The Abundance Principle

What Matthew 13:12 Really Teaches Us About Growth

“For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” — Matthew 13:12 (ESV)

Recently I was pulled into what I found out later was a debate about that scripture, and many of the debaters were opposers, and they needed a proposer to support the Bible verse and how it aligns with the marketplace. I knew I needed my faith and critical thinking abilities switched on to offer a solid for the proposers.

I started off with an overview that went like this:

“Our generation is loudly preoccupied with three concepts: equality, equity, and fairness. They dominate activism, policy, HR frameworks, and even church conversations. These sound noble. They sound compassionate. They sound progressive. But what Jesus says in Matthew 13:12 should shift our understanding of those words and our operations surrounding them.”

I knew I had got their attention and then continued.

“Jesus is not endorsing equality. He is not advocating for equity, not defending fairness as we define it. He is revealing something far deeper: the nature of God’s abundance and the law of stewardship that governs it. This verse is not about scarcity. It is about how abundance flows in God’s kingdom. And abundance does not flow through equality, equity, or fairness. It flows through responsiveness, hunger, and faithful stewardship.”

I went on to explain what abundance means as per God.

Abundance according to God’s design

“You need to understand that God operates in abundance and not sameness. This is displayed all over the Bible. God reveals Himself as the God who multiplies, increases, expands, overflows, adds, enlarges, and enriches.”

“Creation itself is a testimony of abundance. God didn’t create one tree; He created forests. He didn’t create one star; created galaxies. Didn’t create one fish; He filled the seas. He didn’t create one human; He created nations. Abundance is God’s nature. Multiplication is His pattern. Increase is His language.”

I saw a number of head nodes in agreement, but the eyes were still asking how we can operate in this abundance.

So I went on and said, “So when Jesus says, ‘To the one who has, more will be given,’ He is not being harsh. He is revealing how abundance works in God’s Kingdom. Abundance flows toward stewardship and responds to hunger. Abundance multiplies where there is faithfulness. This is why equality, equity, and fairness fall short; they are human attempts to manage outcomes. But abundance is a divine system, not a human one.”

When I said that, I found myself wondering if it was me saying what I was saying because I had had an unfairness discussion with someone a few days before, and I was complaining.

Equality is not of God

You see, we have this myth we believe that God wants everyone to have the same, equality, yet we can’t be the same. Equality was not created by God. He created different gifts, different capacities, different assignments, different levels of revelation, different seasons, and different responsibilities.

Even in the parable of the talents, Jesus says the master gave “each according to his ability.” Equality is a human idea. Abundance is a kingdom reality that does not require sameness—it requires stewardship.

One of the opposers said, “But if equality is not there in God’s kingdom, what about equity that says if someone has less, there should be redistribution until everyone ends up on the same level?”

I responded with what Jesus said: “If someone refuses to use what they have, even the little they have will be taken away.” Because in the abundance kingdom of God, everyone has enough; it is a matter of how one stewards it. What actions, obedience, diligence, hunger, and applicability does one want to grow in? It is a matter of desire, not redistribution.

Equity fails abundance

Equity tries to fix outcomes. Abundance multiplies faithfulness. Equity tries to level the field. Abundance elevates the steward.

One of the people on my small team of proposers said, “I know they are thinking it’s not fair. That emotional argument that makes everyone think they deserve the same treatment is evil and not godly.”

Yes, the Lord is not fair according to human views and ideas because He does not operate on the same level as us; He is just. Where fairness says, “It’s not fair for someone to have more.” He says, “Abundance is the fruit of stewardship.”

God’s just rewards good stewards. Those who are obedient, responsive, faithful, and hungry. Not comparison or entitlement, and not passivity.

In the scripture that sparked off this debate, Jesus is saying the following:

• Those who hunger for more will receive more.
• Those who steward well will be entrusted with deeper treasures.
• Those who lean in will overflow.
• Those who ignore things will lose even the little they have.

Abundance as the ultimate goal

This is not economics or politics. It is not social theory. It is how abundance works. Abundance flows toward hunger and multiplies stewardship. Abundance increases.

Also, it should be known that abundance is not random or a miracle; it is a response to stewardship. It activates it. The examples below from the Bible prove it so.

• The widow pours oil → the oil multiplies.
• The boy gives his lunch → the bread multiplies.
• The servants invest their talents → the talents multiply.
• The disciples obey Jesus → the fish multiply.

And Matthew 13:12 reveals the activation key: Use what you have. Honor what you have. Steward what you have. Multiply what you have. Then more will be given.

Our biggest problem in society right now as faith-based entrepreneurs and leaders is that we are living in a culture that expects:

• equal outcomes without equal effort
• equal influence without equal discipline
• equal opportunities without equal preparation
• equal rewards without equal stewardship

But the Kingdom does not operate on emotional expectations. It operates on principles. And the principle is clear: Abundance flows toward stewardship. Scarcity flows toward neglect. This is why some people keep rising. Not because life is “fair,” but because they are faithful. And this is why some people keep losing ground. Not because life is “unfair,” but because they refuse to steward what they already have.

Conclusion

Matthew 13:12 is not a threat. It is an invitation to grow, stretch, learn, apply, multiply, deepen, and mature. God is not the God of equality. He is the God of abundance. Equality gives you sameness. Equity gives you adjustments. Fairness gives you emotion. But stewardship gives you increase, which gives you abundance.

By the time I finished explaining my proposer’s remarks, I had some opposers on my side and others still desiring to debate more. I am not for prolonged debates that end up being arguments, so they left them to their views and moved on to my other things.

I hope you are not like them and you will understand this so well and go implement it. Abundance is the goal, not equality, equity, and fairness.