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Guest Writer

Goat or Sheep?, Choose!

Not long ago my wife and I attended a company dinner. This dinner was to award some of the companies best. We ate and we gave out awards and when it was over we ended the meeting. Several of us went out into the parking lot where we stood around the back of my truck talking.

As we talked a man in ragged and dirty clothing approached me and asked if I had any spare change. The man was dressed in old military fatigues and he explained to me that he was a veteran of the Gulf War and had fallen on hard times. He said that he was hungry and in need of a meal. He even presented to me his old military identification card.

I reached into my pocket and realized I didn't even have my wallet on me. In my rush to get home, shower , change clothes and get to the dinner on time, I failed to put my wallet in my pants. I told the man that I had no money at all on me and apologized that I would not be able to help him.

My wife, having overheard what the man said, ask me to toss her the keys to the truck so that she could get to her purse. My wife then took out several dollars and walked around the truck and handed them to me. I turned to the man and handed him the money my wife had just given me. He thanked me as he turned to walk away. A few steps later he turned back and said, "God bless you."

The other members of our little group had continued their talk and as the man left one of them made a comment to me that I will never forget."Do you really think that man is going to buy food with that money? Do you think he deserved it?"

It was then that the Lord laid something on my heart that echoed like a church bell.

Matthew 25:31-46

31 "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy[a] angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of 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 took Me in; 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 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'
41 "Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting 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 take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.'
44 "Then they also will answer Him,[b] 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, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch 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 everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

I simply replied that it was not up to me to worry about what he did with the money. I had done my job when I took him at his word and handed him the money.

Truth is, I had just filled my belly with free food supplied by my company. My family is far from rich but we have all we need and a few things that we really didn't need. If a man ask me in good faith for some change and I have any at all to give him, I will do just that. If he uses it for something other than what he told me, he will have to answer for that and not me.

I didn't argue with them when they told me I did the wrong thing because the man was not deserved. My wife and I did what was right. On that day, I may have much to answer for but I will not be one of the Goat's in the scripture above asking, "‘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?'"

Next time you see a beggar ask yourself, could that be the face of God? Maybe an Angel of God? I don't know but I can tell you most assuredly, it is a child of God.

Billy W.