The Sunday News
Itai Chipunza
GROWING up takes time and effort but it is a process God intended for all creation.
On a broader scale growing up for the world could mean we cannot just chop down trees without replacing them, we must grow up and understand that there are implications to that.
On a smaller scale growing up means poor nations of yesterday cannot remain poor today and plan to build on begging and being charity cases. On an even smaller scale a child cannot remain a baby forever.
The refusal to mature and grow is called laziness. Laziness to think, laziness to apply principle, laziness to learn and ultimately laziness to take responsibility of your life and the lives of those still needing to be fed.
One would think because God loves us so much he would just give things to us as manna to Israel but this is not the case. Manna is for a season, and inevitably it will stop coming like it did for Israel.
Joshua 5 verse 12
And then no more manna; the manna stopped. As soon as they started eating food grown in the land, there was no more manna for the People of Israel. That year they ate from the crops of Canaan.
The moment Israel entered Canaan, the moment they had conquered the first city, the manna stopped. At this stage God expected them to plant fields, vineyards and establish business that sell products and provide services in order to survive.
God expected each to specialise in production of a particular commodity that his brother needed and sell that to obtain what he did not produce but needed. That way Israel would have a thriving economy.
If they had been stubborn and waited for manna, they would have died from starvation. Not that God did not love them. On the contrary at this stage God was pleased with them as they carried out His instruction to the dot.
It is the same with us in this day. We could use a scenario of someone who is not working, God makes a provision for you. People generally give you money and opportunities to make money that do not require capital.
Unfortunately in some cases people in these predicaments dismiss these gestures of God’s grace as beneath them. Others will get comfortable in this sort of easy money. But often this will not proper wealth.
At a stage when you get a job you will notice that God closes the opportunities for piece jobs and easy money because easy money is often very little money.
The opportunities that come at this stage may require you to have a capital base to use in order to make money. At this stage God expects you to begin saving. Savings will give you the necessary capital you need to move on business deals if there is a need.
You cannot earn money and spend every single cent on consumption, it is a sign of immaturity or financial illiteracy. This is just an example of maturity God would expect in an individual. The model is similar in nations.
We cannot always owe the IMF money. We need to grow from being third world to better. The only way to do this is to have an income. The nation should have the ability to earn money in order to feed the needs of citizens.
The only way to do this is to export. This way the citizens themselves are able to bring meaningful development into the country. Growth is a necessary process of all creation. The process of growth is so that you can then move up and then fend for those that are still immature and still need to be given all that is necessary to survive.
Psalms 133 verse 1
How wonderful, how beautiful, when brothers and sisters get along! It’s like costly anointing oil flowing down head and beard, Flowing down Aaron’s beard, flowing down the collar of his priestly robes. It’s like the dew on Mount Hermon flowing down the slopes of Zion. Yes, that’s where God commands the blessing, ordains eternal life.
The flowing of oil normally speaks of the blessing of God on his children. God says it is beautiful when brothers and sisters get along. It speaks of the unity that is expected by God.
You will notice that only when there is a proper structure will God command a blessing. The blessing starts at the top on the mature, coming down even to the toddlers because there is the natural order of God present.
But if at one level one refuses to grow, this means they will never experience the greater blessing of being able to provide for others. That blessing will only be unlocked by you stepping into the next level of your business.
Your child cannot breast feed for ten years. At some point they must stop and make way for a second child potentially.
Besides, breast milk becomes less and less sufficient to cover their nutritional needs. Although they cry when forced to stop breast feeding, it is for their benefit. God loves us all. He wants to see us do well and grow. Be blessed as you grow in every aspect of your life..
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