The Dot or the Line

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The Dot or the Line? Here is a question of great significance. The dot represents our earthly life and all things temporary. The line represents God and eternity. There are only two things that are important in eternity: people and the Word of God. So, which is our focus, the dot or the line?

Jesus says “No one can serve two masters… you cannot serve God and money” (Matthew 6:24). In this passage Jesus is telling us to make a choice between God and money. God is eternal. Money is not, nor is power, prestige
or pleasure. Jesus is asking us, “Are you living for the dot or are you living for the line?”

To find the true answer to this question, we only need to “follow the money.” Matthew 6:21 states, “for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” What we do with our money tells us what our priorities are. Where we channel our resources is the best indicator of where our heart is. Are we spending our money on earthly possessions, or are we investing in eternity?

It is important to note that when we use our money for earth-bound things, there will be FOUR RESULTS:

1. We live with the fear of loss. Jesus tells us, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19). The clothes we buy deteriorate because of moths. The cars we drive and the houses we build disintegrate because of rust. The money we put in banks can get stolen. The investments we make can be mismanaged. If we invest solely on the dot, we can lose everything.
2. Our attitude becomes increasingly dark. Matthew 6:22-23 gives this metaphor: “The lamp of the body is the eye; if therefore your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.” When we choose to focus on the dot, we believe that our earthly life is all there is. We become pessimistic because we know that we cannot keep or control our accumulated wealth forever. When we die, we will leave everything to somebody else. Solomon, the richest man in the Bible, “hated all the fruits of his labor” (Ecclesiastes 2:18) because he knew that they did not matter in eternity. If we live on the dot, darkness pervades our life. If we live on the line, we live in God's light.
3. We live with a perpetual tension. Tension tears us when we try to serve both God and money. Matthew 6:24 states clearly that “no one can serve two
   masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other…” As author Mary Ellen Edmunds said, “We buy things we don't need with money we don't have to impress people we don't like.” We also struggle with giving to God. We feel the tension when we tithe or make a pledge to
   the building fund. We have to deal with the tension and make a decision: Are we going to invest in toys or in God's kingdom?
4. We constantly fight anxiety. If we serve money, we are constantly worried because it is easily exhausted. But if we serve God, we have no reason to be anxious. Jesus tells us, “Do not be anxious for your life, as to what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor for your body, as to what you shall put on…Look at the birds of the air, they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?” (Matthew 6:25-26).

If we choose to live on the line and to serve the right Master, God will replace our fear with the assurance that He will meet our needs. Our darkness will be replaced with light and optimism, because no matter what happens in earthly life, we have a safe investment in an eternal future. Our tension and anxiety will be replaced by relaxation and peace because our eternal future is a certainty.

Are we living on the dot or on the line? If we choose to live on the line, we also choose to give to God.

Now, giving has three levels. Giving by sight is when we allocate a part of our resources for our own needs and the other part for God's work. Giving by sacrifice is when we cut back on some things, for example, buying expensive lattes or postponing the purchase of a new cellphone, to be able to give to God. But, the most remarkable level is giving by faith.

Hebrews 11:6 says, “Without faith, it is impossible to please God.” We give
by faith when we commit to give back to God whatever resources He blesses us with. God's wealth is vast, and He is ready to give it to us. But, such blessings are not meant to be kept for ourselves. They are for sharing with people and spending on eternity. Are you willing to give back to God? Do you want to invest in the line?