A LIFE WORTHY LIVING (18) – by Chipo Gift Kanyenze
GOOD STEWARDSHIP THE HALLMARK OF LASTING PROSPERITY!
‘…give an account of your stewardship….’ Luke 16 v2
The Bible says in John 8 v 32 ‘And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.’ This article is similar to the article I sent titled, ‘Prosperity Demands Responsibility!’ Let’s deep into some stewardship truths for prosperity to manifest and last in our lives.
Africa is currently the poorest continent by the living standards of its people yet it is the richest in natural resources. Why? According to me it’s due to poor stewardship of the God given resources by the African leaders and citizens. God enriched Africa just like any other continent if not even better than any other continent. For you to have an insight of African wealth and potential let’s take DRC as a case study. With its vast water resources including the Congo River DRC has the potential to produce 150 000 megawatts of power approximately three times Africa’s present consumption. With its rich uranium deposits, diamonds, manganese etc it is said it has the potential of becoming a world super power. Currently where is it? In a recent UN Human Development Index it was rated 167 out of 177 countries. Is it God’s fault that the Congolese are in abject poverty or it’s a human stewardship fault?
Was it good stewardship of political power for Zimbabwean authorities to deny DStv the chance to have its headquarters in Zimbabwe? How much foreign currency have we lost out of this poor stewardship of political authority? Was it good stewardship to give commercial farms to a person just because he is a leader of the war veterans? Was it good stewardship of the mortgage facilities which we once had? Was it good stewardship of resources which was demonstrated at UZ from 1980 upto 1995? Africans let’s learn to be good stewards of whatever we have.
You might be asking, ‘What have I to do with the above obvious poor stewardship shown by African leaders?’ My answer is, ‘I highlighted these cases to expose you to the whole picture of the stewardship issue.’ I strongly believe poor stewardship does not begin in the state house, cabinet or company executive directorship positions. It emerges from grassroots. As long as that bare-footed rural boy is a poor steward of his resources, Zimbabwe is at risk of creating or electing a poor leader. I decided to write to you when you are still emerging otherwise to tell you when you are in national or higher offices, it will be too late to start teaching you about good stewardship of resources and authority. Anyway, you won’t even have the time to listen.
If you are a supervisor, manager, praise and worship leader, deacon or pastor be a good steward of the people you lead. This is where the greatest presidents, archbishops, CEOs come from. If you are faithful over the few things and people under you; greater responsibility will be given you from heaven. Be a good steward of the small family you have. To each person born, there is a stewardship placed under him/her. At the least you are a steward of your body; don’t do things which harm your body like drinking toxic substances like beer, don’t smoke dagga; don’t overeat; you must always take a bath daily, have adequate sleep etc. How can one be rich when their body state is deteriorating? It’s expensive to fall sick - reduce it to the very minimal level as far as you possibly can.
After thinking about what makes people poor I came to realise that chance, opportunities, and good breaks come to everyone (Ecclesiastes 9v11) but, how we go about our stewardship determines the direction our lives take. In Matthew 25 v 14 – 30 Jesus gives a stewardship parable. He said, a master distributed talents to each of his three servants according to their stewardship abilities. To one he gave five, to another two and to an interesting person he gave one. To the ones given five and two they doubled their stewardship. Pay close attention to what is said by one who was given one talent when the master asked for an account of his stewardship. He was very rude. Although his investment skills were very dull he chose to blame his master. This really shows the attributes and attitudes of poor minded people. When they get capital they blame the master that it is too little, the master is cruel. Instead of finding ways to increase it they bury their talents. Instead of using their skills they groan, mourn, murmur and grumble. They never ask, ‘What do I have?’ What a show of ingratitude to God who has given each one of us something valuable into our stewardship.
I attribute 80% of the prevailing poverty to poor stewardship of the resources by the poor person him/herself than anything else external. Some were poor stewards of the schooling opportunities which came their way. Some divorcees were poor stewards of the good fiancées they were once involved with. Some inherited great wealth but they lost it all because of poor stewardship. Some war veterans were poor stewards of the $50 000 gratuity packages they received. Most of the Chiadzwa ‘miners’ (magweja) were poor stewards of the temporal mining rights they were once availed with. Just like Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Strive Masiyiwa God gave you five senses, two hands and two legs. Is it God’s fault that you never think of venturing into the unknown because you are risk averse? I know of some maids who were good stewards and their mistresses were willing to send them to night school. Some even had their wedding bills paid for after serving faithfully.
