The Definition Of Necessary Evil

You've heard the phrase before, necessary evil, but what does it really mean? I like to think of it as a euphemism for the more common word, budget. It's that time of year again when we crunch numbers and project income and expenses for 2009. It's been a while since I used an adding machine with any regularity and I could tell because I sometimes got more than one total for the same line of numbers added. The numbers were too big for my preferred method of fingers and toes, in case you were wondering.

But in the midst of the torture I call budgets, was the joy of realizing that the numbers I was adding could translate into changed lives (I was working on the missions budget). I think about the people who will hear the name of Jesus for this first time this year because there is a missionary we had a small part in sending. I think about the person in living in St. Louis who may see the love of Christ in a tangible way for the first time this year and take steps toward Him. The Bible says that God is a God of order and on a good day I can file accounting and budgets under the heading "order," but much more satisfying is the realization that the money we give and spend can make an eternal difference in the lives of people.

So, pass me the aspirin and an adding machine...