{"id":218,"date":"2014-03-29T23:15:09","date_gmt":"2014-03-29T23:15:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/missionwork\/\/?p=218"},"modified":"2014-03-29T23:15:09","modified_gmt":"2014-03-29T23:15:09","slug":"serving-the-least-of-these-through-our-daily-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/missionwork\/2014\/03\/serving-the-least-of-these-through-our-daily-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Serving the least of these through our daily work"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a>By Joseph Sunde<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

When discussing the Christian call to service, we often hear references to\u00a0Matthew 25<\/a>, where Jesus speaks of a King who separates \u201csheep\u201d from \u201cgoats\u201d \u2013\u00a0those who are\u00a0willing <\/em>from those who\u00a0refuse<\/em>.<\/p>\n

To the sheep, the King offers the following:<\/p>\n

Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

To the goats, the King says, \u201cDepart from me,\u00a0you who\u00a0are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his\u00a0angels.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all very hearty, but the final line is what seems to stick in popular discourse: \u201cI tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

It leads to a rather powerful reframing of the human order:\u00a0Service to others is also service to God.<\/strong>\u00a0Yet far too often we limit our view of such service, confining it to the realms of private charity, church ministry, personal relationships, or political activism. These are areas where the parable certainly applies. But in his book,\u00a0Work: The Meaning of Your Life<\/em><\/a>, Lester DeKoster adds another realm to the mix.<\/p>\n

Work is service to others, he argues, and thus, work is service to God.\u00a0He interprets Matthew 25 accordingly:<\/span><\/p>\n

The Lord does not specify when or where the good deeds he blesses are done, but it now seems to me that Jesus is obviously speaking of more than a vocational behavior or pastime kindnesses. Why? Because he hinges our entire eternal destiny upon giving ourselves to the service of others\u2014and that can hardly be a pastime event. In fact, giving our selves to the service of others, as obviously required by the Lord, is precisely what the central block of life that we give to working turns out to be!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Is the Lord talking here about work? Yes, I\u2019ve come to think so.<\/p>\n

After a closer look at the textual implications, DeKoster offers a series of simple applications to demonstrate the\u00a0how<\/em>\u00a0behind the\u00a0what<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The following lists are pulled directly from DeKoster\u2019s commentary, which proceeds according to the specific necessities Jesus speaks to. In the book, he includes much more than these lists provide, but the lists themselves are still helpful in illustrating the overarching point: opportunities for Christian service abound, and often in areas you least expect.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

1. I was hungry and you gave me something to eat.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cGod himself, hungering in the hungry, is served by all those who work in:<\/p>\n