation of Israel. All the other tribes were given land for producing their incomes in order to care for their families and for caring for the Levites. The priesthood tribe however was to live in cities. Why?

Cities are where the people are. Cities are where commerce is managed. Cities are where government resides. Cities are where education at the highest level is conducted. Cities are where the priests were to dwell so that they could have maximum influence and impact upon people, the marketplace, government and educational institutions.

The New Testament calls all believers to be a kingdom of priests. To have maximum impact upon the most people, Christians should be actively engaged in their cities where they can most influence the majority of people to Christ.

CBMC provides Christian men their best opportunity to expose their marketplace, government and educational relationships to the gospel of Jesus Christ through the testimony of another Christian man sharing how Jesus Christ has changed his life.

Christians should not seek to retire to the country where they can disengage from people but should always be seeking more ways to influence more people to Jesus, fulfilling their responsibility to live as a kingdom of priests in this world until the Great High Priest calls us home to live with Him forever among all those who have likewise been made priests forever.

Our Opportunities

Thank you men for giving so faithfully to CBMC. $19, 712.60 was given in January toward our goal of 20k for the month to make up our December shortage. Thank you, men, for your faithful help. You guys are awesome.  

You can continue to help us in this work today at https://give.idonate.com/cbmc-inc/lansing

1.     A mission opportunity is available to you every third Wednesday of the month at the new Rescue Mission Drop-in center. We are looking for one or two men a month to share their story of God’s work in their lives for about 20 minutes from 10-10.20ish. Interested in encouraging the homeless by sharing what God has done in your life? Next opening, March 18. Email Mike to sign up. 

CBMC Central Michigan 4407 W. St. Joe Hwy. Lansing 48917  / 517 481 5996 www.lansing.cbmc.com 

MONDAY MANNA

A service to the business community

A Publication of CBMC International

February 3, 2020 

Resume or Eulogy – Which Would You Choose?

by Jim Mathis 

In modern society we are encouraged to work to build our resume. The questions are always: What have we accomplished? What skills do we have? What is our job title? Or, how much money do we earn? 

However, in the end, thinking about our eulogy is a better idea. At our funeral, what will our family and friends say about us? They will probably not list our jobs or our degrees. If so, it will only be in passing. They will most likely talk about what it was like to be our friend, or to have us as a loved one. Will they talk about our integrity and honesty? Will somebody mention how we always looked for the good side of people and situations, or how we lit up a room when we came into it? 

Is our life characterized by love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, and self-control, as the Bible describes in Galatians 5:22-23? Or are we only a list of accomplishments? 

I have never attended a funeral where the pastor read a list of the deceased person’s possessions. I was thinking about this because my mother died a few months ago. At her funeral, person after person came forward to comment on her contributions to the community, as well the many close relationships that she had. Some talked about her patience, her loving spirit, and about her always positive attitude. There were no comments or mention of her financial situation, though several people reflected on her career and what a joy it was to have worked with her. 

One of the sins of society is that we place undue honor on people because positions they hold or how much money they possess. Conversely, we fail to respect people with lower incomes or working in lower status jobs. This is exactly the opposite of how God would have us act. Scripture is clear about our need to not be prejudiced or to show favoritism. James 2:5 (New Living Translation) says, “Listen to me, dear brothers and sisters. Hasn’t God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith? Aren’t they the ones who will inherit the Kingdom he promised to those who love him?” 

Matthew 6:19-21 reminds us to not place our trust in earthly treasures, but to lay up eternal treasure. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal, for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” 

Luke 12:15 adds, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” In practical terms, what we own is not who we are. Our money, houses and cars are all external to who we are. “Things” are temporary, just along for the ride, often dragging us down. Our experiences, education, and relationships, most important our relationship with God, define who we are. Those things are internal, along with characteristics like integrity, love, joy, and peace. 

When we die, we will leave all possessions behind, but the lives we have touched and the difference we have made will live on, both on earth and in heaven. 

© 2020. Jim Mathis is a writer, photographer and small business owner in Overland Park, Kansas. His latest book is The Camel and the Needle, A Christian Looks at Wealth and Money. He formerly was a coffee shop manager and executive director of CBMC in Kansas City, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri. 

CBMC Central Michigan 4407 W. St. Joe Hwy. Lansing 48917 / 517 481 5996  lansing.cbmc.com 

 MONDAY MANNA

A service to the business community

A Publication of CBMC International

February 3, 2020 

Reflection/Discussion Questions 

1. Have you ever attended a funeral or memorial service where people spoke at length about the deceased person’s money, or jobs, or earthly possessions? What are the things that seem to be mentioned most often? 

1. Why is the content of one’s resume typically so different from what is expressed through a eulogy at a memorial service? 

1. Which of the characteristics cited by the Bible – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control – do you think people would associate with your life? 

1. How can we avoid becoming preoccupied or consumed with the eternal trappings of success, and learn instead to cultivate internal qualities and traits that will be remembered long after our lives have come to an end? 

NOTE: If you have a Bible and would like to read more consider the following passages: Proverbs 20:11, 21:21; Matthew 6:24,33, 7:24-27, 13:44-45; Philippians 4:8-9 

CBMC Central Michigan 4407 W. St. Joe Hwy. Lansing 48917 / 517 481 5996  lansing.cbmc.com