Breaking the Bondage of Employment

8/13/2019 Breaking the Bondage of Employment.

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Dedication

For Olajumoke Awogbade, nee Madarikan, (1960-1999), the bestem lo!er " e#er had$ %our leadershi st!le, &ounsel at sta'' meetingsand big sister dis osition hel ed me realise " &ould ne#er be a boss

Appreciation

Man! thanks to oroth!, Anana, *ord and Ajogu 'or understanding and bearing with m! e&uliar solitar! habits, es e&iall! when " withdraw toread or write$ +as! ("srael), thanks 'or !our &omments whi&h " ha#e

uoted in se&tions o' this book$ Authorhouse$$$thanks 'or making itha en

BREAKING THE BONDAGE OF EMPLOYMENT

a biblical perspective on wealth creation

Introduction

his book is all about ma.imising !our /od-gi#en otentials andnatural endowments 'or !our o timum rodu&ti#it! and ros erit!$ "t iswritten rimaril! 'rom a udeo- hristian ers e&ti#e, howe#er allreaders would 'ind the rin&i les enun&iated here rele#ant to their li'e-goals$

he rin&i le o' wealth trans'er is one that is seen through out the bible$"n a nutshell, it states that the wealth o' the heathens would be gi#en tothe righteous$ "t began with /od2s romise to gi#e the land o' anaan toAbraham$


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Now the Lord said to Abram: Get out of your country, and fromyour fathers house, to a land that I will show you !hen Abramtoo" #arai his wife and Lot his brothers son, and all the possessionsthat they had $athered, and the people whom they had ac%uired in&aran, and they departed to $o to the land of 'anaan #o they cameto the land of 'anaan ( )Gen *+:* -. $

Also,

And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him:Lift your eyes now and loo" from the place where you are/ northward, southward, eastward and westward0 for all the landwhich you see I $i1e to you and your descendants fore1er Arise,wal" in the land throu$h its len$th and its width, for I $i1e it toyou ( )Gen *2:*34*- *5. $

hus, Abraham be&ame the 'irst bene'i&iar! o' the romise o' wealthtrans'er$ he 'irst h!si&al mani'estation o' this romise was when thewealth o' +g! t was trans'erred to "srael on the e#e o' "srael2s de arture'rom sla#er! in +g! t$

Now the children of Israel had done accordin$ to the word of6oses, and they had as"ed from the 7$yptians articles of sil1er,articles of $old, and clothin$ And the Lord had $i1en the peoplefa1our in the si$ht of the 7$yptians, so they $ranted them what theyre%uested !hus they plundered the 7$yptians ( )78 *+:2-429. $

herea'ter, man! o' the ins ired #erses o' the 3salms allude to this rin&i le$ "t is seen in +&&lesiastes,

but to the sinner &e $i1es the wor" of $atherin$ and collectin$,that he may $i1e it to him who is $ood before God ( )7ccl +:+9b. $

his rin&i le is stated without e ui#o&ation "n "saiah 6045- 7 it is alsoreiterated in &ha ter 6146,

ou shall eat the riches of the Gentiles and in their $lory youshall boast ( )Is 9*:9b. $


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his rin&i le has be&ome 'oundational in man! o' the &ontem orar!tea&hings on wealth &reation in the &hur&h toda!$ rue, there were

bibli&al instan&es in whi&h, b! some a&ts o' /od2s so#ereignt!, thewealth o' the heathens were literall! handed o#er to /od2s eo le$

!hen the people went out and plundered the camp of the #yrians#o a seah of fine flour was sold for a she"el, and two seahs of barleyfor a she"el, accordin$ to the word of the Lord ( )+ ;in$s 5:*9. $

8owe#er, " belie#e that there are other wa!s b! whi&h this &an bea&hie#ed toda!$ One o' su&h wa!s is 'or the righteous to take ad#antageo' the world2s e&onomi& s!stem (whi&h we know is now in the 'irm&ontrol o' the god o' this world with the heathens as his administrators)and ro'it 'rom it b! de lo!ing their otentials and endowments

ro'itabl!$

For too long the saints o' /od ha#e been &ontent to be the hewers o'wood and drawers o' water: 'or the lords o' the world2s e&onomi&s!stem$ "t is time 'or us to ste into the market la&e as ke! la!ers inthe e&onom! o' the nations o' the world$ For so long our skills andstrengths7 diligen&e and 'aith'ulness ha#e built the business em ires o'this world$ "t is time 'or us to build godl! business em ires to the glor!o' /od$ I firmly believe that this kind of wealth creation anddistribution cannot happen when you are in someone elsesemployment.

he ur ose o' wealth-trans'er is &learl! stated in the bible, /od2sword$ /od told Abraham4


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- +nhan&ing the ualit! o' li'e and li#ing4 !he labor of theri$hteous leads to life, the wa$es of the wic"ed to sin ()=ro1 *>:*9.

-


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'&A=!7B CN7

The origin of paid employment...

A hundred years ago, about 90 percent of our ancestors wereentrepreneurs. Now the number is between 10 and 20 percent.

