A re-telling

....In the end I decided to avoid handing out paper, so the translation didn't matter that much anyway.  In fact, I realized that there is a better way to do these miniature Bible studies in a choir rehearsal: to retell the parable in terms that convey the magnitude of the things concerned.

To someone aged 9 years, $1 million is a jaw-dropping, almost inconceivable, sum.  It's a lot of money.  They also know that $500,000 is a lot of money.  They know that $1,000 is a comparatively small amount.  So I did a currency conversion, and told them that the word used in the original to describe the amount of money is a talent -- just like the gift of music.  You can extrapolate where the session went from there.  All in all, it was ten minutes well-spent in the rehearsal.

More below the jump.

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There was once a very rich business man who planned to take a long journey.

During his preparations, he decided to put three of his trusted employees in charge of part of his company.  To allow them to exercise authority in his absence, he gave each of them a part of his own share in the business.  The employees would each receive the dividend on their shares, which they were to use in order to generate more cash returns.

To one he gave shares which returned $1 million.  To the second, he gave shares which returned $500,000.  To the third, he gave shares which returned $1,000.

The first took his dividend and invested it, returning $2 million.  Likewise, the second took his money and traded with it to realize $1 million.

The third took his shares and locked them away until he could return them.

Many years later, the rich man returned from his travels and called his employees to account.

The first showed how he had doubled his $1 million, and was promoted.  In the same way, the second employee showed his return and was given an honored place in the business.

The third came to the rich man, and said, "I know you are a hard man.  I have seen how you do business, and I know that you delight in destroying your competition in order to gain advantage in the market.  Because I know these shares belong to you, I have guarded them carefully so you may have what is rightfully yours."

The rich man was shocked: "How dare you repay my trust in you with such effrontery!  You wicked and lazy man: you know how I do business, and you presume that I would reward you for failing to increase my return?  You could have put the dividend money on term deposit so that I would have the interest.  Instead, you have given me what I already had.  How dare you!  Leave now.  You're fired.  Get out of my sight; and don't expect anyone to take you on when I've finished spreading the word.  Even sterilizing rubbish bins will be too good for you."

Speaking to the first employee, the rich man said: "Because you repaid my trust, take the $1,000 as a performance bonus.  I can trust you in small things, and will trust you with even greater things now."