This synonym is often used in business. For instance, an enterprising person takes on a new opportunity after a thorough evaluation. A business plan is drawn up, finance obtained and new prospective customers have been visited. Everything starts off on a good note. The first six months are positive and profitable. Then, for a number of reasons, including the loss of clientele, the business turns sour: customers have turned to competing businesses. The businessman knows he is going down a dead end road and he is advised to cut his losses and close the business.
Jesus told the story of the man who had one hundred sheep and loses one of them (Luke 15:1-4). Good asset management would be to take a careful count of the rest and provide better protection for them. You don’t leave them to go off hunting for the lost one; it’s a poor allocation of resources.
Jesus is not in the numbers game. Every single life is precious to Him, worthy of crazy searching that is not about management but about passion. As usual, Jesus turns conventional wisdom on its head. God’s priorities are a radical reorientation of what we might expect. God prioritises you! Imagine!
Rev. Gordon