4Bobert G Allen

"n the beginning, /od &reated Adam and ga#e him a job to do$ Adamwas, essentiall!, sel'-em lo!ed e#en though he had to re ort to /od$ "

belie#e that this is /od2s master lan 'or us e#en toda!> do !our thingas a steward o' the talents that " ha#e gi#en to !ou and, some da!, !ouwill gi#e a&&ount to me$: he sons o' Adam, as the! grew u , also wenttheir se arate wa!s to establish their own businesses, ea&h o' themengaging in e&onomi& ursuits that best suited their natural in&linations$

here is no indi&ation that the! were working 'or their 'ather nor werethe! working 'or ea&h other$

Now Abel was a "eeper of sheep, but 'ain was a tiller of the$round ( )Gen 3:+. $

+a&h worked 'or himsel' 'or the good o' all and rendered a&&ount to/od indi#iduall!$ ;hile Abel2s a&&ount was &ommended, ain2s wasthrown out with a rebuke$

"n more re&ent times, we see this attern at la! in man! &ommunities$Families were usuall! known b! the trade the! engaged in$ ?o strongwas this asso&iation that 'amilies were literall! &alled b! their trades$8en&e there were 'amil! names like ar enter, ?mith,


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he! engaged in the same business as their arents but here the! were

the managers o' their own enter rises and masters o' their owndestinies$ he ambition and ride o' most 'athers was to raise &hildrenwho will not onl! take to the 'amil! trade, but er'orm better than the!themsel#es e#er did$

o 'urther illustrate this oint, we 'ind that members o' the &ommunitiesin most o' our earlier so&ieties were either agrarian or artisan in theire&onomi& endea#ours$ All who were born into these &ommunitiesde#elo ed a means o' li#elihood that deri#ed 'rom this basi&

ba&kground$ @obod! had to work 'or the other as ser#i&es and rodu&tswere &om lementar! and transa&tions assumed a barter-like dimension$

his attern o' work &ontinued as eo le multi lied on the 'a&e o' theearth until the e''e&ts o' sin made man to de#iate 'rom this di#ine lan$

here literall! was nothing like unem lo!ment$ nem lo!ment as weknow it toda! is a 'all-out o' the de enden&! s!ndrome &reated b! the

henomenon &alled aid em lo!ment --one erson2s labour engaged b!another on a 'airl! &ontinuous basis 'or remuneration$ on uest,

o#ert!, greed and la=iness 'or&ed eo le to work 'or others$

"t would be hel 'ul to brie'l! e.amine the reasons wh! eo le mo#edawa! 'rom this s!stem and began to work 'or others$ he! ha#e beenstated earlier as conquest , po erty , fear and !a"iness $

Conquest

"n re#ious ages wars were o'ten 'ought as a means o' either reser#ingterritorial integrit! or e. anding some &ountr!2s territorial 'rontiers$

hese, o' &ourse, were not the onl! reasons wh! wars were 'ought$"ssues o' er&ei#ed slight, honour, &hi#alr!, greed or mere boredom

ro#oked wars$ "n war, intimidation, &oer&ion and #iolen&e are themeans o' obtaining the submission o' a eo le to another$ he humans irit, being naturall! 'ree, resents an! 'orm o' domination$ 8en&e, allthrough the histor! o' man, eo le ha#e alwa!s resisted an! 'orm o'&on uest or in#oluntar! submission to their 'ellow man$

As with most en&ounters in li'e, there were losers and there werewinners (thank /od 'or the &ontem orar! hiloso h! o' win-win


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out&omes )$ "n wars, the losers were subjugated and be&ame the sla#es

o' their &on uerors who immediatel! engaged them in all kinds o'menial tasks with a #iew to debase them and erode their sel'-esteem$he &on uered were stri ed o' all #estiges o' human dignit! to the

oint where the! do not e#en &ontem late rebellion against theiro ressors$ A good &ase in oint was that o' "srael in +g! t$ he+g! tian 3haraoh a&knowledged the numeri&al and h!si&al su eriorit!o' the 8ebrews, a oint he raised when ro osing their ensla#ement tohis eo le$

Now there arose a new "in$ o1er 7$ypt, who did not "now osephAnd he said to his people, Loo", the people of the children of Israelare more and mi$htier than we0 come, let us deal shrewdly withthem, lest they multiply, and it happen, in the e1ent of war, thatthey also @oin our enemies and fi$ht a$ainst us, and so $o up out ofthe land !herefore they set tas"masters o1er them to afflict themwith their burdens And they built for =haraoh supply cities,=ithom and Baamses ( )78 *:E4**.

%et, "srael would not li't a 'inger against +g! t be&ause their ser#itudehad totall! emas&ulated them and the! &ould not imagine an u risingagainst 3haraoh$ +#en Moses2 attem t at armed rebellion attra&ted, notsu ort, but, derision$

"n &on uest, the &on uered were usuall! &harged with the res onsibilit!o' &reating wealth 'or their &on uerors$ And they built for =haraohsupply cities, =ithom and Baamses ( )78 *:**b. $ his was done b!&oer&ing the &on uered into the rodu&tion ro&esses o' their masters2e&onomies$ he! be&ame the labourers, 'armers, miners, she erds, andet&etera o' their masters$ he! &ontributed to their masters2 ros erit!without bene'itting 'rom the ros erit! themsel#es$ he onl! thing the!o'ten got was 'ood, su''i&ient to kee them ali#e to &ontinue to enri&htheir masters$ he! were a&&ommodated in the basest o' la&es andtreated with utmost &ontem t while the! ke t labouring to in&rease thewealth o' the em ires in whi&h the! were not stakeholders$

