Biblical Multiplication ModelsVoorbeeld

In Genesis 10 we read about Nimrod. He is a great hunter. His name has become linked to a famous saying, ‘Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the Lord’ (Gen. 10:9). Nimrod was the first great conqueror on earth and the first great ruler. He established his empire in what is now Iraq and Syria, with Babel at the centre. He used his power to conquer and to kill, for growth, reputation, and personal well-being. Nimrod is known as the first, so before him, it was not customary to use power in this way. He introduced an entirely new way of thinking and acting.

Over time, many powerful leaders and entrepreneurs have embraced this paradigm. To them doing business is like waging a war. The competition must be eliminated, market shares must be expanded, and profits must soar. Riches, personal wealth, and well-being should grow by ‘smart’ business operations. One man’s profit is another man’s loss. This is to them the hard reality of the marketplace.

Nimrod had a simple multiplying model: ‘He kills and he takes.’ He does not sow, he does not fertilize, he does not add additional value, but he makes sure that he personally has abundant life by eliminating others. This is thinking from scarcity and power, leading to more scarcity and death.

If you live from scarcity, you will never be satisfied with what you have been given, so you need to eliminate others to make sure you get your own desired part. If a small group of people accumulates means and riches, this creates a shortage for others. It is also a scarcity principle because this way of multiplying is like harvesting without sowing or fertilizing. As a natural consequence, this leads to poor soil and more scarcity. Life is being destroyed and death takes over. This line of thinking directly links the profits of one person to the loss of another. The other person has become the competition instead of a fellow human being.

If we as (Christian) entrepreneurs value desire or recognition higher than anything else, this line of thinking creeps into our hearts before we know it. We then begin to see our clients as profit machines, our staff as instruments, our competition as threats, and our suppliers as expenditures, instead of people created in the image of God.

Question for the day
In which areas do you think and act from scarcity?