Social Justice and the Bridesmaids

Matthew 25:1-13 - where is social justice in the parable of the wise and foolish bridesmaids?


I had the question enter my mind of why Jesus gave specific numbers to both groups. He could've said a group of bridesmaids, and said some were wise and the rest were foolish. He could have said seven were wise and three were foolish. Or vice versa. But he said five and five.


My first guess at why he did this, that he said specific numbers and that both numbers were equal and that the numbers totaled up to all of them, so there were none who were neither wise nor foolish, is to indicate the equal opportunity everybody has to choose wisdom or foolishness. And as soon as the phrase "equal opportunity" entered my mind, I contrasted it with the current concept, as defined in certain circles, of social justice. One of the corollaries, if not at the core, of this idea of social justice is that everybody gets the same result. In this parable the bridesmaids do not all get the same result. But they apparently had the same opportunity. The difference was in how they applied or did not apply wisdom to their situation.