"t is ertinent to note that this was the general ra&ti&e at the time$8owe#er, e.&e tions did o&&ur where some sla#es were well treated b!their masters and e#en be&ame res e&table members o' the &ommunit!$


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*ike Aeso , the /reek sla#e, who later gained 'ame 'or his i uant and

ith! 'ables$ his was the e.&e tion rather than the rule$

Poverty

3o#ert! in itsel' is a #ile bondage$ "t is a state o' la&k and s&ar&it! sointense that an! ho e o' a better tomorrow is usuall! non-e.istent$ Oneo' the man! &onse uen&es o' o#ert! is a la&k o' sel'-esteem and theattendant loss o' human dignit!$ ;hen a erson is held in this #i&e, itre uires nothing less than the gra&e o' /od 'or the erson not to doanything 'or a morsel o' bread$

"t is not un&ommon 'or eo le in the throes o' o#ert! to sellthemsel#es, both 'igurati#el! and in realit!$ ?ome sell their bodies in the#ile and ine.&usable trade o' rostitution while others sell themsel#esthrough indebtedness$ And the borrower is ser1ant to the lender ( )=ro1 ++:5. here are !et some who o''er themsel#es as bond ser#antsto others in order to be able to rose&ute the business o' li#ing$ " wouldlike to illustrate this with two e.am les 'rom the bible$

he 'irst illustration is 'ound in Bings C41-D, where we are enthralled b! the stor! o' the mira&ulous su l! o' oil 'or the widow and her&hildren$

A certain woman of the wi1es of the sons of the prophets cried to7lisha, sayin$, your ser1ant my husband is dead, and you "nowthat your ser1ant feared the Lord And the creditor is comin$ tota"e my two sons to be his sla1es ( )+ ;in$s 3:*.


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ingenious idea o' taking his debtor2s sons as suret! until the debt was

aid o''$ Make no mistake here, he was not about to kee them in hishouse, 'eeding them 'at while the! or their oor mother tried to 'igureout how to a! o'' the debt$ @o su&h lu&k 8e was going to ut them to'or&ed labour on his estate until su&h a time when he would &onsider thedebt 'ull! aid-&a ital and a&&rued interest and all$ he ho e o' su&h aha ! ending was as remote as ho ing to 'ill a dr! well with waterusing a tea s oon "t was this ros e&t that rom ted the des eratewidow to hold the ro het +lisha &a ti#e and nothing less than amira&le &ould ha#e sol#ed her roblem$

hings ha#en2t &hanged mu&h toda!$ reditors are still as mean toda!as the! were then and a#ari&e is not getting an! better$ Man! 'indthemsel#es herded o'' to work in order to a! their wa!s out o' debt>whether inherited or sel'-in'li&ted$

M! 'riend, "srael A!e, a law!er, notes that4 under the &ultural &onte.to' the da!, an! situation that resulted in the labour o' a man ending inthe house o' another was e ui#alent to sla#er!$ he widow2s sons wereabout to be &ons&ri ted into the &reditor2s labour 'or&e$ ewish lawdemanded that he aid them wages$ here'ore, the bo!s were about to

be em lo!ed2, howbeit 'or&ibl!$ "t was aid em lo!ment the widowde&ried$ For the ews regarded aid em lo!ment as sla#er!$:

he se&ond illustration is that o' some eo le who willingl! &ommitthemsel#es to a 'uture o' ser#itude e#en when the! were gi#en theo tion o' 'reedom$ "n +.$ 141-6 and et$ 154 1 -1D there is the &ase o'the erson who is sold as a ser#ant be&ause o' o#ert! or indebtedness$/od2s *aw sa!s this erson should be set 'ree at the end o' si. !ears$ "nthe se#enth !ear the master is re uired to settle this erson liberall!: sothat this erson need not be again in the situation that o&&asionedser#itude in the 'irst la&e$ @ow, here is the &urious thing>some 'ellowwould reje&t the o''ered 'reedom and the liberal settlement ;hen allentreaties to lea#e 'ail, /od has a harsh re&ommendation4 ier&e his earthrough with an awl, inning his ear to !our door thus making him !ourser#ant 'ore#er

Now these are the @ud$ments which you shall set before them: Ifyou buy a &ebrew ser1ant, he shall ser1e si8 years0 and in the


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se1enth he shall $o out free and pay nothin$ If he comes in by

himself, he shall $o out by himself0 if he comes in married, then hiswife shall $o out with him If his master has $i1en him a wife, andshe has borne him sons or dau$hters, the wife and her children shallbe her masters, and he shall $o out by himself Fut if the ser1antplainly says, I lo1e my master, my wife, and my children0 I will not$o out free, then his master shall brin$ him to the @ud$es &e shallalso brin$ him to the door, or to the doorpost, and his master shallpierce his ear with an awl0 and he shall ser1e him fore1er ()78 +*:*49.

his is reiterated in euteronom! as 'ollows4

If your brother, a &ebrew man, or a &ebrew woman, is sold to youand ser1es you si8 years, then in the se1enth year you shall let him$o free from you And when you send him away free from you, youshall not let him $o away empty4handed0 you shall supply himliberally from your floc", from your threshin$ floor, and from yourwinepress rom what the Lord your God has blessed you with, youshall $i1e to him ou shall remember that you were a sla1e in theland of 7$ypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you0 therefore Icommand you this thin$ today And if it happens that he says toyou, I will not $o away from you, because he lo1es you and yourhouse, since he prospers with you, then you shall ta"e an awl andthrust it throu$h his ear to the door, and he shall be your ser1antfore1er Also to your female ser1ant you shall do li"ewise ( )Det*-:*+4*5.

