G.O.A.T.

These days, the term GOAT takes on special meaning.

Jesus said, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the 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 people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by 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 something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’ Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me 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 nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just 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.” - Matthew 25:31-46

It is easy to tell sheep and goats apart.  They have outwardly appearances that are different because of their different DNA.

The sheep produces wool.  It is the byproduct of its nature.  A goat, on the other hand, has fur, but late in the season a thick coat of wool grows under the fur.  

Cashmere is a special type of wool that develops early in the Spring from a select group of goats found in the Gobi Desert and Central Asia.

So, while we can easily discern a goat from a sheep based on outward appearances, we may be surprised by the difference in value of what each species produces.

Today, we give the term GOAT, greater value than the word Sheep.  G.O.A.T. stands for Greatest Of All Time and it applies to everything from athletes to running shoes.

It may be confusing, therefore, for someone who knows little about sheep and goats to see why one would be preferred over the other.  In fact, being like a sheep is considered less desirable by many today, since it implies complacency, or being lead to the slaughter.

Wouldn't you rather be a mountain goat, running up the side of a steep slope to get away from a predator?

We have trouble today, understanding the value of Jesus' teaching, when so many of our words have taken on new meanings, and our experience with source of these analogies is limited.

If we ask someone what they would rather be, a sheep or a goat, what do you think they will pick?

If the goats are considered superior and the sheep meek, so much for wanting to be a sheep.

I wonder what Jesus would say to the youth today.

More to come...