Matthew 25:40-45: Leaving God Hungry

Matthew 25:40-45..

"And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” - Jesus

In the verses above, we find a concept that most of us are probably familiar with. The concept of "serving the least of these" is one that is often mentioned in church realms, and it surely ought to be. However, we must take time to note that these verses are extremely convicting. Let us look at them briefly this morning so that we might not "leave God hungry."

Jesus' point in these verses is that when we neglect to "serve the least of these," we not only neglect to serve them, but we also neglect to serve God himself. This is what scripture refers to, and what I am referring to this morning, as "leaving God hungry" (see italicized portion above). Now, let me point out something here: God is self-sufficient. He doesn't hunger, and he doesn't thirst (except for Jesus, who felt all of the human desires of hungering and thirsting while he was still on earth). God does not need anything. However, in this verse, we in fact do get a picture of God being "hungry" and "thirsty." How can this be? In the verses above, it is clear that God is refering to "himself" in unison with "the least of these." "As you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me." Therefore, God's point here is that when we neglect to serve those who are weak and in need, we not only neglect to serve them, but we neglect to serve God himself. Oof. I don't know about you, but I think that's very convicting.

So, how have you left God hungry lately? In other words, how have you neglected to serve those who were weak? How have you neglected to help those who were in need? Now, I'm not saying that you need to feed every homeless man on the street, take in every orphan, and visit every widow (this would be impossible). But what I am saying is that we ought to constantly be serving "the least of these" because it is a biblical command of God (a command of God that we must note is one of the most condemning of all, as seen clearly in the above verses). So, how can you better serve "the least of these" today? How can you strive to feed God's children so that you might not leave God hungry?