?ome ersons a&tuall! get so used to ser#itude (another name 'or aidem lo!ment ) that the! &annot &ontem late an! other li'e besides$

"n more re&ent times, a similar situation la!ed itsel' out in @igeria$?e#eral !ears ago, a major oil rodu&ing &om an! was going to la! o''a good number o' its sta'' with #er! generous se#eran&e a&kages$Man! o' the sta'' lobbied to sta! on in the &om an!2s em lo!ment, theattra&ti#e se#eran&e a&kage notwithstanding$ ?ome e#en o''ered toa&&e t a &ut in their a! just to sta! on


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One o' the sad 'allouts o' being in aid em lo!ment 'or too long is that,

!ou lose !our sel'-&on'iden&e and begin to belie#e that !ou &annotsur#i#e, a art 'rom !our em lo!er$ "ndeed man! die rematurel! as aresult o' the 'or&ed se aration between them and the em lo!ment the!had &ome to de end so mu&h on$

Fear

he 'ear o' 'ailing, the 'ear o' being reje&ted, the 'ear o' making ade&ision and standing b! that de&ision, the 'ear o' going it alone, the'ear o' un&ertain out&omes and a m!riad o' other 'ears make eo le toremain in the sa'e ha#en: o' working 'or others$


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and holding on to that #ision$ hese are &ertainl! be!ond the abilities o'

the la=! erson$


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them to use imager! suggesti#e o' sel'-em lo!ment$ *et us &onsider a

&ou le o' s&ri tures4

Fut e1eryone shall sit under his 1ine and under his fi$ tree, and noone shall ma"e them afraid0 for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hasspo"en ( )6ic 3:3. 7

And,

In that day, says the Lord of hosts, e1eryone will in1ite hisnei$hbour under his 1ine and under his fi$ tree ( ) ech 2:*>. $

he 'ig and the #ine were e&onomi& trees$ Owning them was likeowning !our own means o' rodu&tion and that made !ou sel'-su''i&ient, i' not ros erous$ ;hen these s&ri tures there'ore talk aboute#er!one being under his own 'ig or #ine and not being a'raid, there isthe &lear im li&ation o' sel'-em lo!ment and the attendant se&urit! that&omes with it, among other things$

'he nature of employers

Most em lo!ers tend to be un'air in their treatment o' em lo!ees$ heo#erriding &onsideration is ro'it or, the obno.ious bottom-line, toengage &ontem orar! terminolog!$ he e''e&t o' this is that the businessen#ironment is totall! de#oid o' human kindness$ 3eo le are used astools, a 'a&tor o' rodu&tion whose needs matter onl! i' the! &ontributeto the ine#itable bottom-line$

onse uentl!, the goals o' business are sub#erted$ " ha#e ne#er &easedto be amused ea&h time " am ri#ileged to be in the training sessions o'm! 'riend, r$ *emm! Omo!inmi, an e.&e tionall! gi'ted Management


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rainer$ 8e usuall! begins his sessions on *motiona! #nte!!igence with

this uestion4 ;hat is the goal o'


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!he wa$es of him who is hired shall not remain with you all

ni$ht until mornin$ ( )Le1 * :*2b. $Also,

ou shall not oppress a hired ser1ant who is poor and needy,whether one of your brethren or one of the aliens who is in yourland within your $ates 7ach day you shall $i1e him his wa$es, andnot let the sun $o down on it, for he is poor and has set his heart onit0 lest he cry out a$ainst you to the lord and it be sin to you ()Deuteronomy +3: *34*-. $

he li'e o' the em lo!ee re#ol#es around his a! and, indeed, he &anli#e no li'e without his a!$ hat is wh! em lo!ers must not dela! in

a!ing salaries$

"t is also not un&ommon 'or em lo!ers to &are onl! 'or their businessesto the e.&lusion o' all else, es e&iall! the wel'are o' their em lo!ees$ "tis &ommon la&e to hear em lo!ers ask ob#iousl! troubled em lo!ees to

hang their roblems at the gate2: and get on with the job$ @o e''ort ismade to know what ma! be ailing the em lo!ee$ " knew a !oung manwho was working so hard as an a&&ountant in a so'tware de#elo ment&om an! that his bod! began to rotest$ +a&h time " saw him " noti&edhe looked tired and this otherwise energeti& and #ibrant !outh waswasting awa!$ 8e asked 'or a 'ew da!s o'' work so he &ould rest, but his

boss would hear none o' it, arguing that there was so mu&h to be done$

;hile working at his desk one da! he &olla sed and was rushed to ahos ital$ 8is distressed wi'e &alled me on the hone to alert me o' thede#elo ment$ " rushed to the hos ital to 'ind him on dri s, 'atigued$Onl! a'ter this would his &om an! let him take about a week o'' workto re&u erate$ ?ome eo le are not so lu&k!$ he! die be'ore an! hel&an get to them$ And the job goes on$

(ou will always be underpaid

he dri#e 'or more ro'its naturall! makes most em lo!ers to hold ba&kwhat the! ha#e made$ his o'ten leads to a situation where the! attem t


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to &ut down on s ending, in&luding s ending on workers2 wages and

wel'are$ Most workers " know belie#e that the! are under aid$ his belie' is usuall! 'uelled b! the realit! o' the &ontributions that the! aremaking to their em lo!ers2 businesses and the ro'its that theirem lo!ers are generating 'rom these e''orts$ For most em lo!ees, whatthe! earn is grossl! inade uate in the light o' in'lationar! trends and the'inan&ial &ommitments that the! ha#e$ @o wonder someone2s &ar sti&ker&heekil! announ&ed4 M! take home a! &an2t take me home :

Again, " re'er !ou to ames4

Indeed the wa$es of the labourers who mowed your fields, whichyou "ept bac" by fraud, cry out ( ) ames -:3.

