The Wise and the Foolish
Thomas Allen
In Matthew 25:1-13, Jesus gives a parable of ten virgins. Five virgins were wise, and five were foolish. (See the appendix for the text of this parable.)
The five wise virgins were prudent and future-oriented. If the bridegroom tarried, they had hoarded a reserve of oil to keep their lamps burning. As the story goes, they had to use their saved oil because the bridegroom arrived late.
The five foolish virgins were imprudent and present-oriented. Consequently, they had failed to save any oil for their lamps and, therefore, could not keep their lamps lit. As a result, they missed the bridegroom. (If a compassionate government following liberation theology existed then, it would have forced the wise virgins to give part, if not all, their oil to the foolish virgins.)
Clergymen understand this parable spiritually. Jesus is the bridegroom, whose arrival is unknown. The “oil” represents spiritual readiness and faithfulness. Like the wise virgins, Christians should always be prepared for the coming of Christ, whenever that is. Thus, they should be diligent in their faith, continuously seek to grow closer to God, and strive to live according to His will.
Nevertheless, this parable also has a practical, earthly explanation. Once, farmers would hoard part of their harvest to feed themselves until the next harvest. Foolish farmers failed to hoard enough and went hungry; thus, they depended on the charity of their neighbors to feed them. (According to an old saying, Southern farmers sold what they could not eat, and Northern farmers ate what they could not sell.) Likewise, wise people stockpile food and other supplies to carry themselves through natural and manmade disasters and lean times. Foolish people do not; they rush to stores just before the disaster strikes, only to find empty shelves. Sometimes, they have no warning and have to do without.
In the twenty-first century, this parable has been turned on its head. Now, the prudent are the foolish, and the imprudent are the wise. When a natural or manmade disaster strikes, the imprudent will steal the savings (food, water, money, or whatever) from the prudent, either directly or, more likely, through the government.
For example, according to a highly reliable source, following Hurricane Helene, the government stole food in the disaster area that the prudent had saved and gave it to the imprudent. (Some prudent people had their supplies washed away, but many who received the stolen goods were imprudent people. In any event, the government did not steal from the imprudent because they had nothing to steal.)
Thus, the prudent were foolish to sacrifice some of their resources to establish supplies of food and other necessities. Instead of using their resources to establish emergency supplies, the imprudent used them for present merriment, knowing that if disaster struck, the government would take care of them. Consequently, the imprudent acted wisely, albeit dishonestly.
When the prudent are penalized for saving, and the imprudent are rewarded for not saving, people eventually stop hoarding for future emergencies and disasters. When most people become present-oriented and do not hoard, their lack of savings causes enormous stress on charities, which, because of imprudence, receive significantly less support, and on governments.
(This reminds me of the story of the little red hen. Wanting to bake a cake, the hen asked the other farm animals to assist her. All refused. However, after she had baked the cake, all came to her and demanded their share. Never again did the hen bake a cake, and the other animals wondered why.)
Appendix
The following is Matthew 25: 1–13 from the World English Bible.
25 “Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 Those who were foolish, when they took their lamps, took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 Now while the bridegroom delayed, they all slumbered and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Behold! The bridegroom is coming! Come out to meet him!’ 7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘What if there isn’t enough for us and you? You go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ 10 While they went away to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast, and the door was shut. 11 Afterward the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us.’ 12 But he answered, ‘Most certainly I tell you, I don’t know you.’ 13 Watch therefore, for you don’t know the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
Copyright © 2026 by Thomas Coley Allen.
