I ain't scared o' nothing - but this frightens me
Fire and brimstone preaching usually don't get to me. I am no thief, murderer, or the like. But one thing always seems to reach up and just give the pimp hand to side of the head whenever I hear it.
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick , or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethern, ye have done it unto me.
Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungered, an ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
This is so very hard. No commands to slay infidels, make sacred sacrifices, convert the world by fire and sword, or such. Instead, you have to be able to stand up and be judged by what you have done for "the least" amongst us. It is a subtle and terrible thing to have to examine oneself - have I done enough?
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick , or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethern, ye have done it unto me.
Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungered, an ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
This is so very hard. No commands to slay infidels, make sacred sacrifices, convert the world by fire and sword, or such. Instead, you have to be able to stand up and be judged by what you have done for "the least" amongst us. It is a subtle and terrible thing to have to examine oneself - have I done enough?
posted by LTC John at 3:27 PM
5 Comments:
Sir,
Have you looked at any of the faces in the photos you've published?
Don't get me wrong; I second guess myself on this point also. But I know that there are a bunch of people in Afghanistan and Iraq and Moore, OK, that I had an active part in helping, just through my role in the Guard.
I know, RTO - I have done it too. It is the 'enough' part that gets me a thinkin'.
Estimable chums,
The simple act of questioning whether one has done enough is a good sign. Self-examination is the whole point. One can always do more, of course,but you're well ahead of folks who never even consider the topic. Rest easy and keep at it.
Faith AND good works, my protest-ant friend.
If you're worried and feel guilt, maybe you should reconsider Rome (as a former lawyer you already know a good deal of Latin, "mea culpa").
Seriously, I consider myself a straight arrow and there are times when you have chastised me for not quite toeing the mark.
I had a priest tell me about old ladies who come in to the coffesional and ask for absolution for such minor things, like being five minutes late to feed the cat or getting angry at a neighbor who has done something fully deserving of wrath. They, like you have the 90% solution and are fretting over the last ten percent.
Offer your worries up for the poor souls in Pergitory (oops, you don't believe in Pergitory, well, I'll offer mine).
You are a good and faithful servant. I may not meet you here on earth but I'll search you out in heaven.
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