Subdue

WEEKLY DEVOTIONAL BY PATRICE TSAGUE

How well do you take care of what you have?
How fruitful and impactful are your goals?
Are they able to multiply and increase?

Subdue

To subdue means to establish order or to bring into subjection. Within the Old and New Testament context, it means to establish Divine order and authority. This simple word gives man the authority to harness the earth’s resources and to take control of ideas, instruments of production, and instruments of distribution. God’s original intent, however, was not that we were to use those resources, ideas, production, and distribution tools solely for our own benefit, but rather as children and stewards of God, we were to use them for His glory and pleasure.

This idea to subdue has been misunderstood amongst Christians for centuries. It can bring to mind questions such as: How much force does one use in this pursuit? What happens when there is resistance as we attempt to subdue a territory or a market? How do we handle the conflicts that surface during our efforts to subdue? Should Christians be interested in conquest and in expanding our business or personal territory?

In the kingdom of God, when a son or daughter of God exercises authority over creation, he or she is taking hold of the gift that God gave at the beginning of the world. Like any gift, the receiver can choose what he or she does with it. God’s heart is for us to take His gifts of ideas, resources, tools, systems, etc., and to bring them into the light of His governance system, which is, in turn, defined through Biblical principles. This is an essential key to our mandate of being fruitful and multiplying.

In business, to subdue means to establish your business as a clear leader and/or influencer in your industry, or in the places where you are doing business – your divinely mandated sphere of influence. Failure to do this will mean that your influence will be short-lived, and you will have limited impact. 

It is difficult to steward something of God’s when you do not have legal possession of it or full control of it, because our Christian influence is limited to some degree to the things over which we have direct or indirect control. 

How do you subdue through business to the glory of God?

1. Learn to subdue in the rhythm of the Holy Spirit.
2. Be wise as a serpent and gentle as a dove.
3. Be diligent in business.
4. Whenever possible, take legal possession of the place where you live and do business, and also of your ideas and other intellectual property. This includes making sure that you have the correct patents, copyrights, and trademarks etc., in place.
5. Use all the resources you control to honor and glorify the Lord.
6. Keep in mind that you are not called to subdue people, but the earth.
7. Everything you subdue should be in a better state after you leave it, compared to when you found it.

There have been historical abuses of the concept of “subduing” that have led to some of the greatest inhumane tragedies committed by Christians. However, this does not mean that we should shy away from this direction of the LORD to subdue the earth, but rather we need to approach it with a spirit of humility and meekness, while always maintaining the correct focus.

My prayer for you today is that the Holy Spirit would guide you as you bring God’s governance system into your business or organization for the purpose of biblically subduing your sphere of influence for the Glory of God.