Sheep and Goats

“When he finally arrives, blazing in beauty and all his angels with him, the Son of Man will take his place on his glorious throne. Then all the nations will be arranged before him and he will sort the people out, much as a shepherd sorts out sheep and goats, putting sheep to his right and goats to his left.” 
(Matthew 25:31-33 NCV)

Am I a Sheep or a Goat? 

In recognizing the duality of human nature, these verses lead us into a dramatic pause where we really have no choice but to ask the question above, which am I?  As the seconds tick by, our minds may also have time to wonder which is more desirable, the Sheep or the Goat?  Then as the third second ticks on we will find ourselves wondering about Left and Right – where would I rather end up?  Are the destinations significantly different or is it simply like having an even or odd street address? 

Odd or even?  Left or right?  Sheep or Goat?  Ohhh, my aching head.  There are way too many options here.  Where will I end up? Will it be a place of comfort or discomfort?  Is there anything I can do to stack the deck?  Am I good enough to be chosen rightly?

As it turns out, Jesus plans to tell us which is which.  Over the next thirteen verses he clearly outlines on what basis the sorting is made; what can be done to affect the outcome; and what the ramifications will be after the sorting.  Here’s a small sampling of how he identifies the Goat people:

“I was hungry and you gave me no meal,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
I was homeless and you gave me no bed,
I was shivering and you gave me no clothes,
Sick and in prison, and you never visited.” 

(Matthew 25:42-43 MSG)

Uh-oh. I think I’m feeling a sudden kinship with goats.  Surely he doesn’t mean this in the strictest sense, right?  I mean, I’ve sent money to the Red Cross and have even volunteered in a soup kitchen once.  Isn’t that enough?

“‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed 
to do one of these things to someone 
who was being overlooked or ignored, 
that was me—you failed to do it to me.’

(Matthew 25:45 MSG)

“Whenever?”  Did he really say ‘whenever’?  Ouch.  That can’t be good.  But what about all the other stuff?  What about weekly church attendance and ushering and singing in the choir and tithing and small group attendance and Bible study and...  Am I really being sorted as a goat simply because I didn’t give that homeless guy last week any time, food or money?  Is serving those who are poor, hungry, homeless, and in prison really that important?

““Then those ‘goats’ will be herded to their eternal doom, but the ‘sheep’ to their eternal reward.” (Matt. 25: 46 MSG)

Oh.  I guess it is.