Asset Management

By Reverend Michael Farias

As Christians, we inherit a great deal.  A brief study in the Bible will reveal the fact that we have been given much.  This has been God’s business model since the beginning.

In the very first chapter of the very first book of the Bible, Genesis, God makes a decision to gift mankind with His creation.

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” Genesis 1:26.  

Along with that amazing gift came an amazing opportunity, an opportunity for leadership.

We see God’s decision to appoint man (Adam) as the manager over his entire creation. Adam became the leader, the boss, the shot caller, the asset manager.

God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you”. Genesis 1:29.  

Decision-making power over all of God’s creation was given to Adam.  Adam was given the freedom and power to decide.  He was trusted, empowered, and equipped to lead.

Some people don’t want to be leaders because decision-making can be difficult and un-doing a bad decision can be extremely difficult.  Adam’s decision to eat the fruit from the only tree that was off-limits comes to mind. How’d that decision work out?

One of the hardest things to learn as a leader is the art of delegation, and one of the hardest things to do as a leader is to delegate.  

One definition of delegation is “the assignment of responsibility or authority to another person to carry out specific activities.  It is one of the core concepts of management leadership.”  

We see this principle at work from the very beginning.  God delegated to Adam.   He delegated the management of the garden, decision-making over everything, and even let him name the animals.

This opportunity and responsibility of asset management has been passed down to us as part of our inheritance.  Yes, you are a leader, an asset manager, whether you like it or not.  But you say, “I’m not anyone’s boss, how does this principle of leadership apply to me today?”  My answer is that we are all the boss of someone.  We are each the boss of our own spirit!  We have been created to rule, decide, dominate, manage, create, expand, and multiply.  We have been created in the image of God and have his likeness.  

It is in our DNA to rule, delegate, and lead.  God has given you rule and authority over His most precious possession: you.  We will not fully accomplish what God has in store for us and will never lead others well unless and until we rule ourselves well.

Proverbs 16:32 ...he who rules his spirit, is better than he who captures a city.