To Encourage You

Matthew 25:40 “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.’”

That God views things far differently than we do is strikingly apparent in the verse above.  Here Jesus makes reference to “the least of these my brothers.”  Interestingly, He equates those who are “the least” with Himself, Who, of all the beings in the universe, is by far, the greatest.  It’s a sobering thought that’s meant to make us all think twice about how we value, and treat, one another. 

You see, when Jesus used the words “the least” in reference to His brothers, He was not referring to how He saw them, but how we do.  Elsewhere, Jesus made clear to us that He shows absolutely no partiality towards anyone.  In a warning to “masters,” i.e., those holding authority over others (think of your boss), the Bible says this: “Masters . . . stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him” (Ephesians 6:9).  In contrast to this, people are masters at showing partiality. They view the rich as better than the poor, the older as better than the younger (or the young better than the old), the famous as better than the ordinary person, their own race as better than other races, their own political party as better  than another party, etc., etc.  To all this Jesus warns us that we will all answer, one day, to Him about how we treated “the least of these,” i.e., the least of these from our perspective. 

So, let’s think about this a little.  Who do you view – be brutally honest – as “the least of these” from your own perspective?  Do you show lesser regard for a little child, a disabled person, or the homeless than you do for others who are not like this?  How do you view the poorest person in your neighborhood or town, the one living in the most run-down house? How do you view those who aren’t quite as intelligent as you are?  How about those who have done something awful in the past – at least more awful than anything you have done?  How do you view those of other races, or those from third world countries?  Whoever it is – it is the way we have treated these very people that Jesus says is exactly the way we are treating Him. It doesn’t matter what we say or think about ourselves.  It doesn’t matter how religious or “good” we think we are. None of that will matter in the end as we are put to the test of how we’ve treated “the least of these” from our so very imperfect perspective in this world. 

May God help us who say we love Christ to examine ourselves with this humbling test – How do I view, and how am I treating “the least of these”?