Let me start off by saying that this "we" applies pretty equally to Mormons and other Christians. There is a big error that we are prone to making, and it is related to the error of the Pharisees.
Remember, the Pharisees were observant of the religious knowledge for that day. There were flaws in their observance. To avoid accidentally breaking the law the put a hedge around the law, which was remarkably effective at hiding the spirit of the law. So to go from knowing that the Sabbath should be a day of rest to creating several rules about how far you could walk, and and what level of cooking was appropriate, does not actually make the Sabbath a more restful day, but there was still a level of caring about it.
I don't need to spend a lot of time on them, because the Savior did that. Matthew 23 and Mark 7 are good starting places for that. If pondering those scriptures gives you some insight into how you miss the point, despite being a scholar and being active, that's good.
Instead I want to stop by Matthew 25, where we remember that being a virgin, and being a guest officially invited to the wedding, is not enough to get you in if you are foolish. There is another parable in Luke 14 that can give us some more thoughts about that specific issue, where not making waiting on the Lord a priority, or not being prepared to act appropriately are issues, but for now let's focus on the foolish virgins. They wanted to go, and they were heartbroken not to get in, but they were not able to participate appropriately because of the lack of oil in their lamps. What made them foolish?
The chapter has two other parables that it is reasonable to assume are related. One is the parable of the talents, reminding us that we do not all receive the same abilities, but we are all expected to make the most of what we have. The other is the parable of the sheep and goats.
I know it's familiar: "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."
I had a touching experience with this scripture not that long ago:
http://sporkful.blogspot.com/2015/04/irony-and-grace.html
Here's the thing; there is no statement anywhere of whether the recipients of the service were deserving. That some of them are in prison could mean they are criminals. They were in a time and place where you could be imprisoned as a matter of religious oppression or for debt, but that is not specified. The reference to "the least of these" isn't necessarily a compliment. The important thing is to serve.
It is terribly off track for followers of Christ to spend more effort on trying to force others to live our beliefs than time spent in serving them, but judging others has become not just a religious pastime but a political one, where everyone is afraid that any policy that will make the lives of others better is throwing it away on the undeserving.
People will work really hard to set up a new city so that their tax money doesn't get spent on the students they don't approve of (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/separate-and-unequal/), and governors will refuse Medicaid expansion - shooting their own constituents in the foot to spite the president, and Kansas will stick to cuts to business taxes even though it creates no new jobs and devastates the rest of the economy, and they feel really righteous about it, because no freeloaders! And they are so sure of it that they don't see all of the people who are working really hard and still falling behind.
That is not something Christ wants. You can argue about how best to improve things, but an economy that keeps consolidating wealth in the hands of a few, sows despair among many, and holds it all in place by keeping the religious judging each other, that is pretty Satanic. And there is a penalty for it.
"Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me."
Sure, it sounds like that applies to private charity, but there are two issues with that. One is that the way things are going, people with generous hearts are getting tapped out. There is too much need and not enough resources in the hands of those who care about it.
Even more of an issue is the hearts. There are too many people who will not see it as a problem. When the Lord takes your money, He is doing it as a way of keeping your heart soft, reminding you that it isn't money that matters. He wants your heart.
"If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?" 1 John 4:20
I know this is disjointed, and I feel like I say the same thing all the time, but it's still the part that frustrates me the most. Jesus clearly taught that we are supposed to see Him in others, and the trend seems to be looking at others and not even seeing a human there. That hurts my soul, but then people do it and still feel Christian, and I get angry too. That's what we need to change, as soon as possible.
We need to be ready before the bridegroom comes.
No comments:
Post a Comment