Nov 9

The bottom line

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We hear a lot about the “bottom line” these days. When people talk about the bottom line it is generally associated with money and profit. But what kind of society are we living in if we put profit before people and their real needs? What kind of society are we when our government ends up with billions of dollars of profit to give away, when basic needs, like decent health services, are not being met?

Have you noticed that everything, and I mean everything, is evaluated in monetary terms nowadays? Counting the dollars involved seems to be the way to make decisions, not only government decisions, but also deeply personal decisions like having kids. Whoever said that parenting skills were measured according to what is in our bank balance?

I heard a sad report about somebody becoming disabled through a work accident, and was deeply moved by the story of the significant personal losses this person was facing with great courage, and the interviewer’s next question was “And what is this kind of accident costing taxpayers?” When we constantly hear such questions about the monetary value of everything, then, sadly, we start to think that way too. Through a kind of osmosis it becomes the ultimate deciding factor and value for the way we live our lives.

I’m not saying we don’t need money, but I am saying is that it shouldn’t be the “bottom line”. In my dictionary, I found that bottom line means “the basic requirement or precondition”.

Wise people, like Jesus, have told us that love and care must be the bottom line, and that we cannot live fulfilling lives without acknowledging love as our basic requirement. Once upon a time, the quality of care was what mattered. Today we have more knowledge than ever before to enable us to give the best possible care with the money that is available to us, but economic rationalists persuade us to do things as cheaply as possible, so that there is more money in the bank at the end of the day.

Jesus’ message was that we cannot serve God and money. Serving God means caring for God’s people and God’s creation. That is the bottom line. Hopefully, we are learning, before it is too late, that the profit motive and economic rationalism are not the answer.

Rev. Adelene Mills
Devonport Uniting Church

This article orginally appeared in the ‘Advocate’ Newspaper in October 2007 in a regular “Faith Reflection” column.