Redeeming Africa’s Economic System
The Kingdom Economic System was established by God in Genesis upon creation governed by the relationship between God and Man, Man and Nature. Throughout the bible, the principles of stewardship; sanctity of life, work and rest; respect for human dignity; seed, time and harvest; faithfulness; the value of plants that have seeds and raring species in their own kind guide economic decisions and activity.
The 23rd Psalm provides a clear path for governance and economic well-being in an earthly and eternal realm. There is no separation between spiritual, economic and social matters. All are guided by the relationship with God.
Let’s look first at the psalm of David No. 23: The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me to lie in green pastures; He leads me besides quiet waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for His names sake….. He prepares a table for me in the presence of my enemies, anoints my head with oil. My cup overflows. Goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord – Forever.
In this psalm, we learn about several things about God’s Economic System. The system has a King, a shepherd who is in charge. He ensures that we are not in want – He supplies all our needs. It is clear, however, that our wants and needs (pastures, waters) are not enough to make us live successfully or in abundance. Our soul and righteousness is critical. It is then that even in the time of darkness, He will prepare a table for us, give us the anointing to prosper beyond our need (overflow) so we can invest in the eternal kingdom. We live for God beyond this life- we prepare for eternal dividends in the house of the Lord, where we will live forever.
Redeeming Africa’s Spiritual Authority
The church must take its rightful position as a leader in seeking divine direction; in setting the trends in terms of knowledge, technology, innovation, solutions for development, policies, fashion – everything!
The five-fold ministry is meant to equip us, the lay persons, to excel, lead and be 10 times better than the rest. I have been nurtured by Beza and the quality of my work is thanks to God’s work in me through the men and women of God in this church. They have taught me, prayed for me, commissioned me, but even more so, pushed me into success by giving me responsibilities, empowering me through leadership and trusting me, even when I did not trust myself.
We can no longer point our fingers to government. We must get involved.
Design policies, strategies e.g. mineral wealth funds that are channeled for development.
Policies that ensure every family, like that of Leviticus 25, has got assets, be it land or housing that can be passed on to the next generation;
Take up spaces given to civil society to influence the policy discourse. Make alliances with parliamentarians to ensure you influence the laws of the land.
Rise up and speak the word of truth into situations.
Raise kingdom investors within your midst who will invest by divine purpose to expand the Kingdom of God on this continent.
It is only when our spiritual authority is redeemed that Africa will become a dynamic force in the global arena – our Agenda 2063 aspiration.
Redeeming Africa’s Systems – a contribution by Beza International Fellowship
Africa’s heritage, culture and systems are grounded in its true identity, which unfortunately we have not fully understood. Our history was written by our captors. But it is now time we changed the narrative of our land and peoples according to HIS Story – the true story of our continent. To be redeemed, we must know who we truly are; why we are and where in God’s seasons we are.
The backbone of Africa was broken when our cultural heritage, education system and self-esteem was destroyed with slavery, the scramble of Africa and re-introduction of Christianity (which had already been in Africa) which was heavy with European, not Kingdom culture, traditions and biases that led many to believe that ours were evil.
Africa before this time had very strong systems of civilization including Culture, Science and Art; Organized society and governance; Organized Economy and Trade and strong morals and values grounded in respect, a sense of community and integrity. These values influenced and enabled the survival of communities, organized around ethnic and language boundaries which were later distorted by the scramble of Africa.
Roundtable Discussions and Group Insights on Redeeming Africa’s Systems
Conference participants at their respective round tables were requested to respond to four questions on this topic:
Which are the key systems that run in Africa?
What are the main causes of failure of systems in Africa?
In what ways can African systems be redeemed?
How can you as an individual, family or fellowship practically contribute towards the redemption of Africa’s systems?
The following summarize participants’ views:
The key systems that run Africa include: Governance, Economic, Social, Political and Spiritual. Key influencers for these systems include: the value system, technology, media and communication and foreign/non-indigenous interests.
The main causes of failure of systems in Africa are attributed to poor governance and corruption, poor quality of and mindset towards leadership, lack of unity, ignorance, negative external influence, a church that is not doing its work adequately in discipling the nations. Also critical is the failure for Africa to understand its true identity, hence is locked up in tribalism and the failure to fully re-purpose Africa’s laws and systems towards its own development and prosperity that includes all.
Africa’s systems can be redeemed through investment in future leaders who are guided by biblical principles and a Kingdom mindset. Unity of the church in bringing Kingdom solutions to the marketplace through the prophetic voice, living by biblical principles and investing in mindset transformation that is grounded in our true identity is important.
As individuals, families and fellowships, it is important that we live in righteousness, inculcating righteous leadership and spiritual growth from family level to the marketplace; invest in mentorship through family, church and the education system. Prayer and faith will birth new ways of thinking and living.