“A vital lesson from a parable”

Sunday, July 30, 2017

Jesus spoke many parables when He walked with mankind. Let’s revisit the parable of the wise and foolish virgins (Matt. 25:1-13). Our Lord spoke about how there were ten virgin planning to go meet the bridegroom to go to a wedding. We are told that five of them took extra oil for their lamps, while the other five did not.

As the parable unfolds, we find that the virgins who did not bring extra oil asked the other five virgins if they would share what they had. Their answer was “no” (verse 9). Those who brought extra said that if they shared what they had, they too might run out of oil. The virgins who brought enough oil were praised for being wise both for bringing extra and for saying “no” to ensure they would be able to meet the bridegroom.

Wisdom dictates preparedness. There is nothing wrong with helping others – Christians are clearly admonished to do this (Gal. 6:10). However, something is wrong when the unwise of this world expect the wise to cover their mistakes. If a person chooses not to work, should those who do work provide for them? The answer is no (II Thess. 3:10).

There will always be people who, lacking wisdom, criticize those who do have wisdom for not acting the way they want them to. It should not surprise us that the unwise expect the wise to act foolishly! This happened to Jesus on many occasions. Recall when people came looking for Him because they expected Him to fill their bellies with free food (John 6:26-27). Consider the spiteful thief on the cross. He did not care for Jesus, did not believe who Jesus was and still told Jesus to save him (Luke 23:39). The list goes on and on.

There is no question that when you walk with wisdom, some will think you heartless, uncaring and selfish. The wise virgins were none of those things, but you could see how others might perceive them to be. May we learn this valuable lesson and not be found unprepared because we were encouraged to be unwise.

Chuck 

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