Tuesday, May 15, 2012

How Distraction Feeds Disobedience


By Allen White

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” Matthew 25:31-46


Some people are terrified by this passage. If they made a decision for Christ and lived their lives for Christ, is there some way they didn’t do enough good works that at Judgment Day they won’t make it into Heaven? That’s not a correct reading of this passage.



If you belong to Christ, you will have a desire to help those who are less fortunate. You and I are Christ’s hands and feet on this earth. God wants to encourage the discouraged, feed the hungry, care for the sick, cloth the poor, and visit the prisoner. When you look at Jesus’ life and ministry, He served the “least” and challenged the religious.

But, here’s the problem. Many Christians lack the desire to serve others. Their hearts have become disconnected from their Father’s heart. The focus of their lives is to accumulate more for themselves and find comfort in the things of this world.

The deception here is the things of this world only bring comfort and happiness for a short period of time. Have you ever had a massage? Boy, didn’t it feel good afterward? Are you still feeling good today? Probably not, unless you just had a massage.

There is nothing wrong with getting a massage or buying a new toy. But, have you ever sacrificially given to another person? Have you taken time to give them your attention? Have you provided something financially for someone who couldn’t afford the necessities of life?

When we begin to care about other people as much as we care about ourselves, we become more closely connected to the heart of God. The “sheep” in this parable are God’s children. They know their shepherd’s voice and He calls them by name.

If you have no feelings for the less fortunate, especially other believers who are struggling, you might be either a distracted sheep or an outright goat. Don’t get discouraged. There is a way to the right side of things.

Ask God to give you compassion for the poor. Ask God to help you see the world the way He sees it. Ask Jesus to live His life through you.

Doing good works for the sake of doing good works is exhausting and unrewarding. But, fulfilling God’s call to serve others and provide for their basic needs makes us more like Christ. God’s Word lived in God’s Power leads to God’s Reward. We don’t work our way into Heaven, but if we truly belong to Christ, we will find God’s work irresistible, if we’re not distracted.

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