Invest in People 2

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Jesus Christ for instance spent years, deploying a multi mix of methods to invest in His disciples. They faithfully and successfully pioneered the early Church when Jesus Christ departed planet earth. The Apostle Paul also invested in both his mentees and the many disciples God used him to raise as he planted Churches in Europe and Asia. These mentees became a great blessing to him when he became a very old man. They helped to carry on the work and also labored faithfully in the vineyard when Paul was in prison. The implication of investing in other people is that you are actually investing in yourself. When Ruth chose to invest in Naomi, little did she know that Naomi would also invest in her and she would become the wife of Boaz and when she became the wife of Boaz and mother of Obed. She also further invested in Naomi by bringing Naomi the untold joy of being a grandmother, so to speak.

Beloved, invest in yourself by investing in people around you.

Mordecai invested in his cousin Esther. Though a gateman at the palace; and in a low income bracket, Mordecai chose to raise his orphaned cousin – he provided for her, housed her, and schooled her in the ways of the Lord. And so Esther had a home and a godly older cousin to look up to for protection and provision in a male dominated world. And when suddenly the position of queen became vacant in the land, Mordecai instructed Esther to apply. Accustomed to obeying her older cousin, Esther participated in the national search for a queen contest and won. Because Mordecai had cautioned her not to make known her nationality, no one knew she was related to Mordecai; one of the gatemen at Shushan palace.

Invest in People

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Why?

People are assets, referred to in corporations as either human resources or human capital. Great corporations, families, communities and nations spend fortunes to invest in their human capital. Investing in human capital development is wisdom, the strength of any family, community, nation and corporation is the quality of human capital in it.

People are assets, in point of fact the greatest assets you can think of after your salvation by faith in Christ Jesus. This is because the people you invest in today are the ones who will be there for you tomorrow. Ruth for instance chose to invest in Naomi even when Naomi had nothing to offer in return. Naomi had no sons that would marry her; Naomi had no financial resources to meet their very basic of needs yet Ruth chose Naomi over Moab, her homeland which appeared to offer many pleasant opportunities; she could live in her family home if she chose not to remarry; there were men there who knew her and could ask for her hand in marriage considering that she was a young widow. Her choice then to go with Naomi who in the face of every physical appearance had nothing was like sentencing herself to a life of penury in addition to being an old maid. But as future events played out; it turned out that Ruth saw into the future and tapped into it or she was just following the leading of the God she chose to serve by associating with Naomi.

Ruth and Naomi arrived in Bethlehem at harvest time and considering that they were not there at planting season, they had nothing of their own to harvest so they resorted to gleaning, a law which allowed strangers and the vulnerable as well as the poor to up sheaves left on purpose by farm owners and harvesters for such people. Naomi was apparently not strong enough for much physical labor; so Ruth went into the fields on a daily basis to glean for the food they required.

Again, directed and guided by the unseen hand of God, she chose to glean in the fields of Boaz, a man she did not even know was their close relative. Ruth gleaned on a daily basis, harvesting what they required for food so that they did not lack bread. But unknown to Ruth and even Naomi at that point in time, Ruth was not just directed to Boaz’ farm for bread alone. Her steps were divinely directed to Boaz’ farm for divine purposes well beyond bread. Fortunately all of that unfolded when Naomi suddenly realized that she could repay the kindness generosity of Ruth by tapping into the law of near kinsman ship which made it mandatory for near kinsmen to marry the widows of their late kinsmen. So Naomi schooled Ruth in the process (Ruth Chapter 3 verses 1 to 18) and Ruth went to work. Needless to say, Ruth became the wife of Boaz and joint owner of the fields she gleaned in to put bread on the table for her and Naomi. Significantly, she also became the mother of Obed, the father of Jesse who gave birth to David, the ancestor of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

The Link Between Zero Waste and Prosperity 8

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

How to Safeguard the Harvests

Sustained bountiful harvests lead to overflowing abundance and obedience to God and His word lead to sustained bountiful harvests. Please read Genesis Chapter 26 verses 12 to 14 and Leviticus Chapter 26 verses 3 to 10.