+m lo!ers hold ba&k, b! 'raud, what the! should ha#e aid to theirem lo!ees$

"t is also a 'a&t that !ou are onl! aid a 'ra&tion o' the #alue that !ou&reate 'or !our em lo!er$ his limits !our otential 'or ersonal wealth&reation$ Again, "srael A!e notes that4 the a#erage em lo!er a!sabout ten er&ent o' their o erating e. enses (O3+H) as wages$ hemost generous &om anies a! about twent!-'i#e er&ent o' their O3+Has salaries$ O3+H is not the turno#er o' an organisation$ "t is art o' its

budgetar! allo&ation de#oted to o erating e. enses during a 'is&al !ear$! i&all!, the &a ital e. enses ( A3+H) &onstitute the &hunk o' the

annual budget$ his is to hel !ou understand that an em lo!ee ne#ergets a share o' the ro'it and the 'ra&tion o' the e. enses de#oted tohisIher u kee is negligible &om ared to other 'a&tors o' rodu&tion$:

" on&e #isited a !oung man at his o''i&e and in the short time " s entthere, it be&ame ob#ious to me that he was the rin&i al wealth &reatoro' that &om an!$ As he walked me to m! &ar " said to him, do !ouknow that !ou are the mainsta! o' this &om an!E: 8e was going tolaugh it o'' but " ersisted, do !ou know !ou &an a&tuall! do all !ouare doing 'or this &om an! 'or !oursel'E: " dared him to resign and starthis own business$ A 'ew months later, he &ame to me to sa! he hadresigned$ " ra!ed with him and released him into his destin!$ @ot longa'ter this, he &ame to tell me that he had just &om leted his 'irst job andthe ro'it he made was mu&h more than his annual in&ome at his 'ormer


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la&e o' work$ ;ithin three months he had bought his 'irst &ar$ About

si. months later, he had bought a better &ar$ 8e had been li#ing with hissister and her 'amil!$ ?oon he mo#ed into his own rented three bedrooma artment in a de&ent neighbourhood and, as " write these words, he isnow married with a son$ All the things he &ould not do while in his'ormer em lo!ment, he a&hie#ed within a s a&e o' two !ears o'working 'or himsel' be&ause o' his enhan&ed in&ome$ And the wa! "&aught him looking at his wi'e the other da!$$$J" bet another bab! willsoon be on the wa!

%ou &an trul! earn all !ou are &a able o' earning when !ou work 'or!oursel'$

(our full potentials will not be realised

" belie#e that ea&h erson is endowed with awesome talents$ " also belie#e that these talents are the means to !our wealth$ ;hen !ou go towork 'or someone else !ou are o'ten em lo!ed on the basis o' one ormore o' these talents$ +our emp!oyers wou!d on!y de e!op those ta!entsthat are re!e ant to their goa!s. @ow this is an awesome statement

be&ause, as long as !ou allow someone else to determine how !oude#elo !our otentials !ou will ne#er 'ull! realise !our o timum

ossibilities$ %ou will s end !our rodu&ti#e !ears im lementingsomeone else2s agenda 'or !our li'e$ " ha#e en&ountered se#eralem lo!ees whose brilliant ideas were wa#ed awa! with that2s not arto' our #ision here : hese #isionar! em lo!ees a&tuall! li#e in thetorment o' &arr!ing regnan&ies the! &annot birth$ A 'ew o' them hadthe &ourage to go look 'or another birthing ground, usuall! one o' theirown &reation$ he world is usuall! the better 'or su&h de&isions$


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he rimar! audien&e 'or whi&h the bible was written was largel! made

u o' 'armers and she herds$ he! literall! &ould not sur#i#e withouttheir &ro s or their 'lo&ks$ he &hie' &ro s were the 'ig and the #ine$A art 'rom their e&onomi& #alue, the! were also o' immense #alue tothe eo le in the numerous other uses to whi&h the lants or theirderi#ati#es were ut$ "t is 'rom this ers e&ti#e that we &an a re&iatethe resol#e o' the ro het 8abakkuk$

!hou$h the fi$ tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the 1ines0thou$h the labor of the oli1e may fail, and the fields yield no food0thou$h the floc" may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herdsin the stalls/yet I will re@oice in the Lord, I will @oy in the God ofmy sal1ation !he Lord God is my stren$th0 &e will ma"e my feetli"e the deers feet, and &e will ma"e me wal" on my hi$h hills ()&aba""u" 2:*54* . $

;hen /od, there'ore, states that e#er! erson would rest under hisIher'ig and #ine trees, it suggests to me that ea&h erson would be sel'-su''i&ient and ha#e no need to labour 'or another$ "' that is the di#inewill 'or us, wh! should we be &ontent with an!thing lessE

