By Mario Perez Jr
When I was in high school, my parents had a list of things that I was responsible for completing before I could go hang out with my friends. Some of these conditions consisted of making sure my room and bathroom were clean, taking out the trash, and taking care of the family dog. As soon as I completed these things, I was able to go out and be with my friends.
Conditions that were set when I was younger taught me discipline and responsibility. There are times in which conditions teach us valuable life lessons; however, there are certain situations where set conditions can do more harm than good. Sometimes, we place conditions on areas in our life where we have expectations of others, or ourselves, that must be met for an exchange to take place. This can apply to any area, such as work, hobbies, and even our faith.
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”
When it comes to our faith, we feel more comfortable setting conditions than we do when we are called to do something unconditionally. In the area of service, we see people in need all around us. Yet, we place conditions on people for them to receive our help. Matthew 25 talks about clothing those who need clothing, giving food and drink to those who are hungry and thirsty, and visiting those in prison. Jesus says whatever we do for the least of these, we do for him. One beautiful thing about this passage is that Jesus doesn’t give a reason why these people are in need; he just says that whatever we do for the least of these, we do for him. He doesn’t place conditions for us to serve; he just calls us to do it.
Bio
Mario Perez serves as the Pastor of Faith Formation at The River CRC in Redlands, CA. He was born and raised in Southern California. When he is not at church, he can be found fishing or hanging out with his dog and watching SoCal sports teams win (Go Dodgers and Rams!)
