Matthew 25:29 NKJV
For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.
There is a very common saying in my part of the word to describe the somewhat gloomy economic condition – “the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer”! This statement is usually followed with a lot of hisses and shaking of the head as people that believe they have been dealt the shorter end of the stick, pour out their frustration which this seemingly profound statement.
For a long time, I sympathised with people who describe themselves with such statements. What injustice! How could God allow such an unequal equilibrium? Where is the justice in such an equation? Until I came across what Malcolm Gladwell referred to (in his book Outliers) as the ” Matthew effect”. He explains that successful people have acquired certain mindsets and opportunities overtime that gives them an “unfair” advantage that ensures their continued success. As you probably have guessed, the reverse is the case with poor people and this disadvantage (if not surmounted) confines them to a life of penury. If the “Matthew” he referred to as the proponent of this theory was an economist or a psychologist, I would have accepted it like I have accepted several economic theories. Alas, he was referring to Matthew in the Gospel from the Bible and he was actually quoting the words Jesus spoke! Incredible!
“For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away“! The more I read it, the more it sounded like ” the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer”. How could God sanction such capitalistic injustice?! I decided to read the story from the beginning. See, Jesus made the statement at the conclusion of a parable and the reason for the statement came alive as I studied the story with the help of the Holy Spirit.
The parable can be found in Matthew 25, beginning from the 14th verse. A rich man was going on a long journey and he calls his 3 servants to place them in charge of his money. Jesus says he divides it according to their abilities. He gave one 5 talents (this is a lot of cash back then!), another 2 and the last 1 talent. After he left, the guys that got 5 and 2 respectively went and traded with it and doubled their money while the guy that got 1 talent buried his. When the master returned he was happy with first two and was pissed (understandably) with the last one. Then he did something strange, he takes the 1 talent from the last servant and gives it to the guy that now had 10 talents! Why didn’t he give it to the guy with 4? This is where Jesus makes the puzzling statement!
Studying the parable, I realised that all three servants were actually special to their master because they were the only ones he left money in their care when he travelled! The parable says they were “his own servants” (Matt25:14), meaning they were favoured above others. Also, the master knew their strengths and capacity and this informed his sharing ratio. However, I realised something so profound – when the master came back, he didn’t ask for his money back (not even the gains made) so the servants had nothing to lose from the get go! So why didn’t the 3rd servant trade? – he was afraid to lose money that he was not going to have to refund! Imagine that? And then it hit me, that is the “Matthew effect”! That is why the rich will get richer and the poor poorer – FEAR!
That is the secret successful people have that poor people don’t. The first 2 servants got the same reward irrespective of how much they had made (Matt 25:20-23). The master simply rewarded their endeavour! There willingness to risk the little they had in the hope of turning it around for a profit. The master considered what he gave them before travelling as only seed from which they were to reap a harvest. That is why he told the first 2 servants that they were faithful in little. 5,2,1 talent, it made no difference to him. It was merely an indication of their perceived capacity and not their worth.
So how does the poor man break free? Live without fear! Consider what you have now – opportunities, relationships, savings; as seed for a future harvest. Do not be afraid to invest. Therein lies the secret of the successful.
Finally, the last servants perception of his master was skewed. He said he was a hard man that liked reaping where he didn’t sow and that informed his actions. But the other two servants knew that also and that informed their decisions! Interesting! 2 people, looking at the same situation and acting in 2 totally different ways. The mindset of the 3rd servant was all wrong. He felt his master was greedy and didn’t deserve to have his assets increased. If only he realised that the 1 talent was his all along!
So now I agree, it is not really an injustice – “the rich will get richer and the poor poorer”!
This is post from a good friend of mine. You can friend of follow him @graceplatform
Hope it blesses you……
For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. (Prov23:7a)
Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. (Jn14:23KJV)
At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, AND I IN YOU. (Jn14:20KJV)
Life is a reality show. Yep, God got the copyright on reality shows before anyone else too. He had this idea of putting “mates” together in a house and watching them act their lives out. He gave them food, board and entertainment. In return, God wanted exclusive sessions with man in the evenings.
But along the line, man has substituted the natural for all manner of “logical reasoning”.
Now we all know that the heart is the home of reason; (Psalm77:6).
I call to remembrance my song in the night; I meditate within my heart, and my spirit makes diligent search.
If we merge this Scripture with Prov23:7, we can say that what you meditate on is who you become.
There is a strong connection between what you think and what you become. The bible says faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen…by faith the worlds were framed…so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible (Rom11:1, 3). The physical world which we see today is a result of things that were thought of by God. God too had to think through. The Amplified bible says in Genesis 1 that the Spirit of God was brooding over the face of the waters. He had to first think from within, to know what would be.
No wonder we are warned to guard our hearts diligently, above all that we guard (Prov4:23AMP). That means there is something unique about our hearts. It means it is important to us and our wellbeing. God is not a waster of resources so He won’t tell us to waste time guarding something with diligence and vigilance if it isn’t worth something. It is because your heart is the true vision, (or in it lies the blueprint of that vision), of who you truly are.
