Inkling 1:

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Know the difference between our assets/ resources, & our desired outcomes of any strategy/ action. Don't mix up these categories! Because this is another easy way to make your life, in the words of Peter "ineffective & unproductive".

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Well, thinking of resources that you have,

the kind of assets on track for this time

(this situation we find that we're nav-

igating now), that seem like they might rhyme.

That's one of wisdom's first steps, so he said

(my mentor & my teacher - Jesus Christ).

He said to count your assets well. This led

from stories in their history suffice

to say, of battl-ing 'gainst greater odds,

in their defining "moment", which had parts:

2 halfs; the exit, and the entry. God's

the asset that some leaders, in their hearts

were counting on, while others overwhelmed

by what they saw & felt of enemies,

were not so sure, their assets count dispelled

their certainty, and made them almost freeze.

And building up their (vineyard?) towers too,

might mean counting for hours (wood or bricks)

and doing sums of labour owed in leau

of cash, that folk had promised. These are tricks

he said should all be done, and properly.

In other stories he showed us the sense

and worth of what these hidden assets be -

in field, and pearl, and what their worth is hence.

And so desired outcomes can be named.

But first our asset count must be done well.

Else as those ancient stories show, we're shamed.

Al-ter-nat-ive-ly, we'll be signs 'gaist Hell.

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"Large crowds were travelling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 

If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters – yes, even their own life – such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

‘Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, “This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.” 

'Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 

In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples. 

‘Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure heap; it is thrown out. 

'Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.’  Luke 14:25‭-‬35 NIVUK

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