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.

Matthew 19.23 records, Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven.”

The rich man wanted to enter heaven but he missed it. To show him his true love, and this determines our eternal destiny, God required him to give away what was most precious to him. This he could not do.

The rich man was a good person. He obeyed the Ten Commandments, he treated others as he himself wanted to be treated. But he didn’t love God the most. Capitalism requires us to treat our neighbor well. It is the best system because it is the only system that makes us consider others first even when we are considering ourselves first. I must serve you well if you are to buy my product that will make me rich.

But doing good, being nice, thinking of others, will not get me into heaven. I must love God first, most and always. Those who love God first and most also love their neighbor, they are indistinguishable sometimes from the good people who are not going to heaven. The test of our love is our willingness to do anything and to give everything to our love.

If I love me first and most, then, in the end, at the time of the greatest testing, I will do and keep everything for my own interest, security, pleasure or power. If I love God first and most then I will be willing to give everything I am and have to see His kingdom come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. This is why God said, no greater love can a person show than to lay down his life for his friend.

I cannot follow Jesus without taking up my cross, denying myself, and surrendering all that I am and all that I possess to His rule and will.

Our Opportunities

1. Christian Business Leadership Summit August 8-9. Join CBMC and thousands of others for the annual leadership summit to be held via satellite at Trinity Church. Details here Register here and put in code 19PRTORG to receive the CBMC discount. 
   
   
2. Beginning next month CBMC will be providing YOU a mission opportunity once a month at the new Rescue Mission Drop-in center. We will be 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? Email Mike to sign up.
   
   
3. You can support CBMC today. https://give.idonate.com/cbmc-inc/lansing 

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

July 15, 2019 

What’s The Reason Behind Your Work?

by Robert J. Tamasy 

Why do you go to work? For many of us, we would not have to blink before answering: “I work to make a living.” “I work to earn an income that can support the kind of life I want to live.” “I work so I can pay my bills.” None of these answers are wrong, but are they good enough? 

Recently I attended a breakfast meeting where the guest speaker said we should consider at this question from another perspective. “Do you work to earn a living?” he asked, “or do you work to make a difference?”

Without question, work does enable us to live and meet our financial obligations. Bills do not pay themselves. And food, clothing and other necessities don’t miraculously materialize. If we need something, it requires money to obtain it. However, as the speaker suggested, if we approach work only for the compensation we receive, we will regard it as an obligation and not an opportunity. 

There are many ways we can make a difference through we work we perform and responsibilities we carry out. A law enforcement officer, for example, can either view his or her job as being paid to apprehend law breakers, or begin each day with an unwavering determination to use their roles of authority for making their communities better places to live. Teachers can regard their jobs as sources of income or as a way for having a positive impact in the lives of their students, helping to shape them into productive people. 

Some professions, such as practicing medicine or law, or being top executives, often enable people to earn lucrative incomes. But as many people have discovered, no matter how much money you earn, it is never enough. When one wealthy businessman was asked, “How much is enough?”, he immediately responded, “Just a little bit more.” So the excitement over how much one gets paid soon fades, However, if the focus is on making a difference in the world, or in the lives of individual people, there is no limit to the intangible rewards we can receive as we go to work each day.

We see this truth addressed in the Scriptures in many ways. Here are some examples: 

We are created to do good. Nowhere in the Bible does it say the purpose of work is only “to earn a living.” It does say, however, the work we are uniquely positioned and called to perform has been specially designed for do. “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10). 

Through our work we can bring light to a world of growing darkness. For many reasons, we live in a world of growing negativity. Times often seem increasingly dark and disheartening. Through our work, we have the privilege of bringing the light of hope, affirming the life-giving truths and principles God has presented through His Word, the Scriptures. “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). 

We can find fulfillment in work well done. God has entrusted each of us with specific, unique talents and abilities. In doing our work – and serving others – we also are honoring Him.“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might…” (Ecclesiastes 9:10). “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men…. It is the Lord Christ you are serving” (Colossians 3:23-24). 

© 2019. Robert J. Tamasy has written Business at Its Best: Timeless Wisdom from Proverbs for Today’s Workplace; Tufting Legacies;coauthored with David A. Stoddard, The Heart of Mentoring, and edited numerous other books, including Advancing Through Adversityby Mike Landry. Bob’s biweekly blog is: www.bobtamasy.blogspot.com. 

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

July 15, 2019 

Reflection/Discussion Questions 

1. When you initially read the question, “Why do you go to work?” what was your answer?
    
2. Do you agree with the statement that working just to earn an income or to make a living is not a good enough reason for going to work? Why or why not?
    
3. What does it mean to make a difference through the work we do? What kind of difference do you think you can make – or are already making – through your work?
    
4. How can we go about working “with all our might” or “with all our heart,” even in the midst of mundane, uninspiring tasks and responsibilities we must perform?

 NOTE: If you have a Bible and would like to read more about this subject, consider the following passages: Proverbs 12:24, 14:23, 22:29; Ecclesiastes 11:6; Romans 12:9-13; 2 Timothy 3:16-17

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