Who are you? You are a being made in the image and likeness of God (Gen1:26). And if God will brood over things, so will you. That is why Jesus stressed the fact that He and the Father will come and make their abode with you, IN YOU.
What happens in you is important. It is the genesis of what you become. Paul asked us to be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude] (Rom12:2).
So what are people seeing when they tune in to the true you show? What kind of picture is your heart painting on the canvass of life? Are you living it by the standards of the world or are you manifesting your heavenly heritage?
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works…and glorify your Father in heaven. You are to be an agent of change in the lives of men around you. You are to be a testimony
“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, THAT THE WORLD MAY BELIEVE THAT YOU SENT ME.” (John17:20, 21)
Therefore, the place of change is first within, in the heart and mind, and the purpose of change is for they that are “without.”
The following is from my Pastor (Pastor Sam Adeyemi) concerning mindsets and nation building. Enjoy……
Your way of thinking is called your mindset.
The word mindset reminds me of part of my
training as an Engineer. When you say a
concrete is set it means it has gone through
a process of being turned from liquid to solid shape.
When it is set, it becomes very difficult to
change its shape. The shape you pour the
mixture into is called formwork.
Therefore, our belief systems, values,
attitudes are formwork in which information,
knowledge, training, skill development,
circumstances are poured. However, for as
long as the formwork remains the same,
whatever we pour would continue to take the same shape.
If we must have a lasting change in our
lives and society, we must change the
formwork because no matter how good
the mixture for the concrete is, it would
take the shape of the formwork.
In otherwords, we must change whatever
characteristics that do not conform with our future as a nation.
The thinking, values and belief systems
of a society can be summarized as the
culture of that society. And the culture
of a group is the mental formwork that is
transferred from generation to generation.
So you find out that no matter what the
circumstances may be, if the culture
remains the same, the results would keep
on being the same.
We are the generation that will bring about
a lasting change in our culture. So get ready!
Here is a post I did on a friends Facebook page (Grace platform…check it out!). Hope it blesses you………
2 Corinthians 8:9
When Jesus told the story of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32), He was trying to point out the fact that our place of prosperity is at home with the Father. If we read the account carefully, even though it was the younger brother that asked for his inheritance, the father shared His possessions between him and his elder brother! The bible also records that he didn’t “jet-off” to that far country right away (Verse 13: And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country). It was when he left home that he missed it!
Its easy to think that the point where he went wrong was when he asked for his inheritance. We begin to see him as a money-hungry, disrespectful child! We may be right, but I believe the moment he missed it was when he left home. It was at the point he left his “place of Grace” that he was finally lost. While he was at home, he was under the control and direction of the Father (even with all his inheritance). But the moment he decided to be master of his own life, he gave control to the devil!
That brings me to the matter of today’s post! The secret of prosperity is to remain in “the place of Grace” because the matter was settled way before we were born. When we surrender our life’s to Jesus, prosperity is appropriated to us by virtue of His death on the cross! A lot of us are like the prodigal son in one way or the other – we believe it is the money in our pockets and the ability to spend it as we please that equates to prosperity! The prodigal son later found out (the hard way) that it was who he was and where he was that equates to true prosperity (Verse 17: But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!).
In 2 Corinthians 8:9, Paul assures us that Jesus already sorted out the issue of our prosperity when He died for us! I am not a poor man trying to become rich, I am a rich man taking practical steps to manifest my spiritual reality in the physical! We should live in the reality that our success and prosperity is already a done deal.
One more thing, what did we do to deserve this? Absolutely nothing! Its simply by His Grace! (For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ…..). So the next time the enemy tries to put thoughts of lack and poverty in your mind, remind him of this scripture and move on in victory! And when your inheritance is divided unto you, please do not make the same mistake the prodigal son made! Please, remain in your “place of Grace“!
Matt. 13: 45 – 46 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
Matt. 18: 23 – Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants………….
Matt 22: 2 – The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son………..
Matt 25: 1 – Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom…………
The Kingdom of heaven that Jesus kept referring to in His sermons over 2,000 years ago was not a location. That was the stumbling block for most of the people that ran and pressed to hear Him speak. Unfortunately, that stumbling block persists till today!
That was why Jesus began the phrase with the word “repent”! To repent isn’t just to feel bad about something(s) you’ve done, it also means to change the way you think (or perceive). That was why He used a lot of imagery (parables) in His messages. “The kingdom of Heaven can be likened to” or “The Kingdom of Heaven is like” preceded most of Jesus’ parables. He was trying to make them realise that something powerful was about to happen and they needed to think differently to “see” it!
A kingdom (by literary definition) is simply a sphere of authority of a king. Just like the Roman empire ruled most of the known world at that time from Rome, Jesus was trying to tell them that Gods everlasting Kingdom was being established here on earth because of the sacrifice He was going to make on the cross!
