The Sheep, the Goats, and the Muslim Ban

I’m always annoyed at the way a good majority of Christians pick and choose what parts of the Bible they want to abide by. This is especially true in the time of Donald Trump’s Muslim ban. He claims it’s not a ban on Muslims, but we all know it is.

Anyway, I’m most annoyed now of how a lot of Conservative Christians are choosing to ignore the parable of The Sheep and the Goats. For those of you who don’t know what that is, you can read it here:

“But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. Before him all the nations will be gathered, and he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will tell those on his right hand, ‘Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry, and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me drink. I was a stranger, and you took me in. I was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came to me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, and feed you; or thirsty, and give you a drink? When did we see you as a stranger, and take you in; or naked, and clothe you? When did we see you sick, or in prison, and come to you?’

“The King will answer them, ‘Most certainly I tell you, because you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ Then he will say also to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you didn’t give me food to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink; I was a stranger, and you didn’t take me in; naked, and you didn’t clothe me; sick, and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’

“Then they will also answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and didn’t help you?’

“Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Most certainly I tell you, because you didn’t do it to one of the least of these, you didn’t do it to me.’ These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” — Matthew 25:31-46

How can you read that and at the same time want to deny refugees entrance into your country? I don’t understand it. The words of the son of your God literally says that if you deny strangers kindness, you will endure eternal punishment. He’s commanding you to feed and clothe and provide shelter for the people around you. How can you ignore this?

How can you sit with yourself knowing that these people need food, they need clothing, they need water, they need shelter, and you refuse to give it to them? Hell, there are people in your own damn country who need these things, are fighting tooth and nail for them, but you deny them. How can you sit with yourself knowing that you are going against your God’s word because of your selfishness?

“Christians” like this are part of the reason I left the Church. I couldn’t live with myself knowing that this was God’s word, but the people around me refused to commit to it. They refused to obey His word and used their own words to justify it. I knew something was wrong and it definitely wasn’t me.

If you were in Church this Sunday and your pastor did not address the refugee crisis, leave. If your pastor did not address the Muslim ban because it is a direct threat to your brothers and sisters and siblings and also your own religious freedom, leave. If he did not address these things in a way that reflects God’s own words, leave that Church and never return. I firmly believe that you are better than that. You need to show yourself, the people around you, and your God that you are better than that. God may know your heart, but He also wants to see your actions. Remember, faith without works is dead:

“What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

“But someone will say, ‘You have faith; I have deeds.’

“Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

“You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,’ and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.

“In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” — James 2:14-26

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Originally published at theangryfangirl.com