PRODUCTIVITY

“For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.”

 Mathew 13:12(KJV)

Hi folks, I want to wish you an uplifting and a fruitful 2018, this is the year you and I must give our all to God so us to experience Him in an increasing measure. I want us to start the year with a message that the Lord gave me understanding into last year. The message has to do with productivity or fruitfulness; and I have entitled this series “Productivity”. The case of DR Congo on one hand and Belgium on the other hand never ceases to amaze me.

DR Congo (DRC), a country in Central Africa has one of the richest ecosystem in the world in terms of natural resources; it is believed that about 30% of the world’s sought after minerals can be found in the DRC. This country has an untapped potential to produce enough hydroelectric power to drive the economies of most countries in the central Africa republic yet DRC is one of the poorest countries in the world; the country is diseased with massive unemployment, deep seated corruption etc.

"Poverty has worsened in the Republic of Congo since the 1980s and half the country's people now live below the poverty line. This average, however, masks wide geographic and economic inequalities. Most of the country's poor people (64.8 per cent) live in rural areas and women are among the hardest hit by poverty.” The recent cholera outbreak in DRC is claiming the lives of a lot of people. Lack of opportunity for young people in DRC is leading to the migration of its energetic workforce to Belgium a small country, yet a very developed with abundant opportunities.

In 1908, Belgium a small country, without a cent of the natural resources of DRC colonized the DR Congo and exploited her natural resources for their economic supremacy and progression. With her scanty natural resource, Belgium is far richer than DRC; Belgium is one of the richest countries in the world with a GDP of   $462.715 billion and a GDP per capita of $9,667, whereas DRC with all her resources has a GDP of $41.089 billion and a GDP per capita‎ of $754 

The bible says in Mathew 13:12(KJV) “For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.” Ordinarily when one looks at this scripture you are likely to conclude that there is some smack of unfairness here – you might probably be asking, how can the person who has in abundance receive more whereas the one who does not have, even the little that he has is taking away from him? This supposed unfairness by God can be likened to some of the reality confronting us today where, the rich seems to be getting richer and the poor seems to be getting poorer. 

But as students of the bible I think it behooves on us to interrogate this scripture, so as to understand its spirit and the context before we choose to join or not to join those singing the melody of unfairness. This scripture emphasizes a very profound spiritual principle and like I have always maintained, every natural or physical situation has a spiritual similitude. Have you ever wondered why the rich or the developed countries seem to be getting richer and getting more whereas on the other hand, the poor or the developing countries are getting poorer and widening poverty gap. 

My brothers and sisters, things do not just happen, there is always a reason behind every occurrence, and the fact that we are not preview to it doesn’t mean that they do not exist. So my prayer is, as we embark on this series, may the Lord grant us deeper understanding into the spiritual principles behind the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. But let’s limit our conversation to spiritual productivity or fruitfulness – Jesus Christ made this serious statement in Mathew 13: 12 in the context of fruitfulness. The spirit behind this statement is the same spirit that underpins the following statements in

·         John 15:2(KJV) - “Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.” 

·         Mathew 25:29(KJV) “For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.”

·         Mathew 21:19 (KJV) “And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.”

·         Genesis 1:28 (KJV) “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”

It was in the spirit of fruitfulness or productivity that this seemingly unfair judgements was reached. As believers we must come to terms with the fact that God is a God of productivity or fruitfulness, by extension all humans are supposed to be productive or fruitful, because we are all created in the image of God. Christianity is not for the lazy folks as some of us have made it to look like; one of the vital traits of being a follower of Christ is fruitfulness or productivity, hence, you cannot claim to be a true follower of Christ without having any evidence of fruitfulness in your life. 

Jesus’ cursing of the fig tree in Mathew 21:19 is a signal of the fact that we cannot waste the grace of God on our lives us believers. Every believer is good at something in the house of God, in other words all of us have something that comes to us easily, and that is the clue to God’s grace on our lives. Therefore the lesson from the fig tree must be a reminder to us, it must always remind us of the fact that when we continue in unfruitfulness the influence of grace is removed from our lives. 

Besides, we also stand the risk of withering away or becoming irrelevant in the things of God. That is why it is a serious issue when a lot of Christians do not seem to care about the things of God week in, and week out. Apostle Paul having grasped the full understanding of this spiritual principle made this statements in Romans 12:6 - 8 (KJV) “ Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.” 

In the light of this, I dread not utilize what comes to me easily to promote the kingdom of God. I do not know your exact grace or what comes to you easily, but I am sure you know it and I want to encourage you by reminding of the what apostle Paul said in Romans 12:6 - ““ Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation……..” . 

And as you and I rise up and put the grace of God on our lives to use, we will experience fruitfulness in our lives like never before, you will see the expansion and dominion in your life this year as you committee yourself to getting busy with whatever ability you have. I want to encourage you to give your all to God in 2018. I wants end here, but we will continue in our next edition by focusing on “What is Productivity”. God bless you for listening or reading, if you have any questions or comments you can leave it below, or you can also send me an email via- wisafawubo@gmail.com or send me a WhatsApp message on 0233868205.