Zero waste is one of the keys to prosperity. There is a clear link between zero waste and prosperity. Zero waste always translates into surplus, abundance, sustainable resource management and wealth. Zero waste management of whatever resources God puts in the hand of a person, a family, an institution, community or nation always translates to or culminates in surplus and abounding abundance. This implies that zero waste is critical to ensuring sustainable resource management as well as key factor in creating sustainable generational wealth.

Severally in the Scriptures, God cautions against waste. The biblical Joseph for instance was used by God to ensure food security as well as stave off famine and hunger for more than seven years; not only in Egypt but globally. The food security strategy proffered by Joseph to Pharaoh and his court ensured that the surplus food resources from the seven years of bountiful harvests were saved up and stored away safely for the people of Egypt and their immediate neighbours. Zero waste averted famine, hunger and destruction.

A farmer plows the ground; that is prepare the ground for planting at a particular season and place; and when that is done, the farmer stops plowing or preparing the ground because that aspect of the seed planting has been done; hopefully at the right time; right season and right place. The farmer should not continue plowing or preparing the ground endlessly as if he or she is dancing in a vicious circle of unending wandering without any purpose. After all, a ground is prepared for planting and not just for the sake of preparing a ground endlessly. Therefore, plant the right seeds in the right spaces, nurture them aright, harvest at the right time and process them aright to ensure zero waste and prosperity.  Endless preparation without implementation is as good as waste as it does not generate any returns, therefore no prosperity. Ask God for the wisdom to implement. Please read Isaiah Chapter 28 verses 23 to 25. Thereafter, you care for the plants until harvest time and harvest them as they should be harvested; applying different techniques relevant to each crop; and thereafter process each harvested crop as they should be processed so that you do not lose the harvest. Thereafter, utilize the processed harvests for bread and whatever.

The Link Between Zero Waste and Prosperity 7

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

Even trees, especially food bearing trees such as fruit trees were not to be cut down during sieges and wars because such trees bear what should serve as food for man “the tree of the field is man’s food. They should therefore not be wasted for building siege works. Zero waste in the management of food resources, the source of the food producing plant or tree should not be destroyed. Please read Deuteronomy Chapter 20 verses 19 to 20.

God killed Onan for wasting life producing see meant to raise an heir to his brother Er. Please read Genesis Chapter 38 verses 1 to 10. There was no point emitting seed that should give life on the ground. This implies that seed should not be wasted no matter what. If he had no intention of raising an heir to his brother, then he should not have gone into his brother’s wife to emit seed at all, not to talk of emitting seed designed to raise an heir on the ground.

Beloved, the case of the man described in the parable of talents as the wicked lazy servant in the Bible (Matthew Chapter 25 verses 14 to 30) also illustrates the principle of zero waste. Talents, money, resources should always be traded to multiply, compound and bless humanity. The master of the three servants gave them talents according to their abilities. While the first two servants who received the most talents invested time in investing their resources for a profit irrespective of the supposed hard nature of their master who reaped where he did not sow; that is going by the account and lame excuse given by the wicked lazy servant in verses 24 to 25; the wicked lazy servant did not bother to do anything with his one talent. He did not even consider investing the one talent for himself or on himself. He had the least ability; received the least talent which could have been multiplied and compounded if he made the least attempt, invested the least time to invest the talent. At least, he would have done something to avoid zero waste even if it meant doing it for himself and not his supposed hard opportunistic master. Instead, he took the trouble to dig he ground and hid the talent there, unprofitable labor which did not ring blessings to anyone. What a shame, what a waste!  Say, which is easier, digging the ground to hide the talent or investing the talent?

Beloved, it is my prayer for you and for me that we will not be like the wicked lazy servant. Rather, God by His Spirit will empower us to invest time in trading His divine deposits in us profitably to bless humanity so that we are also enlarged and enriched in the process to the glory of His Holy Name in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

Contrary to the description of the master given by the wicked lazy servant, the master was generous. He rewarded and blessed the two faithful servants. Their capacities to further bless humanity were expanded and enlarged beyond their wildest imagination. The two faithful servants had the right mindset, the right attitude to investing their talents. They were more concerned about investing their talents than about the character of their master, the people and environment they were investing in. their priority was prime and prompt obedience to their master who blessed them with the talents and commanded them to invest the talents. That explains why their master referred to them as faithful servants; servants who were committed to obeying their master and doing what their master requested of them.