It’s human nature to feel that your current salary is inadequate. With any amount of money you start to feel it’s inadequate. The point is, be a good steward of whatever amount of money you have as your income. The Bible says he who is faithful with the few much will be given to him/her. And to whom much is given much is expected .There is no way you can increase your portfolio’s net worthy when you are a poor steward. Your stewardship ability is directly related to your ability to acquire wealth. A waster cannot have much. A poor steward and his money are soon parted.
Some people are poor not because they never got things in their lives but because they did not practise good stewardship. If you have 3 shirts and 2 trousers you can be smart if you want to. On the contrary, if you are a poor steward you will justify your scruffiness to the fact that you have few clothes. Be a good steward of those two pots, three blankets, DVD player, ceramic dishes, microwave etc. Don’t lose a pen almost everyday; you are now an adult. The issue is not how much the pen is worth, but the prevalence of poor stewardship in that act. In rectifying such small stewardship issues your mind becomes programmed that you don’t tolerate any unnecessary losses hence you are able to have some surplus funds to do worthwhile errands.
A good steward really knows what is under his stewardship. Get to know yourself, what is it that you excel in? Tiger Woods realised that he is a steward of golfing talent and currently he has earned more than a billion dollars just hitting that small ball. Get to know how much you spend and on what? A stock take is a good stewardship tool; therefore, use it in your personal life. It will expose the weak financial security issues in your life and will also highlight your strengths and weaknesses enabling you to take the corrective action and fulfil your desired end. No matter how little you earn, at the end of the year you must be able to show come up with an annual report of yourself just as companies do.
One very precious resource in your stewardship is time. All poor people and I repeat all poor people are poor stewards of time. In Mozambique one of the poorest countries in the world people have a two hour lunch period yet in Japan quality circle meetings are done during their shorter breaks. A person who cannot value time (the greatest resource in every person’s stewardship) cannot accumulate wealth. Tell me how you spend your time and I can approximate your net worthy.
Demonstrate that you are ready to prosper by being a good steward of your time. If you squander your time it means you squander your money or money opportunities as well. It’s wasting other people’s time for you to be late for a meeting or to be late for an appointment whether business or social. If you still have problems of meeting appointments time you still have much to do on personal development. A good steward of time and money starts a telephone conversation with a short salutation and gets straight to the point of the call then everything else later if it’s necessary. Use your spare time to read instead of purposeless home visits during weekends. The cheapest yet most powerful book you can read to prosper is the Bible especially the book of Proverbs. You can’t read and implement the biblical book of Proverbs and remain poor, I assure you. If you learn this, prosperity will be within your reach within a short space of time. May God help you and me in these days of twitter, facebook, e-mail, internet, movies to remain good stewards of our time.
In conclusion, for whatever is within your domain prove to God and people that you are a good steward. By so doing you are certain that you will reach your best in the shortest possible time and at the least cost.
My Quotable Quote: Wealth of great stewards lasts as long as they desire it to last.
‘A Life Worthy Living’ series are Bible based articles freely circulated to people who aspire to be significant people in this world done by the motivational company Vision Growth International (V.G.I). It addresses all issues that affect the vision of each human being. The writer has been specifically called by God to mentor others in these changing times. To receive the articles directly write to gkanyenze@noczim.co.zw or visiongrowthinternational@gmail.com with subject ‘Subscribe’. A blog is also available on www.visiongrowthinternational.blogspot.com
©Vision Growth International Publications 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
A LIFEWORTHY LIVING (19) - IT IS WITHIN YOU
A LIFE WORTHY LIVING (19) – by Chipo Gift Kanyenze
GREATNESS IS WITHIN
‘......For the Kingdom of God is within you.’ Luke 17 v 21
Greatness principles can be learnt from nature. Look at seeds. They are very small but from them within them there are innumerable seeds and fruits. Have you ever seen the seed of a gum tree? The seed is one of the tiniest but from it can grow one of the tallest trees. Don’t mistake the size of the gum seed and the gum tree within. So it is with you; from within you there are great heavenly deposits. The location of your greatness is the subject of this article.
It’s within us as Africans to think that our lives are haunted by external factors which include witchcraft, politics, poor family background etc. Many people go to n’angas and ‘mapostori’ just because they believe there is an external force working 24/7 against their prosperity. I don’t doubt the fact that there are external forces which are against other peoples’ success. I know of tokoloshis; demons, zvikwambo to name but a few. Yes these are there but I am saying, the internal force is more powerful than all these external forces. If the internal force is developed all these external forces can be overcame.
