The Ten Budgets is based on Luke 19: 11-27
A priest had to go on a long journey to be appointed Bishop of her local area. She got together ten of her congregation and gave them a budget of ten thousand pounds, telling them to use it to run several church projects until she got back.
But some of the area council hated her and sent a delegation after her, saying ‘We don’t want this woman ruling over us.’
When she came back, having been made Bishop, she asked the members of her original congregation to account for the projects they’d run and the money they’d received.
The first came forward and said: ‘Bishop, I started with a budget of a thousand pounds. The work I did on my project increased our congregation and those new members gave us donations totalling ten thousand pounds.’
So the Bishop said, ‘That’s brilliant! Well done! Since you’ve shown you could be trusted to run that one small project, I’d like you to take charge of ten new churches.’
A second congregation member came forward and said, ‘Bishop, my project also had a budget of a thousand pounds. I’m pleased to say the work we did resulted in a big donation of five thousand pounds.’
So the Bishop replied, ‘Again, that’s brilliant! Well done! I’d like you to take charge of five new churches.’
Then a third congregation member came forward and said, ‘Um, yeah. So. Bishop, I’ve kept the thousand pounds safe. I decided not to do my project, because it was risky, and the church is really short of money and besides, I know you, Bishop. You take credit for everyone’s successes and get promoted for other people’s work.’
So the Bishop replied, ‘I’m going to judge you by your own words, you nasty little troll. So I take credit for everyone’s successes and get promoted for other people’s work? Then why didn’t you put the money in an account which paid interest? Then when I got back, I could’ve credited the interest!’ Then she turned to the other people there and said, ‘Take the thousand from him and give it to the one who brought in ten thousand pounds.’
Everyone looked at each other and said, ‘But … but they’ve already got a budget of ten thousand pounds!’
‘I’m telling you,’ the Bishop said, ‘people who have, get given more. People who act like they have nothing will lose even the little they have. And as for those council members who didn’t want me as Bishop – well, we don’t execute people for treachery these days, so just throw them out of the church!’
Previous parable: Mushrooms and Toadstools
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