As written on the “Topics / Jesus” page
“I respect Jesus very much.
Jesus possessed a deep understanding of life as shown in his teachings.”
However, the following lesson from Jesus sticks in my craw:
“Once there was a man who was about to leave home on a trip; he called his servants and put them in charge of his property . . . . To one he gave five thousand gold coins, to another he gave two thousand, and to another he gave one thousand. Then he left on his trip.
“The servant who had received five thousand coins went at once and invested his money and earned another five thousand. In the same way the servant who had received two thousand coins earned another two thousand. But the servant who had received one thousand coins went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money.
“After a long time the master . . . came back and settled accounts with them. The servant who had received five thousand coins came in and handed over the other five thousand.
‘You gave me five thousand coins, sir’, he said.
‘Look! Here are another five thousand that I have earned.’
‘Well done, you good and faithful servant!’ said his master.
“Then the servant who had been given two thousand coins came in and said,
‘You gave me two thousand coins, sir. Look! Here are another two thousand that I have earned.’
‘Well done, you good and faithful servant!’ said his master.
“Then the servant who had received one thousand coins came in and said,
‘Sir, I know you are a hard man . . . . I was afraid, so I went off and hid your money in the ground. Look! Here is what belongs to you.’
‘You bad and lazy servant!’ his master said . . . . ‘You should have deposited my money in the bank, and I would have received it all back with interest when I returned.’ “
(Matthew 25:14-27 Good News Translation)
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Do I dare rewrite Jesus’ teaching to reflect more prudent financial management? Well . . . yes.
“God and fate gave four people varying amounts of personal wealth:
Person 1 $500,000
Person 2 $400,000
Person 3 $20,000
Person 4 $1000
“Person 1 immediately invested the money in shares of a biotechnology company.
“Person 2 contacted a realtor and purchased a family house.
“Person 3 helped homeless people and Gypsy children on the street who asked her for money.
“Person 4 dug a hole in the ground and hid his money.
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“Time passed, and God eventually audited the accounts of these people.
Person 1 said, ‘My stockbroker told me that the biotech company would probably double its share price. Unfortunately, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration repeatedly delayed approval of the company’s most promising product. Its stock fell 80%, and I only have $100,000 left.’
‘Probably? Probably?#@!’, screamed God, ‘You tried to get rich quickly without any work. That’s wrong.’
Person 2 said, ‘Everyone else has a house, so my wife and I wanted a house, too. The price of houses always goes up–they’ve been a reliable investment for the last 100 years.’
God began to boil. “You baboon–a house should be a home, not an investment!”
Person 3 explained, ‘I gave my money to homeless people and Gypsy children on the street’.
‘Your intentions were good,” assured God, “but your implementation was naive. The homeless people usually spent your money on alcohol or drugs, and the Gypsy children will never break their cycle of poverty by begging. In the future . . .
** Ask the homeless person why he or she needs the money. If, for example, she says, “To buy food”, then go with her to the store and purchase what she wants;
** Give your time to the Gypsy children instead of your money. Find an organization that tutors Gypsy children and volunteer there. You will help the children for the rest of their lives, and through this activity, you will experience the best feeling of your life.’ “
Finally, Person 4 stated, ‘I was extremely careful. I buried my money, and here it is–nothing gained and nothing lost.’
‘Your intentions were also good,” assured God, “but your implementation was similarly naive. If you had deposited your money in the bank, it would have earned interest.’ “
