Friday, December 30, 2011

The Parable Of The Talents

The Parable Of The Talents
From Matthew 25:14-30

14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them.
15 To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey.
16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more.
17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more.
18 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.
20 The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’
21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
22 “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’
23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
24 “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed.


25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’


26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed?
27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

28 “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags.
29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.
30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’


Gary Johnson for U.S. President !  The only candidate who can possibly give you your gold back !!!  (Unless Ron Paul decides to run as a Libertarian.  Then we'll have a real horse race.) 

2 comments:

CenTexTim said...

I'm getting pretty damn tired of you posting graphics that I was saving for later - cut it out, willya...

Hot Sam said...

Interesting parable. Of course, I have to analyze it.

So the gold was divied out "according to their abilities" so the Master knew what to expect from each. He was a fool to entrust the third servant with any bags of gold. But let's assume he was giving the poor guy a chance.

Given that the third servant knew he had no ability, protecting his portfolio from loss was probably the best strategy. The bag of gold only lost a little value from inflation, but it was free from risk.

The first two servants both got a 100% rate of return. But how risky were their investments? The second servant had less ability than the first, but he performed equally well. That means the first servant didn't perform up to his ability! The Master should have whipped the first servant for being a lazy underachiever!

Could the first two be expected to repeat their results? The Master is willing to give them more gold after one period without inquiry?

The parable said he "entrusted" his servants with his wealth, but he did not provide them with his investment objectives or his appetite for risk. He lavished praise for one-off results without regard to risk. Maybe the first two servants bought junk bonds or invested early in a Ponzi scheme. Maybe they put all their bags on black on a roulette table. Who knows? Did the Master ask how they doubled their money? Maybe they stole the gold.

I say the Master is a fool who failed in his due diligence. He whipped the wrong guy and trusted the wrong person.

53% of American voters put their trust in the hands of a wicked, lazy community organizer with no military, economic, foreign policy, or leadership experience. They thought he was high ability because he had a Harvard degree and was articulate. They ignored every sign that he was wicked and lazy. They didn't measure his success by what they hoped to achieve or the risk they were willing to accept. When the servant said he "created or saved" so many bags of gold, they believed him.

The masters were the fools.