Chan#in# 'imes

he e&onomies o' the world ha#e e. erien&ed ro'ound &hanges in thelast de&ade$ hese &hanges ha#e also a''e&ted the wa! business is donearound the world$ "n their remarkable book, ,ccelerated Learnin# forthe - st Century , authors ollin Gose and Mal&olm $ @i&holl gi#e a'oreboding a&&ount o' global em lo!ment trends$ ;hile, on the onehand, the! a&knowledge the great ad#an&es that humanit! has made inthe last two de&ades the! state almost arado.i&all! that >we also li#ein an age when jobs a ear to be #anishing at an a&&elerated rate$:+laborating on this, the! re'er to erem! Gi'kin2s book, 'he /nd of+ork , 'rom whi&h some o' the 'ollowing sobering i&ture emerges4

"n the $?$ 1$N million manu'a&turing jobs #anished between19N1 and 1991, a eriod o' ten !ears$ "n @igeria, o#er one


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million jobs were lost in the te.tile industr! alone between 1990

and 005$ "t was the highest em lo!ing industr! in @igeria$3ros ering &om anies seek more e''i&ient wa!s o' doing business$ his o'ten leads to automation and an in&rease in theuse o' &om uter te&hnolog!$ +#er! ste in this dire&tion takesawa! a minimum o' three jobs, sometimes ten times more$/lobal unem lo!ment is in&reasing$ ;ith a o ulation o' aboutD Nmillion, o#er 0 o' +uro e 'a&es un&ertaint! o#erem lo!ment related issues$

"n more re&ent times, se&ure: industries like 'inan&ial ser#i&es ha#eo''loaded millions o' em lo!ees into the job market$ "n @igeria, o#er

100, 000 jobs ha#e been lost in this industr! within two !ears$

he oil P gas industr!, traditionall! an industr! o' &hoi&e in @igeria andman! other arts o' the world, is not le't out in these &hanges$ Man!

jobs are being lost in this industr! due to heightened global&onsiderations 'or the en#ironment and the in&reasing re'eren&e 'ornon-'ossil based 'uels$ As rogress is made in the sear&h 'oren#ironmentall! 'riendl! alternati#es to 'ossil 'uels more jobs will beeliminated in this industr!$ Also, drilling te&hnolog! is be&oming moreso histi&ated re uiring 'ewer eo le$

"n @igeria, the &hallenges o' the oil P gas industr! ha#e been&om ounded b! resti#e host &ommunities whose demands 'or a betterdeal 'rom both the 'ederal go#ernment and the oil drilling &om aniesha#e led to #iolen&e and a highl! unstable business en#ironment$ Man!&om anies ha#e had to sus end business in this region leading to sta''redundan&ies and, ine#itabl!, la!-o''s$

he abo#e trul! aints a gloom! 'uture 'or the em lo!ed and 'or theem lo!ment seeker$ Organisations and e#en go#ernments want to ha#eless to do with eo le- roblems re'erring to 'o&us instead on their ownsur#i#al$ "n a #er! real sense, m! 'riend, !ou are on !our own ob

se&urit! is gone out o' the door and indi#idual res onsibilit! is in$ ?o, bra&e !oursel' 'or the &hallenges o' these &hanging times, i&k u thegauntlet and ste into the arena o' those who ha#e de&ided to &hart the


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&ourse o' their li#es in this ma=e o' un re&edented global em lo!ment

&haos$Bi&k 'ear into the streets and ste out in 'aith$ %ou ha#e all it takes tosu&&eed$ %our &reator did not &reate a sub-standard rodu&t$ @either did8e &reate an ill-e ui ed one$ %ou ha#e all it takes to su&&eed$ ;ill!ou gi#e a good a&&ount o' !our &reated &a a&it!E

'&A=!7B 2

How to Break the Bondage

)a$e a 3ob for what it teaches you(for how much it wi!!impro e your s$i!!s, ta!ents, and smarts(rather than for what it

pays. And ta$e it for the e-panded set of options it wi!! create.( #tan Da1is 'hristopher 6eyer

&et the ri#ht 0ob

As arado.i&al as this ma! sound gi#en the general theme o' this book,one wa! to break the bondage o' aid em lo!ment is to take the right

job$ he se&ret is in the hrase the right 3ob. he right job is one whi&hgi#es !ou the o ortunit!4

- to de#elo !our talents into skills- to be trained in multi le &om eten&ies- to a& uire new skills- to build a #aluable network

- to retain !our health in, and a'ter, !our rodu&ti#e !earshere are training rogrammes !ou &annot a''ord, there are tri s !ou

ma! ne#er be able to a! 'or, there are a& uaintan&es !ou would ne#er


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Fondser1ants, obey in all thin$s your masters accordin$ to theflesh, not with eye ser1ice, as men pleasers, but in sincerity of heart,fearin$ God And whate1er you do, do it heartily, as to the Lordand not to men, "nowin$ that from the Lord you will recei1e thereward of the inheritance0 for you ser1e the Lord 'hrist Fut hewho does wron$ will be repaid for what he has done, and there is nopartiality ( )'ol 2:++ K +-.

