The Dominion Mandate is the first in scripture for a reason. By it, authority was given to man to take charge of Gods estate, the earth. God knew that man cannot function effectively in his place of assignment without power, authority, and dominion mindset. Notice the order in which He commanded man – Be Fruitful; Multiply; Subdue the earth; Have Dominion over everything created. These are actions in the present continuous tense…which means these experiences should be ongoing realities for man, while in planet earth.
Fruitfulness means purposeful creativity and productivity. Purpose is important…Whenever purpose is in view and stays the focus, fruitfulness is guaranteed. It is not just about fruit per se, but even if you see it from the perspective of a fruit, you have to determine what the fruit looks like in your situation. The fruit of a mango is different from the fruit of the apple but they are all fruits. Even when two fruits look alike, sometimes they taste differently, they are sized differently, they are colored differently. Think about the apple fruit for example, some are greenish and some are reddish. Some people like one, others like the other, and you cannot convince them that apple is apple regardless of the color.
A prolific book writer is fruitful because he writes and publishes as fast as you could read; a shoe maker who makes lots of good shoes is fruitful because he is fulfilling purpose; a doctor who excels in patient care is also fruitful, doing what he is called and what he knows how to do; a janitor who cleans floors clinically is fruitful in his lane, minding his business and trying to be the best at what he does; I guess you get my drift. There are fruitless doctors and fruitless janitors, and I would rather be a fruitful janitor than be a fruitless doctor. Success is not measured by title but by accomplishment. When you set out to do a thing and you do it successfully you are fruitful in that mission. One way to be fruitful is to be purpose driven. What is the purpose of fruitfulness? Dominion! When you are fruitful you multiply, you subdue and you ultimately exercise dominion in your space. Only time separates you from the top of the ladder. A fruitful person does not necessarily compete, he dominates. Sometimes we need the dominion mindset to be truly successful and fruitful.
When a tree is fruitful, it bears much fruit. The tree is not successful just because it bears much fruit but because bearing much fruit is the purpose of the tree. A tree planted for the wood bears fruit when the wood grows and matures to expectation. If the purpose of a tree is the leaves, then it is fruitful when it grows lots of leaves, maybe to be used as fodder. But let’s look at the tree that bears much fruit, the fruit contains the seeds which are carriers and preservers of the specie, and guarantors of the next generation. So how does a leader become fruitful? In this sense, a leader who discovers, develops, and deploys other leaders is fruitful. One of the overarching purposes and challenges of leadership is mentorship…the next generation of leaders beckons, and they must be nurtured and groomed to carry on with the vision and purpose. The vision must not be allowed to die, else your fruit as a leader will not abide. The proof of your success as a leader is the success of your successors; just as the fruit of your failure speaks loud long after you have left, through your successors.
Everything created has a purpose, every commandment of God has a purpose; every divine instruction or mandate has a purpose. When God said “Be Fruitful” he had a purpose in mind…to subdue the earth and to have dominion over everything created and all of their purposes. To subdue the earth, we have to exercise dominion in every area of life – finances, health, science and technology, information technology, Artificial Intelligence, Engineering, Philosophy, linguistics etc. Again, a fruitful engineer is an extension of the creative hand of God in the area of engineering where he has expertise…he continues to push the frontiers; and so is a fruitful philosopher.
Every tree produces after its kind. If we are heavenly citizens but sojourners on earth, then our first challenge is to maintain the culture of heaven here on earth. We will be fruitful when we do on earth what is expected of us in heaven. If the purpose is for us to represent God any where we are for example, then we will be fruitful when we represent him as he is. When we do what He would do if He was here. When you are sent to represent your governor in another country you don’t just do what you want when you want and how you want. You are constantly in touch with home office, getting instructions, briefings, directives, and asking questions on things that you are not very sure about. From time to time you will run into an issue that poses a challenge, you don’t just handle it as you wish…you go back to the home office in prayer and get clarifications. And the home office is taking note of your performance on that job, so you be mindful of that. When my former employer sent me to run stores that were almost dying, they reviewed my performance every six months, and I knew I was on the camera.
What happens when you leave the instructions and directives of home office to pursue your own agenda? When you clock in at your job and want to carry on with your own business as if you were not on the clock, what happens to you? Someone is going to call you out, and if need be, write you up. You cannot carry on your own business while on my clock, that is fraud. I know you don’t want to be told what to do, and you live in your own world but not when you are on my clock. If I pay you on the clock, I want results, productivity, and fruitfulness while you are on my clock. You are not paid for showing up, you are paid for productivity. And showing up does not equate productivity. It doesn’t matter if you are paid $1/hr or $100/hr, you have to produce. Jesus cursed the fruitless fig. The farmer wanted to uproot the fruitless fig and replace it with something else. We fire fruitless employees and replace them with people who add value to time. The hand that holds the hoe has to guarantee that work is being done else we don’t want you in the farm.
To be fruitful and productive, creativity is required in addition to industry. When you plant a seed, and it germinates into a seedling, you see the stem shoot upwards and the roots downwards. Depending on whether it has a fibrous root system or tap root system, the roots either grow wide and wander far in search of nutrients or they grow deep into the soil in the case of tap roots in search of nutrients. Unless the root is able to absorb the nutrients needed, the branches are not able to bear the fruit that is desired. So the nature of the soil, and the elements present in the soil as well as on the surface determine fruitfulness. For example, when a tree has adequate supply of nutrients, it shows on the leaves and the fruits, maybe the bark; the same is applicable when it is deficient in some nutrients that are needed, which may then be supplied through manure or by applying fertilizers like NPK. These nutrients help in the process of producing chlorophyll, a nutrient needed for the process of photosynthesis. Not only does a fruitful tree bear fruits which could be edible, it also supports life and green energy through photosynthesis when it releases oxygen for man and animals and takes up carbon dioxide which we exhale. Some trees are just planted, not for their fruit but for green energy, and achieving that also, is fruitfulness.
What happens when a tree refuses to bear fruit regardless of what the farmer does? It is cut off. In the Dominion mandate, it is not a suggestion for us to be fruitful, it is a command. There are serious consequences if we fall short. We could lose our place in the ecosystem and become preys to the members who were supposed to be subject to us. In the military, when your subordinates become promoted to be your superiors, isn’t it time to leave the stage? Isn’t it more honorable to retire and leave than to report to someone who should be reporting to you? So, when we fail in the mandate, we reduce ourselves and we become victims of our own failure. The mandate is well thought out – Be fruitful, multiply, subdue and have dominion.
In a corporate sense, it means you excel on your job and your duty (be fruitful), you expand your skill and increase your output exponentially if possible (multiply), you grow to take over having outwitted all oppositions and the competition (subdue), and take charge and oversee the operations (have dominion). At the dominion stage, you enforce and insist that everybody does his job right, works according to the company’s policy and that the business stays solvent so you can deliver on the financials. Do you see how you could apply the dominion mandate in the marketplace? Today, as in the days of Genesis 1:28, I suggest that it is time for us to be fruitful, and ultimately have dominion in our space. May God give us understanding
Mezie Okolo @TheRitePlace