Interesting how I found myself watching an episode of Dragons Den this week (the first time I've actually sat through an entire episode). In this show, the Dragons declined every pitch from would-be entrepreneurs because the projected profits weren't big enough to bother! It wasn't enough to show to 25% return on investment or to see large profits over a five-to-ten year span; nope, they were only interested in putting their money behind products that would gouge the suppliers on one end and the consumers on the other end to gain no less than 50% profits in less than a year. For me, there's something inside me that wants to boycott any products that have that kind of attitudes behind them in the board rooms.
And then I found this little quote on a discussion page - the working title for this guy's ideas was "the parable of the extortionist". Here's an excerpt that kinda got me going:
Contemporaries of Jesus believed all the wealth of
the world was limited and the distribution of riches was preordained. In
addition, the economic systems of the ancient world existed for many generations
and had grown rigid over time. While someone could quickly amass a fortune, the
general populace suspected that person of theft, bribery, or extortion. In a
culture wary of change, only the devious and immoral could rise up the economic
latter.
When Jesus began the parable, he created
additional suspicions. The rich man most likely lived abroad (i.e., he was a
foreigner). As he prepared for his journey home, he delegated his underlings to
invest his fortune. While the eight silver talents described in 25:15 had a
current value of $3 million (or 300 million for all we know), such wealth seemed uncountable to the impoverished
contemporaries of Jesus. [25:14-16]
The two of the man's employees doubled the money
they were given. How could they do this? Since the story assumed the rich man
and his employees were non-Jews, they could lend money at exorbitant rates (30%
to 50%) and enforce repayment with the threat of prison. If someone could not
repay, he was jailed until his family could repay the loan (this was actually a
ransom). The populace hated such lenders for their power and their wealth. They
drained the poor people, taking an unfair share of a harvest or grain production
as repayment. [25:24-25]
(Another explanation made the extortionist and his
men tax collectors who could demand any surcharge they wanted. 50% surcharges
were common. The tax collector had the power of imprisonment to enforce his
levies. The poor hated these collectors as much as lenders.)
What would a cautious, honorable employee do?
Bilking money from the poor was immoral. Without government controls or
insurance, no investment was truly safe. So the honorable man would bury his
master's money. Hidden away far from one's dwelling, no thief could find a man's
gold or silver. And, since inflation in the ancient economic order was
unimaginable, money maintained constant buying power from generation to
generation. Even Jewish rabbis insisted that anyone who buried his master's
money was not liable for it, since this was the most prudent course of action.
[25:18]
For me, this kinda got me rolling with ideas and further research into what this parable might actually be about. I was thrilled to find several theologians suggesting that it might have been the one servant who buried the treasure (and by so-doing acting in opposition to extortion and extravagant injustices) who was the hero in the parable! What a concept, really, that while the surface reading of the text seems to praise those who bilk the system for maximum profits and punish the one who resists such action.... it might be Jesus' own way of playing out the logic of the power-brokers to show how heartless the pursuit of profit can get if allowed to go unchecked. The further I ventured into this realm, the more I could see the role of Jesus personified in the one who did what was right with the wealth, and who was then thrown into the streets with all the other commoners for lack of wanting to take even more advantage of these lower economic classes.
Like I tried to say in my sermon - maybe the 'occupy' protesters are onto this kind of thinking without even knowing they've interpreted the parable in their message to the financial districts of the wealthy world. Maybe they know more than they let on.... that maximum profit will always come at the expense of ordinary people along the way.
Oh! and here's a late-breaking addition to my thinking on this - Jeremie just sent this link with someone eles's similar ( and admittedly better refined) thoughts on this text: (exerpt from Towering Trees and Talented Slaves article). This is challenging stuff from my North-American "home page" on this. challenging, but in a good way!
Thanks for sharing the journey with me!
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