Even the worst demon possessed person has the ability in him or her to choose or reject life. Legion was mad but Jesus loosed him because he came to him as mad as he was. (Mark 5 v 6-13).You can’t cast out a demon without the co-operation of the host. Even if you cast it away it will call seven more if the host is unwilling to co-operate. That’s the power within a human being to accept or to reject demons. What is in you is greater than whatever is out there against you. If you think its so much against you so how does Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Strive Masiyiwa amass such great wealth in the midst of such opposing forces? It was easy for Strive to sit back and say, ‘There are so many demons against me so let me quit.’ Instead he said, ‘What is within me is more than the external forces against me,’ and indeed he triumphed. Learn this great prosperity point – prosperity is not out there but it’s within you.
The CEO attributes do not come when a person earns a degree or when he turns 40.No! The attributes and abilities are placed by God when the male seed meets with the female egg and attach to the ovary (starting of pregnancy). This is what God told Jeremiah, ‘I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and ordained you as my prophet to the nations.’ Jeremiah 1v5. This proves that greatness was placed in you by God before the foundation of the world.
Remember that you don’t go to school to get more brain cells but you go there to be taught how to use the brains that you have. Those millions you want in your life are already within you, you are yet to discover how to expose it. From you can emerge the wealthiest woman/man on earth. The current wealthy people have blood just like you. You only need to discover what is in you and you will be also amazed when you finish processing that potential. There are treasures hidden in that earthen vessel, which is your skull.
That best selling album, best selling book, the greatest piece of architecture is within you. You have it in you; don’t look around for it, it’s within you. Even your healing is within you in the form of antibodies. Medicine is only to activate not to create antibodies. This shows God gave you everything that you need for your life. He even gave you appetite so that you would feel hungry so as to eat in order to nourish the body you have. In a pregnant woman a craving for iron based foods even push her to the extent of eating muchenje / mujuru. It’s all in you, placed by God.
The Bible says God works in you both to will and to do His good pleasure.(Philippians 2 v13).That craving for good things, comfortable life, desire for a beautiful car is not evil it’s a work of God. It’s not wrong for a prostitute to want money what’s wrong is the means she devises to get it. It also applies to wealth it’s not wrong for a Christian to want to get wealth but what’s evil is when you devise to get it in an irresponsible way. In actual fact it’s a failure to suppress the inner built craving for greatness.
In the eyes of God, Gideon was a man of valour but, the tragedy was that he did not even know that greatness was within him. (Judges 6 v 11 – 14). In verse 14 Gideon is told, ‘Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel…’ To Moses, God did not latter put greatness in him but He asks Moses, ‘What do you have in your hand.’ Exodus 4 v 2. God proved that he needed nothing than just to discover what he had in his hand already. After a while Moses complained that the work of leading Israel was too burdensome. God said look for 70 men and I will take the spirit in you and give them.(Numbers 11v 17).This means Moses within him he had the spirit adequate for the work to be done. The bread which the widow of Zarephath had was adequate for the rest of the drought. Don’t underestimate what is in you. What you have now is just a small fraction of the so much material prosperity that God has deposited in you.
The problem we had and have in Zimbabwe is that we think it’s up to SADC to confront our out of mind political principals. No, it’s in Zimbabwe, not even in America, or the International Criminal Court. No one can pray more for Zimbabweans than the Zimbabweans themselves. No external preacher will sustainably change your church if you as the local congregants don’t involve yourself. Without utilising what is within you as the main ingredient your success equation is not balanced and your poverty issue becomes insurmountable.
In conclusion, the greatest thing you are to discover in your life is that greatness is within you. It’s not somewhere away from you. It’s within you. The businessman, the great husband, the brilliant scholar, the inventor, the mighty person of God is all within you.
‘A Life Worthy Living’ series are Bible based articles freely circulated to people who aspire to be significant people in this world done by the motivational company Vision Growth International (V.G.I). It addresses all issues that affect the vision of each human being. The writer has been specifically called by God to mentor others in these changing times. To receive the articles directly write to gkanyenze@noczim.co.zw or visiongrowthinternational@gmail.com with subject ‘Subscribe’. A blog is also available on www.visiongrowthinternational.blogspot.com
©Vision Growth International Publications 2009
GREATNESS IS WITHIN
‘......For the Kingdom of God is within you.’ Luke 17 v 21
Greatness principles can be learnt from nature. Look at seeds. They are very small but from them within them there are innumerable seeds and fruits. Have you ever seen the seed of a gum tree? The seed is one of the tiniest but from it can grow one of the tallest trees. Don’t mistake the size of the gum seed and the gum tree within. So it is with you; from within you there are great heavenly deposits. The location of your greatness is the subject of this article.
