What the Government Needs
Matthew 25:31-46
31 “When
the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will
sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before
him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from
another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but
the goats on the left. 34 Then
the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my
Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and
you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you
welcomed me, 36 I
was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison
and you came to me.’ 37 Then
the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and
feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And
when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see
you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And
the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the
least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
41 “Then
he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal
fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was
thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I
was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me,
sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when
did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison,
and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then
he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one
of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment,
but the righteous into eternal life.”
Meditation
This scripture reading speaks to how
the nations will be judged at the end of time. Those nations that feed, house,
cloth, and heal will be dealt with better than those that do not do these things.
One thing to note here is that governments are not mentioned only nations. A
nation may have abysmal leadership but still perform life affirming action
toward its citizens. The Greek word translated nation is ethne which refers to a group of people not a government.
Therefore, it is up to us the people to act in life affirming ways not the
government.
Governments will always fail us if we
look to them for positive role models. The government is always about self-perpetuation
and rarely if ever looks at the needs of the last, the least and the lost.
Winning the next vote is constantly on their minds. It is up to "we the people"
to behave in life giving ways toward those who live on the margins of society.
Furthermore we need to act together to accomplish this. John F Kennedy got it
right when he said, “ask not what your country can do for you but ask what you
can do for your country”.
The government of my country, the USA,
is not all that God desires it to be. But we the people can and must do the
hard work of making this a better place for all to live. What our government
needs most from its people is prayer. What the sick, homeless, naked, and
prisoners need most from us is our hands to heal, welcome in the stranger, to
cloth the naked, feed the hungry and visit those in prison. Pray often, seek to
do good always.
Prayer
Dear God help our leaders to guide our nations in the
way they should go. Empower each of us to go to the needy and provide for their
needs Teach us your way and strengthen our weak bodies so that we may be found
in you on that great and glorious day
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