The Lesson of the Least

Jesus taught saying,

“Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

…

40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

…

45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.” – Matt. 25:34-45

Our sessions with Christ are becoming more frequent, sometimes even daily. We’re learning so much, incredible things we had never heard of or thought of before. Today we had another lesson which he called “The Lesson of the Least”. He started by asking,

I had always been taught that the brethren were the leaders of Christ’s church, Bishops, Apostles, Prophets, etc. They are his brethren. But then the Saints that followed Christ could also be considered his brethren. So the least of these would then be the newest members of his church or those who knew the least.

This was not what Jesus was saying at all… 

A vision opened to our minds where we saw the homeless. Some were dirty with long grey beards and smelled of alcohol, cigarettes or just plain stunk. Some were struggling with mental illness, emotional pain and other internal burdens. Some were sick and weak. There were children, young adults and older men and women. 

The vision turned to those who were struggling with the cares and burdens of life. The single parents, the poorly educated, and those struggling under great debt to make ends meet. 

Then there were those who were heartbroken for failure, loss of love, lack of acceptance, etc. They were being crushed emotionally by their struggles. 

Then there were the prisoners. Some were sitting in jail because they had been captured in war, some who had committed crimes.

Everyone felt lowly in heart and downtrodden.

Throughout the entire vision there was an awareness that while we were looking at these people with all their unique differences, we were actually seeing Christ. It’s hard to explain, but it was like a subtle unspoken awareness of Christ saying, “Here I am” as we saw each of the different people.

This became even more apparent when the vision changed to images of children being picked on by bullies. But the awareness was heightened because there was an awareness that Christ was not in the bullies, but in the person being picked on. In the bullies was a different spirit, one that enjoys superiority and domination over others.

We began to see the people who we felt had wronged us. Those were the people we held slight grudges against. But they were the weak and lowly struggling against their own challenges. We could see and understand their struggles and weaknesses and our hearts broke for them. They were also Christ. 

The vision we saw of the least was tailored to us. Everyone has a different person they consider to be “the least” deserving of understanding, love and acceptance. This could be a specific person who hurt or abused you. It could be a religion, a religious or political party or leader. Someone with a sexual orientation or gender that you find unholy. Only you can determine who is considered the least among you. 

If Christ suffered as the victim of sin for everyone, then he even suffered for the person you value the least in your life. Whatsoever you do to even the least person in your life, you are doing to Christ. Down to the very thoughts and feelings that you entertain about others. 

Christ continued,

There was a long pause while the thought sank in… Clear and unmistakable. We knew the words of Christ but hadn’t realized the connection between what he taught, what he suffered and the atonement. It brought his teachings in the scriptures together in ways that we had not seen before.

In every instance, Christ is the abused, the harmed, the weak, the lowly. When we are abused, he is with us suffering the abuse, succoring us and supporting us. But when we become the abuser, he is not with us at all. He plays the role of those whom we abuse. 

In scenarios where both sides are being abused by each other, he experiences the abuse given by both parties. He understands the hurt that both experience at the other’s hands. He understands why they lash out at each other, causing more and more damage, but he does not condone, support or participate in the retaliation. 

Christ continued,

(End Journal Entry)

We are all born with enmity towards evil. We have a need to feel that we are good moral people and that our thoughts, beliefs and ways of doing things, (whatever that is), are right things to think, believe and be. In short, we tend to think we have “the truth”. 

Anyone who does not agree with us is therefore wrong. If the difference between our view and someone else’s is too great or over things we prize as spiritually significant, then we don’t only view them as being wrong, but we begin to view them as evil. 

Our enmity for evil suggests that we must take action by fighting against and destroying the evil in the world. Fighting against evil has been used as a reason to declare war for thousands of years.

As an example of this, we look at President George Bush Jr.’s speech declaring “War of Terror”, in which he repeatedly used evil vs good as a reason to declare war.

“We’ve come to know truths that we will never question: Evil is real, and it must be opposed.” – President Bush’s first State of the Union address

In a war against evil, it doesn’t matter which side you are on, because both sides are fighting against evil and therefore acting as pawns in Satan’s game. Both sides think they are doing good. Both sides think they are fighting against evil. Both sides are wrong.

The fact is that more people joined our enemy to fight against us when we retaliated and bombed them. If we had instead returned love for hate and sent the people food, clothing, supplies and well wishes, then our enemies would have lost support and the war would have ended. 

We think we are fighting the evil in the world, but we have been tricked into becoming the evil in the world. We think we can overcome evil by fighting against it, but we only provide it with fuel and cause it to spread, (like trying to put out fire with gasoline).

Wars are declared by our leaders, but they are fought by us, the people. If a leader can’t gain the support of the people, then the war cannot be fought. Don’t ever fall for the lie that you are fighting against evil. Fight to protect yourself, your family and your people’s freedom from all oppressors internal and domestic but be very selective of who you fight and why.

Applying the Lesson

Who do you value the least in your life? 

Is it your boss who has no real management skills and thinks that belittling and embarrassing you is the best way to motivate you? Perhaps it’s the bum on the street you see everyday that makes you feel sad or ashamed every time you pass him, every time you see him you think, “Why doesn’t he just get a real job?” 

Perhaps it’s the President of the United States, or the Gays or the Muslims, or some other group. It might even be someone that caused you or your loved one harm. Perhaps you see them as being evil or wicked.

Pay attention to how you treat the one(s) you feel is (are) the least among you. This person will bring out of you the evil you are capable of. They will bring out of you the worst you have to give the world, your lowest nature. 

This is where you learn how good you really are because it shows you where your willingness to do evil is found. Just as a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, so too our soul is only as good as the evil we are willing to commit.

We do not look at how we treat our friends and loved ones to discover how good we are. Even wicked people treat their friends and loved one well. We look at how we treat the least among us to determine how righteous we are. The lord taught,

“Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.

44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

…

46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?

47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?” – Matt. 43-47

God is no respecter of persons, (Acts 10:34). What does this mean? It means that he is good to the righteous and the wicked.

45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

If you make and sell cakes, make and sell them for your friends as well as your enemies. If you sell cars, give good deals to those you love as well as those you do despise. God gives and withholds rain and sun from the righteous who love Him as well as the wicked who reject and hate Him, so too, should we do likewise. Not by compulsion or force, but by heart. So if you’re a christian, do as Christ taught and as God does. This is also a huge key in understanding and becoming perfect, but that’s a topic for another time…

During our meetings with the Lord learning about the atonement, he repeated again and again saying,

Of all the people who might be considered the least in your life, you despise your enemy above all else.

Love for your enemy does not mean you have a nice feeling about them while you seek to destroy them. Love isn’t telling them, “I love you and I’m doing this for your own good”, as you force them to live your lifestyle or to accept your beliefs. Love begins with equality and freedom and is expressed in actions and deeds. 

Remember the Law of Universal Application which tells us that what we do to others will be done to us. This law also applies to the least of these, our enemy. Even though they are our enemy and they fight against us, we must realize that what we do to them, (or even support others doing to them), will be returned again to us. We must fight for and protect our enemies just as we fight for and protect our friends. We must extend to them the same rights and privileges we seek for ourselves, even when they do things we disagree with.

This doesn’t mean that you must agree with them or make them agree with you. It means that you understand, accept and respect them. You treat them with the same dignity, respect and compassion that you would treat your dearest friend. Treat them as you would treat your Savior.

If you believe in him, then believe in his words and if you follow him, then follow his example.