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The Buck Starts Here

Album: 33: Virtual Realities

Episode: 426

Lesson/Theme: Using our resources wisely

Bible Verse: Eccelsiastes 3:2-8; 11

Characters: Jared, Mandy, Whit

Writer: Marshal Younger

Sound Designer: Jonathan Crowe

Original Air Date: October 16, 1999

Last Air Date: September 4, 2009

Description:
As part of an experiment Whit is conducting, he gives Jared DeWhite, Ashley, and Nathaniel $25 to use constructively in the next two weeks. If they try to build on it, they can keep it. If they don't build on it, he will take it back. The kids immediately start to work on their big ideas. Mandy, the secretary for Nathaniel, gives him some delicious muffins that convince him they should go into the muffin business. After some discussion, Mandy agrees to make muffins to sell if she can be a 50-50 partner with Nathaniel. Meanwhile, Ashley decides she will buy some tools and start a bike repair shop. Soon Roy comes by and asks her to fix his bike right that very day. While Ashley works on the bike, Roy discovers a sock shooter on her bike. He is fascinated and asks if she can make some for him. The next day, Whit makes some peanut butter banana ice cream and offers some to Jared, who gets suspicious that Whit is trying to tempt him to waste his money, so he refuses to buy any. Mandy then approaches Jared to tell him that Greenblatt's Department Store has binoculars on sale. Once again, he is suspicious that Mr. Greenblatt and Whit are scheming to get his money, so he refuses to spend a penny. Though all the kids want to spend their money constructively, they find obstacles to overcome. Nathaniel and Mandy's muffin business has too much competition, Roy gets injured when the tire Ashley fixed comes off his bike, and Jared decides to hide his money in his lunch box because he was so suspicious everyone was out to rob him. When Whit comes back to see how everyone is doing, both Nathaniel and Ashley offer Whit's money back and tell him their struggles to make their businesses work. Though Jared felt he had successfully defended his money, Whit felt he had done nothing constructive by hoarding it, so Whit collected his money from him. Disappointed, Jared asks if it is wrong to save money, and Whit answers that it is not, but that God wants us to use all he has given us for his glory. If we do, he will give us more, but if we waste what he gives us, he will take it all away.

Questions:
Why did Jared think he had to hide his money? Why did Whit collect him money at the end? Why did Whit allow Ashley and Nathaniel to keep their money at the end? Read Matthew 25:14-30. What similarities can you find to the episode? What do you think Whit was trying to teach the kids?