By Robert Sigauke, fellow servant in the Lord, Johannesburg
“I was a stranger, but you did not welcome me, and I was naked, but you did not give me any clothes to wear. I was sick and in jail, but you did not take care of me.” Then the people will ask, “Lord, when did we fail to help You when You were hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in jail?” The King will say to them, “Whenever you failed to help any of My people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you failed to do it for Me.”
Matthew 25 verses 43-45 (Contemporary English Version)
In these verses, the Lord Jesus was teaching, firstly, about LOVE. He was talking about the importance of showing love to the downtrodden, those who are at their weakest moments, the vulnerable amongst us.
As believers we ought to position ourselves for God’s work to be fulfilled through us. We are vessels, through which the Lord’s work ought to be done.
We ought to be temples, in which He dwells and instructs us what to do and through whose work will be fulfilled amongst the peoples on earth.
However, even when works of love towards the vulnerable amongst us are fulfilled through us, all honour and glory must be given to the Lord, as He is the enabler, by whose provision and strength (not ours) we managed to give a helping hand to those who were in need, as mere vessels.
This is the second teaching, HUMILITY. Being humble is most seen in the way we treat those who “seemingly have nothing to offer us,” because if we only show favour and support to those whom we think will have the means to help us in turn when we are going through our own challenges, then it is no longer out of love but mere material investment.
What we need to remember is that God Himself is the One who gives reward, of our kind works. I deliberately used the phrase “seemingly have nothing to offer us” because true to the phrase ‘every little helps,’ so as every human being, rich or poor, young or old, strong or weak, has something to offer.
All of us in the world encounter challenges at some point or the other in our lives. Some are financial, some are psychological, some are academic, and some are related to our careers and enterprises.
In as much as a rich person can assist you financially to boost or start your business, so as much a poor friend may give critical wise counsel to a rich person going through life threatening anxiety and depression after a failed marriage or betrayal.
There are innocent people in prisons the world over, they need our regular visits and supplies, emotional support and encouragement. There are guilty persons in prison, they too need likewise.
Each one of us might just be the person to help some of them repent before they face the death penalty. Orphans, widows, the old, the unemployed, the disabled, the hopeless, all of them need us and the little or big we can offer.
God created a person in His image, meaning when we see any human being at church, at work, at the market place, at the next door, in school, no matter how “unimportant or pennyless they seem,” we ought to treat them and relate to them as we would with the Lord Himself.
Some do not have a cent in their pockets, but come back after 10 years you will see them alive, still very poor. It means something or someone beyond the natural wants them alive for an important purpose, loves them unconditionally, and is providing for them.
Those in higher offices of authority too, are bound by this verse in the wider spectrum of their office capacity and influence. By creating conditions, social and economic, that allow people to visit and supply their relatives in prison, neighbors to assist neighbors, strangers to have extra to help strangers in our communities, that is their part and reward in that way.
My brothers and sisters, the Lord’s grace is sufficient for all of us.
Robert Sigauke is a fellow servant in the Lord. He writes from Johannesburg. Email [email protected]