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.      

John 9.20-23 records, his parents said, “We know he is our son, and we know he was born blind. But we don’t know how he came to see—haven’t a clue about who opened his eyes. Why don’t you ask him? He’s a grown man and can speak for himself.” (His parents were talking like this because they were intimidated by the Jewish leaders, who had already decided that anyone who took a stand that this was the Messiah would be kicked out of the meeting place. That’s why his parents said, “Ask him. He’s a grown man. MSG

Fear of men, shame of God, are the result of sin. We were created to love God and to serve Him, to encourage one another to stay true to God and to do His will together. Now, many of us, too often, love men more than God, at least their approval and their opinion. We often fear men despising us more than God condemning us.

This fear of men and desire for their approval runs deep within us. These parents in essence denied their own son to seek the approval of their leaders. Parents denying their own son seems unbelievable, yet it is true. How much easier is it for the created to deny their Creator? What will change this? A greater love for God than for man.

When our love for God’s approval exceeds our love for people’s approval then we will identify with Him more than we identify with what is popular in our culture. This is in essence why we have been given the first command. To love God. Without obedience to this command, we will fail to truly obey the second command, to love our neighbor as ourself. We cannot love our neighbor best until we love our God most.

At the root of wanting to please men is self-preservation. At the root of wanting to please God is self-abandonment, for His glory on earth as it is in heaven.

Our Opportunities

1. CBMC welcomes The Global Leadership Summit. Business leaders, everyday you impact those around you through your influence—for better or worse, in both big and small ways. During a season that may have depleted your energy and left you in the dark, it’s time to rediscover a new hope for your future in order to amplify the positive difference you can make. Learn more here, then, contact Mike for a special discount code for you and your team!

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

June 7, 2021 

Maybe It Is Time to Reconsider the Bottom Line

by Jim Langley 

Business professionals obviously like improving the bottom line. If you work for others, you might have to deal with performance reviews of one kind or another. Even top executives are reviewed by their board of directors and undergo scrutiny from their major stockholders. And the bottom line is usually an important element of those reviews. 

In many areas of life we seek this great emphasis on improving the bottom line. Whether in business, sports or wherever we participate, it is only natural to want to be recognized for doing well. It feels good to attain our business and personal goals and set new ones. There is nothing wrong in striving to reach those goals, but what are the consequences of placing too great an emphasis on the goal itself? 

Striving to achieve desired professional and personal goals has been true for me as well, but over the years I have discovered things have changed. Today the bottom line that concerns me most is how I am doing in my relationship with my Heavenly Father. 

The Book of Ecclesiastes addresses this dilemma over its first 11 chapters. King Solomon, “the Preacher” as he calls himself, presents an emotional assessment of our lives “under the sun,” as he calls our earthly existence. He continually refers to the effort to improve our bottom line, to achieve and experience more and more, as “chasing the wind.” I would term this a self-centered, vain existence. 

In the final chapter of Ecclesiastes, Solomon shifts to help us see what we might call “the big picture,” realizing there is more to life on earth than the relentless pursuit of more and better. He suggests bringing God into the picture so we can develop a clearer perspective and experience life’s journey in a new, deeper, more meaningful way. 

Solomon closes his writing with these words of wisdom: “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter; fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14). Did you grasp that? Whether it is good or evil, God will bring everything into judgment – His judgment not ours. Our assignment is simply to do the whole duty of man. 

During my 30-plus years as a follower of Christ, I have come to understand this duty/responsibility is to be obedient to the Lord and do my best to please Him and love others as well as I possibly can. I have also discovered I cannot truly love others until I have learned to love God, and then myself with all my faults and shortcomings. 

So when it comes to “the bottom line,” I now recognize that my personal goals are not that significant. I am more concerned about the process God has laid before me. As Romans 12:2 tells us, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” 

Each day is a new day, and my desire now is to please my Heavenly Father and simply watch for who, what, when and where He is working in my life. Yes, I continue to set goals and naturally track the bottom line, but I am most concerned about my relationship with the One who put this world on its axis and created everything we get to experience during our short time here on earth. This is only the beginning of a deep, eternal relationship with our Creator. 

© 2021, all rights reserved. Jim Langley has been writing for more than 30 years while working as a life and health insurance agent. In recent years, his passion has turned to writing about his relationship with God. His goal is to encourage others to draw near to Him as well. A long-time member of CBMC, he started writing “Fourth Quarter Strategies” in 2014. 

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

June 7, 2021 

Reflection/Discussion Questions 

1. When you hear the term “the bottom line,” what immediately comes to your mind? How much does an emphasis on the bottom line affect your approach to your work – and your life in general? 

1. What are the problems – if any – of overemphasizing the bottom line, professionally or personally? Do you agree that from time to time it might be useful to reassess how we view this bottom line? Why or why not? 

1. In the book of Ecclesiastes, King Solomon – reputed to be the wisest man in the world – uses the terms “vanity, vanity,” or in another translation, “everything is meaningless”? Have you ever felt this way about your life, or your work? Explain your answer. 

1. He closes by stating that “the whole duty of man” is to “fear God and keep His commandments.” What do you think of this conclusion? 

NOTE: For more about what the Bible says, consider the following passages: 1 Samuel 15:22; 2 Corinthians 5:1-5; Ephesians 3:8-12; Romans 8:29, 12:1-2 

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