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 5

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.