Solutions

Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.

2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.

3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:

4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.

6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.

7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.

8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.

9 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.

10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.

11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.

12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

Matthew 25:1-12

Alright, I promise this won't be as complicated as last time. Can you pick out the key pieces of information? There are ten virgins in sum. Five are wise and five are foolish. Five and five makes ten, right? Look at the digits of your hands if you need some help with that. There's ten of them, five on each hand. Now perhaps you might not immediately know the way and that's ok. Some might have more and some less. That's not okay, but everything will be alright a little at a time. Okay now. Each one has a vessel which means there's ten in all and ten lamps with them also. Oil is something carried in the vessel and fire goes in the lamp. Neither of those are quantifiable, meaning these cannot be counted. The oil, the lamps, and the light are just as precious as a thing could be. These should be used and guarded wisely, wouldn't you agree? A situation arose where half of them ran out of just about everything. Chances are if the oil goes, the fire does too, right? So, these had to go back to the market to buy more. The only problem is oil and fire are two things without price and value. Sure, you can buy something to make a light like a match or bit of kindling. You can even use a piece of glass to catch the sun's rays. The only problem with that is when the night comes and there's no sun in sight. If the market's still open late though, chances are it's fine. What's not fine though is when these can be got without price and at the same time are worth all the sum that money can buy. Alright, back to the problem. Half of the virgins left which means there's how many there?

That's right, five.

That leaves five in the house and five at the market. So, when they got done trading and finally came back there was still five. Ten without five never does anything more.