Money within the fragments

Steve Lyston, Contributor

"So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, 'Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost.' Therefore, they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten." - John 6: 12-13.

Within this quote is the key to achieving local and global change - the key to turning an economy around and restoring hope to the masses.

Each person has to see God as his/her provider, not the politicians. The majority of all successful leaders will tell you that they never received a handout. Those who see politicians as their way out, will always be in bondage and be open to manipulation and deceit. Even intellects looking for change without a changed mindset are simply wasting time.

Regardless of the size of our resources, great or miniscule, if we allow God to be our guide, we can transform a nation, even nations. Any effort to establish order within the nation will require the transformation to first begin at home!

Before distribution can take place, we first have to give God thanks for directing us and showing how to distribute. Distribution must be carried out by those who were placed in authority. They must serve the people in an orderly fashion. So no undermining must take place!

Gathering the fragments

Within a nation, no resources should be wasted - human or otherwise! The fragments are among the most important resources within a nation. They are the parts and pieces broken off, the incomplete pieces and scraps - that are generally neglected, forgotten or ignored. Change cannot come unless everything is fitted together and accounted for.

The questions then are:

Who are the fragments of the society?

How important are they for growth and development?

Are there remaining resources that can turn the nation?

Of what value are the fragments to us and the nation?

Is there anything we have put away that we have considered as having no value?

The fragments of the nation decide its stability. They can also decide what political direction the nation will go. Those who gather the fragments will have spiritual, economic and political dominion.

Picking up the fragments teaches us a lot. We can see a lot more when we begin to pick up the fragments. You learn more about the people and you see things you would not ordinarily see if we were not doing so. Picking up the fragments will teach us to see the value in all things and how to manage resources. Nothing should be wasted!

The fact that in this era we can turn garbage into fuel says something. There is garbage everywhere in the nation. There are brilliant students in the universities and also in the inner-city areas, who, if given the opportunities, can come up with solutions on how to turn our garbage into fuel for the nation.

Have you ever seen (or heard of) a dressmaker or even a grandmother who would take the scraps of material left behind and sew them together to make pillows, blankets, pin cushions, even curtains and other craft items? The fragment is of no real value on its own, but adds value when they are put together.

Nobody cares much about gathering and putting to use the 'crumbs' of the society. Interestingly, there are more crumbs in the society than whole ones. Oftentimes, the fragments are seen as unusable and unimportant - something we would walk upon. But when they are put together, they are of great value.

Dangers

It is equally important to note that the fragments of broken glass, if left unattended and splintered, can be dangerous to those around. But when they are gathered together, those around are protected and safe from harm. So it is important to gather the fragments. Furthermore, the broken glass can be further crushed to make another drinking glass or work of art.

As such, when a political party is divided and fragmented, it can become dangerous to those around - to the people of the nation! But if they are gathered together, they would prove more beneficial to the health and well-being of the nation.

Biblical economics outlines the principle of the five loaves and two fish, which tells us that God can take tiny and insignificant resources and cause them to feed a multitude. But the greater part of that experience is the gathering of the fragments. In this case, it resulted in 12 baskets of fragments being collected, which signifies the government of God.

Steve Lyston is a biblical economics consultant and author of several books, including 'End Time Finance' and 'The New Millionaire'.