%ou are &learl! enjoined to ser#e !our master (em lo!er) as diligentl!as !ou ser#e the *ord$ "' !ou do this, !ou would re&ei#e a reward 'romthe *ord e#en the inheritan&e2 Q 'or !ou ser#e hrist$

a&ob ser#ed *aban in a situation that is e ui#alent to aid em lo!ment$went! two !ears later, /od ga#e a&ob his inheritan&e, whi&h is animal

husbandr! and geneti& engineering, su&h that s&ien&e has still not &aughtu with$

#o acob sent and called Bachel and Leah to the field, to his floc",and said unto them, I see your fathers countenance, that it is notfa1ourable toward me as before0 but the God of my father has beenwith me And you " now that with all my mi$ht I ha1e ser1ed yourfather et your father has decei1ed me and chan$ed my wa$es tentimes, but God did not allow him to hurt me ()Gen 2*:345. $

Furthermore, &onsider these words4

And if you ha1e not been faithful in what is another mans, whowill $i1e you what is your own ( )Lu"e *9:*+. $

As a &hild o' /od, when !ou are gi#en the o ortunit! to ser#e in the'orm o' aid em lo!ment, !ou should realise that aid em lo!ment ishardl! e#er an end in itsel'$ "t is the la&e o' stewardshi , instru&tionand learning rodu&ti#it!$ %ou ha#e e.am les like a&ob, ose h,

aniel and e#en a#id who ser#ed others and were rewarded 'or theirser#i&es$

/i#e !our &urrent job the #er! best o' e''orts and &ommitment !ou &anmuster$ %our er'orman&e on this job &ould a&tuall!4


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!ake a business of your passion

;ork should be a sour&e o' jo!$ "t should be enjo!ed not endured$;hen !our work merges into !our leisure it be&omes mu&h easier to

rodu&e the kind o' e.&ellen&e des&ribed abo#e$ 8a#e !ou e#er takennote o' the e. ression o' utmost ea&e and satis'a&tion on the 'a&es o'most musi&ians during &on&ertsE "t is usuall! ob#ious that the!thoroughl! enjo! what the! do, e#en though it is work$ *ike Mark

wain noted, #f you !o e what you do you%!! ne er wor$ another day in your !ife."' !ou &reate a business around !our assion it would be a ie&e o' &aketo erse#ere in the 'a&e o' ine#itable &hallenges$ %our lo#e 'or what !oudo would also ro el !ou to seek out wa!s o' doing it better$

,cquire the discipline of business

?u&&ess'ul entre reneurs are dis&i lined eo le$ he! ossess persona!dis&i line and are able to e.hibit the kind o' maturit! that MikeMurdo&k des&ribes as the abilit! to dela! grati'i&ation$ "t re uires agreat deal o' sel'-&ontrol to be sel'-initiating, sel'-su er#ising and sel'-moti#ating$ his dis&i line is e#ident in the 'ollowing ke! areas4

ime management Finan&ial management Gelationshi management

One major reason wh! man! eo le are held in the bondage o'em lo!ment is their la&k o' ersonal dis&i line$ %ou &ede !our 'reedomto others when !ou are in&a able o' managing !our own a''airs$ Former

+O o' /+, a&k ;el&h, e.horts4 4ontro! your destiny, or someonee!se wi!!. his is what su&&ess'ul entre reneurs ha#e mastered$ he!

&ontrol their destinies through dis&i lined &hoi&es$

,cquire the tools of business


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As a teen age undergraduate student at the ni#ersit! o' os, " took an

ele&ti#e &ourse in 3oliti&al ?&ien&e$ he le&tures were o'ten e.&iting asthe ebullient 3ro'essor $ "sawa +laigwu, who taught the &ourse, wasalwa!s in his elements$ uring one o' his le&tures he des&ribed anassassinated @igerian leader as a man who had the "ea! of a patriotbut the too!s of an idiot. " 'ound the e. ression &urious then and,somehow, it has sta!ed with me sin&e " heard it 'rom the li s o' the

ro'essor some twent! 'i#e !ears ago$ M! e. erien&e and obser#ationo' entre reneurshi has, o#er the !ears, lent &reden&e to the words o'

3ro':$ Man! entre reneurs indeed rush into business with the =eal o' atriots but, sadl!, the tools o' idiots$ his is one rimar! reason 'or thehigh mortalit! rate in that s e&ial &lass o' eo le known asentre reneurs$ %ou need to mat&h !our =eal with the right tools$


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in li'e should in&lude dis&o#ering these and &on#erting them into e.tra

streams o' in&ome to &om lement !our other sour&e(s) o' in&ome$ "naddition to this, !ou &ould &reate assi#e streams o' in&ome b!in#esting in the businesses o' others or through the &reation o'literar!Iartisti& works$

'&A=!7B 3

Kit up!

5o to schoo!, get a 3ob and create a 3ob.

-Cluchi Cnyea$ba CrlandiNi$erian4Forn International 6odel Fusinesswoman

@ow let2s take a look at some o' the skills !ou would need to a& uire tosu&&eed as an entre reneur$

'echnical "kills

%ou must in#est !our resour&es in a& uiring the best edu&ation in !our'ield o' interest$ A& uire the &ontem orar! &om eten&ies that would not

onl! gi#e !ou an edge but, also, make !ou stand shoulders higher thanthe &om etition$


