They that are Foolish

I was reading the parable of the ten virgins today and I thought I saw a lesson there that is not very often pointed to. So, at the risk of being called rude, let me point.


"But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
And while they went to buy the bridegroom came."

- Matthew 25:9-10


When we talk about this parable, we often focus on the "not enough" concept, but I want to talk about preparedness from a different perspective. I think that the foolish virgins in this parable thought they were as well prepared as the wise. Why? Not because they thought their oil would last forever, but because they had money with them. By taking money instead of oil they would not only be able to travel lighter, they would be able to supply whatever need arose, oil or otherwise. After all, you can buy anything in this world with money.

The problem is that these virgins didn't expect to run out of oil just before the messenger came. They may have thought, "No one's going to come at this time of night. We'll all slumber and sleep a while and in the morning we'll get some more oil from them that sell. Then when the bridegroom cometh, we'll be ready. After all, weddings tend to be scheduled around the times when most guests can come without missing work or other things. I'm guessing eight or nine tomorrow, since it's a Saturday."


They went to bed feeling prepared, even though they were out of oil. If they got into a pinch, they'd be all right because they had money. I can imagine their being upset at the rudeness of the bridegroom in giving them such short notice. What we know, and they probably did too, was that they actually had been given all the time leading up to the moment to prepare.


There are two principles of asset management that apply here. One should have been kept by the foolish virgins, the other should have been broken. The one they should have kept is the idea that cash that sits still is missing its potential. Financially sound companies keep their cash moving by using it to earn interest or by purchasing with it other assets, like oil. They don't keep the cash idle in a bag at their waists until a desperate need arises.


The principle the virgins should have broken is called just-in-time inventory. This is the idea that you only keep on hand what you immediately need, but coordinate with your suppliers to schedule deliveries "just in time" for you to use or sell them. This way, you have a small warehouse that acts as a hub for a constant flow of supplies. It acts like a never-ending stream rather than a vast, but cumbersome stockpile. This is what the foolish virgins tried to do with their oil. They expected to be able to get more oil "just in time" rather than run out at just the wrong moment.


In the Church produced video of this parable, the foolish virgins are seen rushing to abandoned selling booths in the dead of night, tearing through other people's things in search of oil. I think the intended message is that even if the sellers are close, they're probably closed at midnight; but I'm not sure that's the case in our day of 24 hour pharmacies and "eat great, even late" fast-food chains. I don't think the Holy Ghost or the scriptures will be shut down for the night when the Savior comes, either. Whether it's temporal or spiritual preparedness, the issue at hand is that the foolish have not improved their time, not that the sources of the oil they need are unavailable at the last minute. There may be a Walgreens on the corner and a Book of Mormon on your nightstand, but if your pantry is empty and the pages still smell new, there won't be enough time to fix the problem. You may have a picture of the temple on your wall, but if you haven't been seen within its walls in a while, you certainly can't finish a session before the Lord finishes descending.


The spiritual aspect of this is alluded to all the time, and I don't wish to discount it. But the Church administers in earthly affairs as well as heavenly, and this parable applies to both.


So, in case I haven't beaten it to death yet, the main lesson I'm getting at here is that our money will not save us temporally or spiritually. That's not because it can't buy oil, it's because the night cometh, wherein no man can work, and the Lord will come as a thief in the night. The Savior allows us to cast the burdens of our sins at His feet, but we are expected to carry a few things, and not just in our wallets. We have to keep a reservoir of spiritual oil and year's supply of food and water because at midnight, when the bridegroom is least expected, our money will still be good, but we won't have time to use it.