Formation (Sun Tzu 4:6) (Matthew 5:25-6; Luke 16:1-9)

The easy way to win a fight
Is well before folks scratch and bite;
Before they form up in their ranks
To take us on, not give us thanks –

Sun Tzu said find a way to do
That task – as leader that means you –
Avoid a fight, do all you can
To keep the peace within your land.

For you, as for the other team,
There’s strength when formlessness is seen;
So learn to look with care beneath
Such formlessness – see where they’re weak.

Once they’re formed up with rank-and-file
You may be doomed, so pause a while,
And pay attention – subtlety
Is where to look most carefully.

For in the hidden ways of man,
A subtle way quite often can
Be seen – which they quite often miss;
Base your attack of them on this.

For often people don’t intend
To do you harm, to you extend
A problem – take your chips away,
But in the end, they’ll make you pay –

What they think is now owing them;
Then they attack, so comprehend
Within their formlessness the weak
Link in their team – with clearness seek –

Where you can strike before they fight,
And stop it cold, set things aright;
For if they can provoke your ire,
You may just lose what they require.

Sometimes a bully must be stopped;
The greedy’s grasping hand be blocked;
And that’s done best before it starts –
Watch close and see what sight imparts.

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