I should live not for the dot but for the line

(Treasure principle #4)

The picture on the left represents this principle: The dot simply stays... it goes nowhere. It's stagnant. As Alcorn says, "Right now we're living in the dot. The shortsighted person lives for the dot. The person with perspective lives for the line." The line that goes on forever represents eternity!! As Christians... we are destined for an eternity in heaven!

"Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life." - 1 Tim. 6:17-19

John D. Rockefeller once said, "I have made millions, but they have brought me no happiness."

John Jacob Astor, a very wealthy person of his day, said "I am the most miserable man on earth."

"We think we own our posessions, but too often they own us." - Randy Alcorn

We can learn a great lesson from a guy named Solomon on this principle. Solomon was the wealthiest person on earth. He was a very wise man who developed a habit that made his wisdom innefective for his own life. He married pharaoh's daughter, became a huge political leader, famous for building the temple and the palace, and he excessively taxed his people and his workers! There is very little mentioned in the Bible about the last decade of Solomon's reign, but Ecclesiastes does record some of his last reflections on earth.

In Ecclesiastes 2:10-11 Solomon says,

"I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands ha done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind. Nothing was gained under the sun."

There is a profile section of Solomon in my Bible that says, "In that book we find a man proving through bitter experience that finding meaning in life apart from God is a vain pursuit." Security and commitment are only found in serving God!! "The contentment we find in the opportunities and successes of this life is temporary. The more we expect our successes to be permanent, the more quickly they are gone."

Think about what you're living for! The dot... or the line?