Sheeps or Goats?

Updated: Aug 14, 2022
 
'Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”' Genesis 4:9 NKJV

We all remember the history of Cain and Abel. Abel was the first son of Adam and Eve, and Cain the second. Abel was a shepherd and Cain was a farmer. One day Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the land to God and Abel brought him the best of his flock, and God was pleased with him, not Cain. Such was Cain's anger and jealousy towards his brother that as soon as he had the opportunity he attacked and killed him. When God asked him about Abel, his answer was “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”

This is the response we give to God every day, when we see the poor and do nothing for them, when we see the lost and continue our lives as if nothing had happened. The system of this world has made us believe that we have no responsibility whatsoever over those around us, because this economic system uses selfishness to obtain the common good, according to Adam Smith "It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest."

But those of us who are disciples of Christ have the obligation to act different:  

'Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous. Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. ' I John 3:7-18 NKJV  

And…

'“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. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you 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; 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 drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting 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 take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ “Then they also will answer Him, 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, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch 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 everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”' Matthew 25:31-38,40-46 NKJV  

Prejudices of goat farming (Wikipedia): goat grazing produces desertification, since they eliminate all nascent seedlings, and even eat the cables in solar parks (which are compatible with sheep grazing, which are positive for sustainability of the earth, they do not produce annihilation of plants, nor do they erode and produce compaction due to overweight; they are suitable for poor land). The education of the goat in the countries of groves, plantations and seedbeds is very difficult, unless it is not subjected to the most severe laws of domesticity. It not only destroys the new trees, but also the old ones, and the defense that is put up to remove them from the reach of the other animals, is completely useless with the goat, for which there is no obstacle of any kind; With one jump they perch on the trees, whose tender branches are very appealing, and they render them completely useless. The best way to avoid these inconveniences is to take it to barren, rocky and mountainous terrain, which is achieved without great effort, confirming the adage that the goat pulls to the mountain and, always take it along certain paths, accustoming it as much as possible to that it does not vary on the way.

So, are you a sheep or a goat? Choose today to be a sheep and use your talents and resources for the good of your neighbor and the planet, because those of us who belong to Christ have the obligation to manifest the culture of His Kingdom; regardless of the name of the nation or society we are to inhabit during this age. Because at the end, Jesus, the last Adam (1 Cor 15:45) will give back to the Father an offering with the best of his flock, and He wants you and me to be part of it.

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