In all fairness to the people of that time (and to most of us today), there was a caveat – the Kingdom is a Spiritual one! Hence the need for repentance! There was no way they could “enter” without being “born of the Spirit” first. Their mind had to be renewed, they had to think differently because they were changing “nationalities”.
If (for example) a Chinese man relocates to America, there would have to be period of cultural integration because the way of doing things where he lives now is different from where he is coming from.
Its the same with Christianity! When we become born again, we change citizenship from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of Heaven! A cultural (Spiritual) integration period is required and that is the true essence of repentance. Without this, the Kingdom of Heaven will continue to be an abstract notion that we will struggle to comprehend.
The message is clear and it hasn’t changed – “repent, (because) the Kingdom of Heaven is here”
Matt 4: 17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Matt 10: 7 And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
While on earth, Jesus’ ministry was founded on two fundamental sayings – “repent”, (because) “the kingdom of heaven is at hand”. From His teachings in the synagogue to the parables He told while feeding the multitudes (or dining with tax collectors), the underlining message was not far from these immutable truths Jesus was so passionate about. The fact that the people had to repent, because the kingdom that had been promised them since the days of the Prophets, was now here.
The first part of the message was easy – “repent”. Even unbelievers (Samaritans/Gentiles) were familiar with the concept. To the Jew, it meant two things (verbs) – shuv, which means to return and nicham, which means to feel sorrow. In Greek, its simply “to think differently” (metanoia).
It was the second part of the message that was difficult to take in. This is not difficult to understand if you look at the history of the Jewish nation and their relationship with Almighty God. They had heard stories handed down from their forefathers about the signs that God had performed in their midst. So when Jesus began to say that the Kingdom of that Almighty God was now here, they couldn’t “see” it!
They were okay with the miracles but they could not see the kingdom that Jesus was talking about.
We are not so different from the Jews of Jesus’ time. Just as alot of us think we are “going” to the kingdom of heaven, we fail to head the words Jesus spoke over 2000 years ago – the kingdom of heaven is here!
Over the coming weeks, we will try and “see” why the Jews (and alot of us) missed it. I hope that as we dig into the Word, we will realise that the Gospel is just a product of two immutable truths – “repent” (because) “the kingdom of heaven is here“!
Read this piece from Joyce Meyer this morning and it blessed me immensely. Hope it blesses you also…
John 16:33
These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.
Experiencing God’s Peace By Living in the Now
Having an attitude of peace and calm is priceless. It’s an attitude that says, ‘I’m trusting God,’ and it speaks powerfully to people. But it takes time, focus, and the grace of God to be consistently peaceful.
Too often our stress level is tied up in our circumstances. You could be stressed because you’re always busy or you’re struggling financially or because you’re not getting along with someone you love.
To conquer the stress in our lives, we need to learn to practice the peace that’s been provided for us by the overcoming power of Jesus.
One way to develop consistent peace is to learn to live ‘in the now.’ We can spend a lot of time thinking about the past or wondering what the future holds, but we can’t accomplish anything unless our mind is focused on today.
The Bible tells us that God gives us grace for each day that we live. I believe God’s grace is the power that enables and energizes us to do what we need to do – and He gives it generously, as we need it.
Every day we need to say, ‘God has given me today. I will rejoice and be glad in it.’
If you can learn to trust God ‘in the now,’ receiving His grace as you need it, you can become a truly peaceful person – and that’s powerful.
John 12:24 NKJV
Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.
No matter the season of life we find ourselves, when we face challenges/obstacles, we can all learn a lot from the transformation that results in the birth of the butterfly.
If we consider the limited nature of the caterpillar, it is not hard to understand the need for the transformation. As a caterpillar, the butterfly is not only limited in movement but also in flexibility. From the crawling insect, the butterfly emerges with wings soaring over difficulties and obstacles.
What I find most intriguing is what happens in between the transformation process: the caterpillar withdraws into a cocoon and isolates itself from the world!
Can we not learn a thing or two from this? In our bid to reengineer ourselves or reinvent our lives, don’t we need to first retreat from the maddening distraction of the world? Don’t we need time to grow and fuel the change that is required?
Jesus said unless our old selves die, we will not see the change we desire. Unless we let go of the things limiting us we will not be able to step into the future we long for.
Do you need to retreat into your own cocoon now? What needs to die in your life for the new you to take flight?
The butterfly in you is just a cocoon away!
That is where it all starts from – YOUR MIND.
The journey of getting your life back, setting things right, making up for lost time, it all begins in your mind!
Its amazingly simple – change your thinking, change your life!
This blog is diary of my journey through this process. Its been fun thus far and I can’t wait for all that is to come.
Everyday, I see the pictures taking shape – slowly but surely! What only I have seen for weeks and months slowly unveils to the astonishment of all!
For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he…….. Proverbs 23: 7
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