Jesus told a story
about a man who went on a journey.
The man was a capitalist,
probably living off his inherited wealth
while his lackeys did the work.
Nothing new in that.
The man went off for an indefinite period,
having entrusted three servants
with his fortune, in measures
according to the ability of each;
with the simple instruction, (implied);
make as much as you can.
Two out of the three do so
and become the heroes of the story,
drawing enthusiastic plaudits from their master,
who, by doing nothing, has become even richer.
For fear, the third played safe,
and when called to account, produced nothing
but the original lump of money.
He is thus declared a loser,
a failure, a ne’er-do-well.
In truth he was a true product
of a fearfully greedy economic system;
which was not the point
that Jesus was making,
but which still needs to be considered.
© 2011 Ken Rookes