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Communication "killsommuni&ation has been des&ribed as the li#e-wire o' business$ his is

so be&ause !ou need to in'orm, ersuade and e. lain !our business to!our stakeholders$ "n order to &oordinate the di''erent roles and managethe e. e&tations o' these stakeholders !ou must be e''e&ti#e in&ommuni&ation$

he s e&i'i& &ommuni&ation skills !ou would re uire are4

? eaking skills4 here are se#eral situations in business that

demand that !ou s eak$ %ou s eak when !ou engage inmarketingIselling !our ser#i&es7 !ou s eak when !ou inter#iewor are inter#iewed7 !ou s eak when !ou make resentations7 !ous eak on the tele hone7 !ou s eak when !ou engage !our&lients in a &on#ersation7 !ou s eak at meetings$ o&ommuni&ate !our thoughts and ideas lu&idl! and to make theright im ression on !our audien&e !ou must er'e&t !ours eaking skills and shun oor s eaking habits$

;riting skills4 A lot o' in'ormation in business is transmitted inwriting$ %ou ma! need to write business ro osals, letters,

memoranda or e#en re orts$ Man! times, !our &orres onden&e re&edes !ou and goes where !ou ma! ne#er go$ %our&orres onden&e there'ore be&omes the onl! #isible, tangiblere resentati#e o' !our business to !our &lients$ ;hat kind o' are resentati#e should it beE "t should be #isuall! a ealing,grammati&all! &orre&t, &ourteous in tone and straight to the

oint$

+ti uette sense4 +ti uette re'ers to the rules o' ro er beha#iour$here are rules that go#ern the man! &om le. business

relationshi s !ou would &ontra&t in the &ourse o' managing !our

business$ %our eti uette sense, or the la&k o' it, &ommuni&ates#olumes$ "ndeed, 'or some it &ould 'orm the onl! basis 'orde&iding whether to do business with !ou or not$ As " did on oneo&&asion$ " was a roa&hing an o''i&e &om le. at @igeria2s


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Federal a ital erritor!, Abuja, where " was ho ing to get

some se&retarial work done$ A !oung lad! &ame out o' one o'the o''i&es and, right in 'ront o' me, blew her nose with her barehand, wi ing her hand on her skirt when she was done$ ;hen "realised she was going to be the one to work 'or me, " turned andwalked awa!$ 8er beha#iour &ommuni&ated a &ertain&arelessness whi&h " &ouldnRt a''ord$ +ti uette sense shows a&onsideration 'or others$ %ou would there'ore need to 'ine-tune!our so&ial eti uette, business eti uette and o''i&e eti uetteskills$

Interpersonal "kills

hese are a set o' so&ial &om eten&ies that, together, 'a&ilitate humanintera&tions$ he! in&lude 'riendliness, &onsideration 'or others,em ath!, &ommuni&ation abilities, &on'li&t management skills, good

judgement, sel'lessness, humour, o enness and a good deal o' &ommonsense$

he need to ossess these skills as an entre reneur is ob#ious$


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the outsour&ing o' other s e&ialised and an&illar! ser#i&es$ " see

o ortunities in the edu&ation and &are o' the world2s &hildren$ " seeo ortunities in the edu&ation and re-edu&ation o' workers in ad!nami&, 'ast- a&ed world$ " see o ortunities in the uni#ersal sear&h'or sa'er diets and li'est!les$ " see o ortunities in the &are o' the aging

o ulation as !ounger 'amil! members in&reasingl! take their&om eten&ies to a global market$ " see o ortunities in the #ast 'ield o'entertainment as a world that works hard la!s e#en harder$ " seeo ortunities as a traumatised world in&reasingl! seeks &ounsel,&om'ort and dire&tion$ " see o ortunities in the 'ields o' alternati#emedi&ine and the resus&itation o' interest in the #alue o' herbs$ " seeo ortunities in the sear&h 'or alternati#es to 'ossil 'uels$ " seeo ortunities

For man! businesses it is an o ortunit! to start all o#er again withoutthe burden o' sta'' the! had &arried in the ast$ he! ha#e re-engineered, down-si=ed, right-si=ed and re-strategised$$$and sur#i#ed

he! are not likel! to go ba&k to the da!s o' mass em lo!ment$ *ean isthe wat&h word now$

For !ou, dear 'riend, it is the time to embark on a dis assionate sel'-audit$ ake sto&k o' !our e. erien&es, uali'i&ations, strengths,

assions, assets, networks and intelle&tual endowments$ *e#erage onthem and ste out in 'aith$


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#elected Fiblio$raphy

1$ Allen, Gobert$ !ultiple "treams of Income $ ali'ornia4olumbine ommuni&ation P 3ubli&ations, 000$

$ o#e!, ?te hen G$ 'he ) th *abit $ /reat


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9$ 'he !a5well Leadership 2ible> @ew Bing ames Kersion$ ?4

Ma.well Moti#ation "n&$, 00D$

About the author

@ath M&Abraham-"najoh has in#ested the earl! !ears o' his &areer in journalism, marketing resear&h, uni#ersit! tea&hing and, more re&entl!,management &onsulting$

8e is the 3rin&i al 3artner and +O o' 6cAbrahams Limited , a&erti'ied management training 'irm he has nurtured 'or o#er a de&ade$

oda!, the 'irm trains sta'' o' blue &hi &om anies and go#ernment-owned businesses in all se&tors o' the @igerian e&onom!$

A senior astor o' the 'hurch of God 6ission International )'G6I. , @ath li#es in *agos- @igeria with his wi'e, oroth!, and their threesons$ 8e is the 'ounding astor o' the Ajao +state Famil! ;orshi

entre, a bran&h o' /M", where he ser#es as ?enior 3astor$

Documents

Breaking the Bondage of Employment