Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha
Some Examples of Waste
Hiring a supposedly professional to implement a project and the professional turns out not to be as knowledgeable as s/he claimed to be, lacks the necessary expertise, is incompetent and does a shoddy job that leaves you having to start all over again; expending additional and much more resources than you would have expended on the project. Resources that could have been ploughed elsewhere to further expand resources and your wealth has to be reinvested into a project that would have cost less.
The biblical Joseph knew exactly what to do to mitigate the seven years of famine. Though the bountiful harvests were plenty and the saved up surplus was immeasurable and beyond counting, none of it was wasted. Everything was processed and stored safely. One of the ways to ensure zero waste was that food resources collected in farms around a particular city were stored in that city. The food resources were not moved farther – to prevent loss, damage; in addition to saving op on resources that would have been used in moving them farther. It was pointless diverting resources that would be required elsewhere in moving goods farther from the fields where they were produced and from the people who produced them. Besides when famine came, the inhabitants of those areas would easily move to their nearby cities to access food resources without journeying to far away places. The risk of accidents was also minimized greatly.
Additionally, and this is really significant. Joseph traveled round the country not for the fun of travel but to carry out an assessment of facilities required to store the surplus harvests. In today’s business terminology, that would be referred to as a feasibility study - a know what is required, what is on ground and what else to access and how access it, who to partner and work with. That way, you avoid wastes and losses and do not duplicate resources and efforts needlessly.
Not knowing what you own as well as the value of what you own is an example of great waste. For example, the young man described in Proverbs Chapter 24 verses 30 to 34 as devoid of understanding owned a vineyard; significantly a walled vineyard, implying that he owned great property – land to plant a vineyard – vines to process wine out of and sell to other people, a secure vineyard walled around for security from predators yet the young man had absolutely no understanding of what he owned, the value of what he owned so he allowed the property alongside the economic resources in it to go to seed.
True, he is described as a very lazy man who kept asking for and taking long rests which his body did not require but wait a minute – the young man also lacked any form of motivation. Why? He lacked understanding – understanding of who he was, what he owned, the value of what he owned as well as the great love of God for him. God Who loved him and gave him the great valuable property he chose to neglect and destroy through indiscipline and laziness.
Beloved, lack of understanding of value, appropriate value judgment of who you are and what you own, the value of what you own and the great love of God for you can make you waste your God given resources and gifts through either disuse as in the case of the wicked lazy servant in the parable of talents, lack of maintenance as in the case of the owner of the vineyard, outright refusal to bless other people with the gifts as in the case of Onan who refused to raise up an heir to his brother – Genesis Chapter 38 verses 1 to 10, Proverbs Chapter 18 verse 9, Ecclesiastes Chapter 10 verse 18.
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