It’s within us as Africans to think that our lives are haunted by external factors which include witchcraft, politics, poor family background etc. Many people go to n’angas and ‘mapostori’ just because they believe there is an external force working 24/7 against their prosperity. I don’t doubt the fact that there are external forces which are against other peoples’ success. I know of tokoloshis; demons, zvikwambo to name but a few. Yes these are there but I am saying, the internal force is more powerful than all these external forces. If the internal force is developed all these external forces can be overcame.
Even the worst demon possessed person has the ability in him or her to choose or reject life. Legion was mad but Jesus loosed him because he came to him as mad as he was. (Mark 5 v 6-13).You can’t cast out a demon without the co-operation of the host. Even if you cast it away it will call seven more if the host is unwilling to co-operate. That’s the power within a human being to accept or to reject demons. What is in you is greater than whatever is out there against you. If you think its so much against you so how does Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Strive Masiyiwa amass such great wealth in the midst of such opposing forces? It was easy for Strive to sit back and say, ‘There are so many demons against me so let me quit.’ Instead he said, ‘What is within me is more than the external forces against me,’ and indeed he triumphed. Learn this great prosperity point – prosperity is not out there but it’s within you.
The CEO attributes do not come when a person earns a degree or when he turns 40.No! The attributes and abilities are placed by God when the male seed meets with the female egg and attach to the ovary (starting of pregnancy). This is what God told Jeremiah, ‘I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and ordained you as my prophet to the nations.’ Jeremiah 1v5. This proves that greatness was placed in you by God before the foundation of the world.
Remember that you don’t go to school to get more brain cells but you go there to be taught how to use the brains that you have. Those millions you want in your life are already within you, you are yet to discover how to expose it. From you can emerge the wealthiest woman/man on earth. The current wealthy people have blood just like you. You only need to discover what is in you and you will be also amazed when you finish processing that potential. There are treasures hidden in that earthen vessel, which is your skull.
That best selling album, best selling book, the greatest piece of architecture is within you. You have it in you; don’t look around for it, it’s within you. Even your healing is within you in the form of antibodies. Medicine is only to activate not to create antibodies. This shows God gave you everything that you need for your life. He even gave you appetite so that you would feel hungry so as to eat in order to nourish the body you have. In a pregnant woman a craving for iron based foods even push her to the extent of eating muchenje / mujuru. It’s all in you, placed by God.
The Bible says God works in you both to will and to do His good pleasure.(Philippians 2 v13).That craving for good things, comfortable life, desire for a beautiful car is not evil it’s a work of God. It’s not wrong for a prostitute to want money what’s wrong is the means she devises to get it. It also applies to wealth it’s not wrong for a Christian to want to get wealth but what’s evil is when you devise to get it in an irresponsible way. In actual fact it’s a failure to suppress the inner built craving for greatness.
In the eyes of God, Gideon was a man of valour but, the tragedy was that he did not even know that greatness was within him. (Judges 6 v 11 – 14). In verse 14 Gideon is told, ‘Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel…’ To Moses, God did not latter put greatness in him but He asks Moses, ‘What do you have in your hand.’ Exodus 4 v 2. God proved that he needed nothing than just to discover what he had in his hand already. After a while Moses complained that the work of leading Israel was too burdensome. God said look for 70 men and I will take the spirit in you and give them.(Numbers 11v 17).This means Moses within him he had the spirit adequate for the work to be done. The bread which the widow of Zarephath had was adequate for the rest of the drought. Don’t underestimate what is in you. What you have now is just a small fraction of the so much material prosperity that God has deposited in you.
The problem we had and have in Zimbabwe is that we think it’s up to SADC to confront our out of mind political principals. No, it’s in Zimbabwe, not even in America, or the International Criminal Court. No one can pray more for Zimbabweans than the Zimbabweans themselves. No external preacher will sustainably change your church if you as the local congregants don’t involve yourself. Without utilising what is within you as the main ingredient your success equation is not balanced and your poverty issue becomes insurmountable.
In conclusion, the greatest thing you are to discover in your life is that greatness is within you. It’s not somewhere away from you. It’s within you. The businessman, the great husband, the brilliant scholar, the inventor, the mighty person of God is all within you.
‘A Life Worthy Living’ series are Bible based articles freely circulated to people who aspire to be significant people in this world done by the motivational company Vision Growth International (V.G.I). It addresses all issues that affect the vision of each human being. The writer has been specifically called by God to mentor others in these changing times. To receive the articles directly write to gkanyenze@noczim.co.zw or visiongrowthinternational@gmail.com with subject ‘Subscribe’. A blog is also available on www.visiongrowthinternational.blogspot.com
©Vision Growth International Publications 2009
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