Being a Wise Virgin
I tried to talk some common sense to the Statesman forum today but received the usual negative response. Here are some of the things I wrote.
A poster makes a good point that we cannot help everyone. It would be nice if we could but such is not the reality at present. The parable of the ten virgins teaches this principle. As the signal came to meet the bridegroom it became apparent that only five of the ten had enough oil in their lamps for the journey. The five who lacked asked them to share. But the five with the oil said that if they shared then all would run out part way through the journey and none would benefit.
This applies to us. We need to share what is wise, but if we borrow and spend too much we will run out of oil [money] and we will not be able to help ourselves let alone others.
Here’s a thought. If everyone did their best to help their family and loved ones there would be little need for social programs.
A poster insisted I was wrong and that I didn’t want to help the poor. To this I said:
Another totally false accusation. If a person borrows on his credit cards, goes bankrupt and then loses his power to help others he then becomes one of the needy asking for help himself and no one benefits.
Helping people with other people’s money, and borrowed money at that, is not real help and, like the parable of the virgins, none will reach their end goal.
I’m a big believer in helping people, but I believe in helping people with resources I have, not with resources I have to borrow and occupy.
We are losing our power as a nation to help people because of irresponsible financial decisions. If we get ourselves back on a good foundation then we will be able to help more than ever, and it would be from our abundance rather than borrowed money that belongs to our kids.
You accuse me of being greedy and you are not, and your claim for being generous? You want to give away other people’s money. And who’s money is that?
[1] Borrowed money
[2] Our children’s and grandchildren’s money.
Some generous guy you are.
Another poster asks: “Who are you to be the one who chooses which “virgin gets the oil?”
JJ: You need to argue with what I say, not with what I do not say.
The virgins with oil in their lamps had the full vessel of oil not because someone chose that situation for them but because they worked hard to obtain the oil. The five wise virgins chose for themselves. No one chose for them.
The five foolish virgins that didn’t see the need to gather the oil at that time suffered because of their shortsightedness.
The point of my post had nothing to do with some bureaucrat, or some other person, deciding who gets oil and who does not. The choice is already made. If you have earned money you have done so because of choices you made. Let me illustrate the point I was making in a parable so maybe you can understand.
Caroline has two kids, Jim and Jeff. Let us say that Jim wants to see Lady Gaga when she comes to town and the ticket costs $200. He works hard and saves up $300 figuring he might need a little extra. Jeff also wants to see her but he has no money and asks Jim for $200. Jim says, “I’d love to see you go, but if I give you $200 then I will not have enough and will not be able to see her.”
Jim has a perfect right to deny Jeff the loan or gift, you would think.
The mother, Caroline, thought she would even things out and forced Jim to give Jeff $150 or half of his money. Jim was upset and protested, “Now neither of us can go.”
Caroline replied, “Maybe your dad or one of or friends will supply the extra $50. Now get out of my hair.”
They each tried to raise the extra $50 but there was not enough time and neither of them got tickets and Jim was out $150.
The point is that there is a limit as to how much a person, group or nation can help other people. It may have been practical for Jim to loan Jeff $50 but too much sharing destroyed his goal.
Our nation should stick within its budget. Generosity crosses the line when you have to borrow and endanger the lives of future generations to do so.
The poster thought this statement was ignorant:
“If everyone did their best to help their family and loved ones, there would be little need for social programs.”
I don’t think so. It is indeed a true statement, but I realize there are many who do not want to help anyone with their own resources and want Big Brother to do it all instead.
A poster insinuated I did not understand the difficulty people have who may have to choose between food and insurance. I responded:
I was in that situation for over 20 years but I did not expect a handout from Big Brother. It was a no brainer in choosing between health care and food. We always chose food and chose good food so we stayed healthy and needed minimal health care for my family. When we went to the doctor, we just paid cash. Our medical costs were less than the insurance premiums would have been.
Did I see myself as a poor victim as many do today? Not at all. Today we have a victim mindset that is turning us into a nation of wimps.
So many people spend their health gaining wealth, and then have to spend their wealth to regain their health. – A. J. Reb Materi
Nov 25, 2013
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