The Parable of the Ten Investments

Read Luke 19:11-27…

Ok, you are done? Now we can proceed.

The Parable of the Ten Investments
JC, a man of dignified lineage went out and traveled far and wide. He learned a great deal, and soon became personable and well liked. His understanding of business was unmatched and his reputation went before him. He grew in standing and his business flourished. He became known as a tough boss, however, there were always opportunities for advancement within his businesses.

One fall JC decided to venture into a new market, he purchased an investment bank. To everyone’s delight, JC did not fire a single soul. He in no way spoke of downsizing only growth, growth of his “Kingdom”. It was an odd name for his mega-corporation, but it inspired hard work, loyalty, and a sense of honour in his employees.

JC took a special interest in this new venture. He decided that because of the economic woes of the time he would invest new capital to the bank. For the occasion, he made the trip from his home in Aspen to New York to be present for the announcement.

JC was a man of immeasurable means, yet everyone was still shocked by what transpired next. During the public announcement about the “new era” for “Kingdom” - an era that would be shaped by investment banking and full participation in the global market – JC stunned everyone when he brought forward the ten-member board of the bank he had recently purchased. As JC shook their hands - while the camera’s snapped photos that would grace the covers of newspapers, tabloids, and blogs within hours - he announced that each of these ten individuals would be entrusted with a One Billion dollar stock portfolio to be managed. For a moment no one moved, not a single photo was taken; no one in living memory had treated former competition in such a way.

With the instruction to put the money to work, the announcement ceremony ended, and everyone slowly dispersed and JC returned to Aspen. The enormity of the event continued to buzz in the media for the next few days, but was eventually drowned out by more pressing news events. The act of favour, however, was not soon forgotten. Yet, the ten-member board loathed JC in their hearts. They felt doubly patronized. Not only had they lost control of their company, they felt condescended to by JC’s sensational generosity that made a mockery of their best attempts to salvage their company. Like resistant puppets, they reviled their puppeteer.

Upon a subsequent trip to New York, to watch a new Broadway show, JC dropped by his new investment bank. He gathered the ten board members to hear reports about each of their portfolios.

The first report was given. To JC’s great delight, the One Billion was now Ten Billion. This had been accomplished through high-risk speculation, which paid off because of careful oversight by the member of the board.

“Well done! You truly understand what it takes to succeed in this business”, exclaimed JC. “Since you have been trustworthy with the small task of direct investment, I am now placing you in change of the entire investment banking portion of “Kingdom”.

The second report was then presented. The One Billion was now Five Billion. Through diversification and investment into new sustainable fuels, the investments had grown at a fantastic rate.

JC was so impressed with the ingenuity and visionary tendencies of this board member he promoted him to CFO of the alternative recourse division of “Kingdom”.

The third board member approached JC, he told JC how the One Billion Dollars was a stable 1.02 Billion Dollars. He had liquidated the stocks and invested the money into a bank account that was slowly gaining interest.

The third board member said, “JC, I know you are a tough boss and I was in fear of what you might do, you take what is not yours and build wealth on those who cannot defend their work. Thus, knowing my fallibility I chose to take the safe route and maintain that which was entrusted to me through stable and guaranteed investment”.

JC replied, “You stupid and ignorant investor! You are correct in your perception of me, and thus will receive what is due to you! Are you so ignorant, and so uninformed, that you do not know that the inflation rate is 3.9%! You have devalued my money and made a mockery of “Kingdom”.

JC then turned to the other board members around him and said, “Take his investments and amalgamate them into the funds of the first board member who presented”.

Shocked and appalled, the nine board members spoke with one voice, “JC, the first of us already has Ten Billion in investments and now also controls the entire banking sector of “Kingdom”, while the third to present will be left with nothing!”

Not missing a beat, JC replied, “I tell you that to everyone who has and succeeds, more will be given. But to those who have little and do not grow their investments, even what they have will be taken away”.

With this statement JC completed his character and career assassination of the third board member. The third board member was reduced to live in squalor as a bank teller earning minimum wage for the rest of his days.

It was at this point Lucifer leaned over and whispered in Julius Caesar’s ear, “Well done, my good and faithful servant!”


Commentary

Writing a parable in this style and format was inspired by Peter Rollins. I finished reading his book The Orthodox Heretic earlier this week. It is a series of parables, which push one to think beyond the norm/typical understandings of faith and God. I have not read a book like this one before. It challenged me to grow and explore my faith in new and exciting ways, to an extent I had not been challenged to go to in the past few years. I highly recommend it, with the caveat that it is not for the faint of heart.

I chose to mimic the text of Luke 19:12-27 because it has been a text I loath and love. This specific text was the springboard for me into an exploration of Empire versus Kingdom in the narrative of Luke-Acts, an exploration that continues to pervade my mind. In the past, I have attempted to communicate my reading of the text to friends and professors, with moderate success. This parable is my attempt to articulate this understanding through the mode of story.

About the parable: The clinching line of the parable is of course the last line. By placing words attributed to Jesus into the mouth of Lucifer, one is forced to reconsider the actions of JC throughout the parable. Do we/should we condone the actions that have taken place up until this point? This challenge is doubly issued when I change the protagonist’s identity from Jesus Christ/God (which is not explicitly stated in the original parable but often assumed) to that of Julius Caesar. One must be confronted by the horrendous actions of the protagonist.

Also raised by this parable is the question of whether one views God as being on the side of the oppressor or the oppressed? One’s gut reaction is claim God is on the side of the oppressed, but is this true in how we commonly read the parable? I always thought not.

A final question, one that ultimately determines one’s understanding of the protagonist, is what does God’s economic theory look like? When one ponders this question one is forced into a corner, either to affirm a god whose economic dealings looks remarkably similar to that of the world we experience daily OR whether one truly believes in a god who abides by gift economics, therefore one who is incompatible with the protagonist in the parable.