ROI for the Soul: Matthew 21:33–43 Gospel Reflection through the Lens of Alcoholism
"Hear another parable. There was a man who was a master of a household who planted a vineyard, set a hedge about it, dug a wine press in it, built a tower, leased it out to farmers, and went into another country. When the season for the fruit came near, he sent his servants to the farmers to receive his fruit. The farmers took his servants, beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants more than the first; and they treated them the same way. But afterward he sent to them his son, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But the farmers, when they saw the son, said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and seize his inheritance.’ So they took him, and threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. When therefore the lord of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those farmers?"
They told him, “He will miserably destroy those miserable men, and will lease out the vineyard to other farmers who will give him the fruit in its season.”
Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures, ‘The stone which the builders rejected was made the head of the corner. This was from the Lord. It is marvelous in our eyes’? Therefore I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and will be given to a nation producing its fruit."
This parable is a spiritual case study in accountability. God expects a return on His investment. When the tenants reject His messengers, He reallocates the kingdom to a new community—one that will produce fruit.
As someone who’s spent a career in business commercialization, this hits home. Because return on investment isn’t just financial. It’s spiritual.
ROI and the Allocation of Grace
Capital finds homes that produce fruit. So does grace.
God doesn’t invest in entitlement. He invests in outcomes.
When His messengers are rejected, there are consequences. This is spiritual music to my eyes. It warns against hypocrisy, virtue signaling, and benign CEOs claiming credit for outcomes they didn’t deliver. It calls out leaders who vanish when performance tanks—pointing fingers instead of taking responsibility.
Applying Business Principles to Recovery
The second guiding star is to apply tried and tested principles from the world of business to the world of recovery. To make this easy, I’ve developed the B2R SOS Framework—the Business to Recovery Strategic and Operational System Framework.
The B2R SOS Framework provides strategic and tactical traction to analyse and navigate both your internal forces and the external forces of the orbit you live in.
- Internally, it focuses on the three engines that power you—your physical, emotional, and spiritual engines.
- Externally, it considers the People, Economic, Sociodemographic, Technology, and Environment (man-made) forces that push and pull you in your real-world orbit.
It’s built on nine principles, all adapted from proven business environments—startups, fast-growing companies, and turnaround situations. These principles apply seamlessly to recovery. I’m amazed no one’s done this before. It’s a natural fit—and I’m probably one of the best people in the world to demonstrate how it works.
Why? Because I’ve spent 35 years walking with one foot in the chaotic track of alcoholism and the other in the equally chaotic track of business startups, growth companies, and turnaround operations.
If you follow this second star—by applying business principles to recovery—you won’t just recover. You’ll learn a lot of what they don’t teach you at Harvard Business School. Knowledge that could drive real change not just in the world of recovery, but in the world of business and the world of real-life.
The Nine Core Principles of the B2R SOS Framework:
- The Mission – Anchors purpose and direction
- Internal vs External Situational Analysis – Defines the battlefield of self vs orbit
- Root Cause Analysis – Differentiating between symptoms and source
- Internal Situational Analysis – Strengths and weaknesses across your physical, emotional, and spiritual engines
- External Situational Analysis – Opportunities and threats from your external orbit
- PESTE – A prompt and brainstorming tool across five external vectors: People, Economic, Sociodemographic, Technology, and Environment
- SWOT Matrix – A mud map of who you are and the orbit you fly in
- IO–LM Implementation Logic – Improve Strengths, Overcome Weaknesses, Leverage Opportunities, and Mitigate Threats
- Protocol Toolbox:
- Telemetry Systems – Monitor key SWOT factors in real time
- Risk-Based Thinking – Make decisions based on consequence and likelihood
- Continuous Improvement – Trial improvements, keep them KISS, embrace failure, 365 small wins add up
When you start applying the B2R SOS Framework, it adds day-to-day operational horsepower to your core spiritual recovery. It’s where movement becomes strategic, mission-aligned, and contextual. It’s where velocity is gained through tested business tactics, tools, and protocols.
This article is a chapter from Jason Bresnehan's book A Catholic Gospel Journey Through the Lens of Alcohol Recovery — Jason Bresnehan.
What does Jason Bresnehan do?
Jason Bresnehan is a Business Consultant and conducts due diligence, systems development and commercialisation consulting through Evahan Group.
Jason Bresnehan is a Recovery Consultant
Jason Bresnehan is a Songwriter and you can find his music on his independent label Seventh Ribbon Music, YouTube Channel, Apple Music and Spotify by Searching for "Jason Bresnehan" and or "Seventh Ribbon Music".
Jason Bresnehan is an Author and you can purchase his books on Amazon
A Catholic Gospel Journey Through the Lens of Alcohol Recovery — Jason Bresnehan.
The AI Orchestration Engineer — Jason Bresnehan
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