There's this parable in the Book of Matthew where Jesus is talking about this master who is leaving to go on a journey. The journey will take a long time to complete and he leaves his servants each with a specific portion of his money according to their ability .
As the story goes he returns one day out of the blue and asks the servants what they've done with the money he gave them. The first guy took the money, invested it, and doubled it while his master was away. The second, interestingly enough, did the exact same thing and ended up double his money as well. But the third guy had a different perspective on how to handle his master's money. He knew that someday his master would return and want to know what had become of his money. So, afraid that he might squander it away or lose it all in an attempt to make a profit the servant took the money and buried it. He gave back exactly what he had been handed to him long ago by his master. The parable ends with the master scolding the one who chose to do nothing with the money that was given to him. He is then cast out of his master presence.
Ever hear of anything like that? Have you ever heard an employer whose goes around firing workers because they decided not to invest into the companys 401k plan? No, that would be absolutely ludicrous. But maybe you know someone who has looked at every decision in their life and decided that they are not willing to invest in anything that comes with risk.
What is Jesus trying to teach us in this parable? Should we invest with complete disregard of the consequences that may await us? Is calculating risk a bad thing? Is there something more important than the outcome of the investment? Can we lose our joy by only focusing on the potential consequences of our decisions?
Or even better, would the master have been as upset with the man had chosen to invest the money, but lost it all?
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