Loving righteousness or being righteous only when seen?

What is truly in peoples hearts? Do we love the fact that God delights to forgive us and calls us to love others? Or are we merely pretending to respond to God while we wait for a time to take advantage of others and lord our power over them?

The passage in Matthew 25:1-13 is about 10 virgins who are waiting for the bridegroom to appear. It can be difficult to understand. There can be a lot of ungodly fear that can build up when we read this passage because we are afraid of 'getting shut out' of the bridegroom feast. The wedding feast is an analogy to heaven. This fear, which is Satanic in origin, plays on our insecurities that we need to 'do more' to be acceptable to God and enter Heaven. God constantly teaches us that the death and resurrection of Jesus is more than enough to forgive our sins and bring us home. However a reading of the previous portion of scripture in Matthew 24:42-51 can help to give a context about the parable of the 10 virgins.

Jesus is pictured as the Bridegroom who was delayed before entering His wedding banquet. 10 virgins are waiting to go in with Him to the banquet. There are 5 virgins (Matthew 25) who have prepared ahead to have extra oil for their lamps in case Jesus comes back very late at night. The other 5 virgins don't prepare at all. In this parable purity is not the issue... all are virgins. The issue is preparation. In the preceding section of Matthew 24 Jesus talks about faithful servants and hypocritical servants. The faithful servants does his / her chores whether the master is present and watching them or away on a trip and cannot watch them. They are just faithful. The second type of servants only do what they are supposed to do if they are being watched. As soon as the master goes away they quit doing their work, start drinking and get drunk and begin to beat the other servants and mistreat them. The modern day parallel is the boss you work for who treats you well day in and day out and cares for you genuinely as an employee. Then there are the other bosses you act busy and responsible when their boss is present, but as soon as their boss leaves they begin to slack off, take long lunches, party a bit, and mistreat their employees, lording their authority over them.

This essentially explains this aspect of the parable of the 10 virgins. One group has prepared to wait for and attend their bridegroom whenever He arrives. The other group has not prepared at all. They are not thinking about the long haul. They are thinking about the initial joy of the wedding feast. It is always great to enjoy the feast, but who are those people who are willing to be in relationship with Jesus during both the feasting and the working? The festive wedding celebration and the times of suffering? The climax of the Kingdom coming to the earth and the work of laboring with Jesus to see the Kingdom arrive?

Conclusion

But who are we? Are we the faithful servants who see that the master loves us and therefore we care about others and do our duties faithfully? Or are we the hypocritical servants who pretend to care about the master and others and only are truthful and honest while we think He is watching. Only waiting for the moment He turns His back so that we can beat the others we have power or authority over, drinking and getting drunk?

Biblical Text

Matt 24:42-51
"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
"Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, `My master is staying away a long time,' and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
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Matt 25:1-13
"At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
"At midnight the cry rang out: `Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!'
"Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, `Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.'
"`No,' they replied, `there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.'
"But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.
"Later the others also came. `Sir! Sir!' they said. `Open the door for us!'
"But he replied, `I tell you the truth, I don't know you.'
"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour."
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