Sæktu forritiðBiblical Multiplication ModelsSýnishorn
Abram is a beautiful Biblical example of someone who has an abundance mindset. He had life in abundance, but he had not waged any wars, he had not conquered people, nor eliminated any competition, unlike Nimrod. Abram was skilled in multiplying by adding value to his means of existence. Through labour, creativity, care, and attention he managed to increase welfare and well-being for those he encountered. Taking good care of the land yielded larger harvests, and taking good care of the livestock made the animals fat and strong and increased the production of milk and offspring. Entrepreneurs, who work according to this paradigm constantly wonder ‘How can I promote the well-being of the person I meet?’
Even the moment that scarcity became real, Abram did not eliminate his closest competition, his nephew Lot. On the contrary, Abram revealed the abundance that God has bestowed on this world. He asked his nephew Lot how they had best put this abundance to use. They decided not to compete with each other on a small piece of land, but to use the full potential of the land available. As the eldest, Abram did not choose the best part but left the first choice to his competitor, Lot. What made Abram act in this way?
Two things play a role:
- He did not focus on scarcity, but on the abundance of land (Gen. 13:9).
- Abram realized that his riches were not the result of his own doing, but were provided by God (Gen. 13: 4 and 18).
After his solution for the scarcity problem and then after the choices made, God confirmed his goodness to him once again (Gen. 13: 15-17).
A present-day example is Henk, who is an important entrepreneur in construction work. A local contractor in his hometown went bankrupt. When I visited Henk at home one day, I had just seen the local contractor leave his house. When I asked him about this, he said, ‘Well, I helped him with a loan to start again.’ I was surprised and asked him, ‘Why would you help the competition to restart his company?’ Henk replied, ‘God can give us far more than you and I can earn together. I think I had to do this.’
Question for the day
What is your entrepreneurial view on your market opportunities and the role played by other, similar companies?
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About this Plan
Jesus said, ‘I came that they may have life and have it abundantly’ (John 10:10). How can we contribute in an economic way to the abundant life that Jesus had in mind using our companies and multiplying our present possibilities? How can we achieve a business and a business culture that lead to automatic growth? How can growth create more well-being instead of scarcity and injustice? The eight studies below provide answers to these questions.
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