Market It!

2 Kings 4:7 “Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children on the rest.” (emphasis added)

Yesterday, I told you about how my mother, like the woman we see in 2 Kings 4, introduced us to work early in life. Even when I was in the university, I was still teaching in her after-school 

lesson and earning. I knew what it is to prepare a lesson note, my mother taught me. So, when it was time to prepare a sermon outline, it was not difficult. I learnt how to wake up and work hard because I was introduced to work early. We need to introduce our children to work early. Image what that experience will do to and for the Widow’s sons.

In today’s anchor scripture, we see that Elisha said to this woman, “Go, sell the oil…” Huge! The key to making your farm financially rewarding is your ability to sell. Imagine someone plants tomatoes, nurtures them, waters them, and when they are ripe, harvest them. Then she says, “I am shy. I do not know how to sell.” What will happen? The tomatoes will rot. You need to go to the market. Elisha’s instruction was, “Go, sell the oil…”. For some of us, the oil we are carrying is our skills, our talents. Go, sell it. You need to sell yourself. Some of us do not sell ourselves. But Pastor, I am introverted. It is not going to help. You need to learn how to sell yourself. 

What are the things you can do? Package your resume so that by the time employers see your resume they see how much they need you. Why? You are selling your oil. Guess what? Your sales provide the seed for your investment. It is from the proceeds of the sales that you will have seed for your investment. And that is what you can live on for the rest of your life. Like Elisha said to this woman, “Go, sell the oil and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children on the rest.” So, the bridge between your farm and your finances is your ability to invest. And the connection between your work and your wealth is your investment. But the seed of your investment is your sales, which is your capacity to sell. 

Can you see how everything is connected? No one becomes wealthy without owning sales. You have to sell. So that mentality of whether the boss sells or does not sell… the boss must sell! Imagine you own a business and someone in technical support says to you, I can help the sales team close more deals. By following them for sales representations, I can answer the technical questions the clients have. He is still doing his technical support job, but he is also helping you make more money. What will you do to such a person? Think about it.

Prayer: Father, make me a worthy steward of the resources that You have entrusted me with, that they will multiply and not diminish in my hands, in the Mighty Name of Jesus. Amen!