Allison Chapters 8 & 9

Chapter eight does offer wisdom, although I do not agree that this is a new way of being smart. There is nothing knew under the sun, according to Salomon. Then I have to question the way Steve refers to how Jesus invested in people who were investors themselves. I believe the way Jesus disciples people, is what made many of them move from consumers to investors. I believe as leaders we have a responsibility to recognize the consumer mentality and help them move from that into Investors! Steve also says that Jesus did not heal everyone that he came into contact with merely because they were not investors! When scripture actually says "Jesus walked among the people preaching the kingdom of Heaven and healing every sickness and every disease among the people! (Mathew 9:25)" When he healed the man who was laying at the fountain that man had a consumer mentality and what Jesus said to him directed him to rely on God and not man and to get out of the i.e. consumer mentality! Jesus actually rebuked the religious leaders who we as humans would have viewed as investors in this context and he made unbelievers who were the consumers the disciples. So having said all that! There is definitely a lot of human speculation written as fact in this chapter where I do not see biblical support! But there is definitely some things that are biblical, I do agree that one has to be wise and prayerful about who we invest our time into, not letting ourselves pour and pour into lives just so that they can drain us emotionally. A person needs to recognize when we set the environment for spiritual co dependence in our actions to invest in others. Sometimes the responsibility goes back to the leader and sometimes we do have to walk away from people, which this chapter definitely covers very well. Over all this book offers allot of wisdom but it has to be balanced with reliance and direction from the Holy Spirit! I know that Steve says that Jesus spent allot of time in prayer over which disciples he choose! Though that sounds reasonable enough because we know that Jesus spent allot of time in prayer. But I do not see this, for the times that Jesus choose the disciple were times when he would merely be walking by them and call them to follow him. I believe that showed total reliance on the Holy Spirit that came from times of prayer but that verses what Steve says about Jesus spending hours in prayer over a person being an investor or not. The more I have read this book the more I realized that though there is wisdom mixed in, in the long run it is teaching us how to rely on fleshly wisdom with reference to scripture that in some instances is misinterpreted or misplaced. "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with Power, who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed with the devil (Acts 10:38). "