{"id":1515,"date":"2012-01-11T02:39:31","date_gmt":"2012-01-11T10:39:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nehemiah.pivotdev.com\/blog\/?p=1515"},"modified":"2020-03-16T23:20:42","modified_gmt":"2020-03-17T06:20:42","slug":"multiple-bottom-line-profit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nehemiahecommunity.com\/members\/devotionals\/multiple-bottom-line-profit\/","title":{"rendered":"Multiple Bottom Line Profit","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Better a little with righteousness than great revenues without right <\/em>\u2014Proverbs 16:8<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you measure your profitability only in financial terms?\u00a0 What other things are important to your bottom line?\u00a0 Do you have a way to measure them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We all have heard the question, \u201cWhat is the bottom line?\u201d\u00a0 Which means at the end of the day what are you trying to say or accomplish. Whether in simple conversation or in day to day activities, in business we all want to know what the bottom line is. It is a way to measure our success, to get to the main point, or to know if we are going in the right direction.\u00a0 The bottom line is critical in business because it provides us with indicators that let us know that the market agrees with our assumptions; it also serves as evidence that we are being good stewards. A business without a positive financial bottom line will not exist for long unless it changes how it operates.\u00a0 Bottom lines are critical to the survival of businesses especially kingdom businesses.\u00a0 The Bible makes it very clear in Proverbs 14:23, \u201cIn all labor there is a profit \u2026\u201d and Jesus says in Matthew 25:30, \u201cAnd cast the unprofitable servant into outer darkness.\u00a0 There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We cannot however measure our profitability only in financial terms.\u00a0 We may do well in that one area but do very badly in other areas that may be just as important as and even more important than finances. After all, Jesus also states in Matthew 16:26, \u201cFor what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?\u201d\u00a0 I believe this is one of the most important statements in the Bible because you can be a heavenly-bound Biblical Entrepreneur and lose your soul.\u00a0 The soul represents the essence of who you really are. It reflects your values and the things that are really important to you. Even your business has a soul.\u00a0 The soul of your business is the combined set of values that shape your corporate culture.\u00a0 What good is it if you have a positive financial bottom line but your customers do not feel that they are getting the value of what they pay for, your employees do not feel valued, your vendors feel cheated, or the community where you do business is getting worse because of how you operate your business or the type of business you operate?\u00a0 What does it profit you to be highly profitable at the expense of everything else that is important; you are making money but losing the soul of your business?\u00a0 This is why when we think of the bottom line in business we must go beyond the numbers and consider other things that we value or other bottom lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having multiple bottom lines means going beyond financial returns to include other measurements based on the values of the entrepreneur or the company.\u00a0 It is the net gain after all costs are deducted from a business\u2019 revenue while considering other things the company values such as people, cultural and spiritual things, and the environment.\u00a0 Biblical Entrepreneurs must measure more than one bottom line since their businesses must serve as lights and salt in the marketplace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n