The roadmap to ascending the economy mountain has to begin with the original “business plan.” Where is the plan? It is in the Bible or more accurately it is the Bible. As you would imagine the starting point is the beginning aka Genesis.
Identifying God’s economic system in the first chapter of Genesis may raise the eyebrows of some. While laying the literal ground work for the Earth, God was also creating an abundant economy. Lets take a closer look at the business of Genesis.
The dictionary definition of business is “an economic system where good and services an exchanged for a profit.” Economics is defined as “the science that deals with the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services, or the material welfare of humankind.”
The first several verses of the Bible make it clear God was producing and distributing an ample supply of “goods” for consumption. The last few verses give initial insight into how the economy mountain works.
28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.
Genesis 1:28-30
These verses give the basic blueprint for taking any mountain but we’ll be taking a look specifically at how this applies to the business/economy mountain. This passage shows that God is partnering with us to make this happen. We both have a part to play.
God Blessed Them
Just like every other work of God’s kingdom, it starts with Him. Verse 28 begins with “God blessed them.” The Hebrew word for blessed is “barak” meaning to “bless or kneel.” Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon describes this blessing as “the result of divine favor; to cause to prosper.” The word picture of “God blessed them” is that the Creator “knelt down” to mankind and caused him to prosper. He came down to our level and blessed us.
The ultimate blessing that came down to our level was the incarnation of Jesus. Emanuel, God with us, has further become a reality through Holy Spirit living inside of us. Father, Son and Holy Spirit have all blessed us with their presence to empower us to do what we are called to do.
After creating everything on Earth, God’s priority was to cause man to be prosperous. Prosperity is more than being “rich” as 3 John 1:2 explains, but financial blessing is a primary characteristic. God did not drop gold bars on Adam and Eve but as we find out in Genesis 1 He did provide everything they needed. As we climb the mountain of economy we must realize that God has already blessed us to be able to ascend to the top.
Be Fruitful & Multiply
Now that we are blessed the ball is our court. God says it’s on us to be fruitful and multiply. Often we think about this in terms of multiplying the human population which is definitely true, but it is not only about procreation!
The basic, plain meaning of fruitful is that something like a tree is growing and increasing. An apple tree with fruit means that it is increasing and has potential to multiply through apple seeds. This indicates that fruitfulness and multiplication are not the same thing.
Just because there is fruit does not mean there will be multiplication. God’s blessing gives us the opportunity to be fruitful. Fruitfulness does not happen on its own. A tree must be planted in the right environment with proper light, water and nutrients and then fruit will grow.
As it relates economy, business and finance we have the same responsibility to be planted in the right environment. In some cases that may mean first realizing you are called to occupy the economy mountain. Among other things, it could also mean that you need to surround yourself with the right kind of people that encourage you and push you forward.
Multiplication happens after the edible portion of fruit is consumed and the seeds are dispersed elsewhere. A part of the fruit sustains us today and a part provides for us tomorrow.
For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you.
2 Corinthians 9:10
Budget and Finance 101 teaches us that we must not spend more than we make. On the economy mountain, multiplication happens because we have not only taken care of the now but also planned for the future.
Fill the Earth
When multiplication has successfully taken place naturally the Earth will be filled. What is it filled with? Well, that’s up to us. In the context of these verses it refers to natural resources. Filling the Earth is essentially spreading the way God does things throughout creation. It can refer to filling it with good crops, abundant livestock, healthy people and vibrant culture.
I also believe it refers to filling the Earth with His glory as mentioned in Psalm 72:19, “Praise be to his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and Amen.” Interestingly, this Psalm begins by stating in verse 3, “May the mountains bring prosperity to the people…” As every mountain of society is filled with God’s glory, the people will be prosperous in every sense of the word.
Subdue & Have Dominion Over
In the original Hebrew “subdue” and “dominion” have similar meanings. Subdue is “kabash” meaning to subdue, force, keep under, bring into bondage. Dominion is “radah” which means to rule, have dominion, dominate, tread down. After a cursory reading, they both seem somewhat harsh, but we are not called to abuse creation.
Take note of the context. God is instructing us to subdue the Earth and have dominion over the fish, birds and creatures. Vegetation, water, dirt — the makeup of the Earth — is designed to be subdued. Living creatures are to be ruled. Rule is a “prescribed guide for conduct or action.” Our job is to help the animal kingdom flourish through righteous leadership. We are to rule as God rules in His kingdom with a heart of compassion, grace and mercy.
God never intended for famines to starve nations, for rivers to flood their banks or for earthquakes to destroy cities. Bear and shark attacks, bee stings and snake bites are not the way creatures were designed to interact with humans. The God-given authority that man has forsaken has led to these results.
The Earth and the creatures living on it are the original products and services that drove economies. This has not changed in today’s world. They continue to be the most important assets to humankind. We are called to partner first with God and second with creation to see not only the economy thrive but the entire society.
I Have Given You
God wraps up this initial creation instructional guide but underscoring that He gave all of these resources for man to live in prosperity. He did not hold anything back.
Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
Genesis 1:29-30
He started with this plan and has not wavered since that time. He has blessed us and He has given to us everything we need to have flourishing communities, successful businesses and prosperous families. With His part finished, in particular through the life, death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus, it is now in our hands to follow the original instructions.
When the people of God fully realize that their Father has supplied all their needs according to the riches in Christ Jesus, mountains will be taken back. It is our responsibility to be fruitful, multiply, fill, subdue and have dominion of the mountain of economy. This websites purpose is to testify of how that is currently being done throughout the world. Get ready to climb!