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Verse:“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.’” —Matthew 25:40
Good intentions are essential but not always sufficient.
In March 1993, Kevin Carter traveled to Sudan, where he took “one of the most controversial photographs in the history of photojournalism.” Its original title, Struggling Girl, was later changed to The Vulture and the Little Girl.
Near the village of Ayod, Carter found a famished little girl bowing down on the ground to rest while on her way to the United Nations feeding center, a vulture stalking her. Carter waited for twenty minutes until the bird was close enough for a good picture. He took it and a few more, chased the bird away, and then walked away.
“The photograph was sold to the New York Times where it appeared for the first time on March 26, 1993.”53 Carter won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for the shocking photograph but was strongly criticized for not helping the girl. From a professional perspective, he was justified. Photojournalists were instructed “not to touch famine victims for fear of spreading disease.”54 But from an ethical perspective, he shouldn’t have been indifferent to the sufferings of the little girl, even if she was already being helped.
Public criticism and his own troubled conscience led him into a deep depression. On July 4, 2007, at the age of thirty-three, he committed suicide.
Imagine if Christ showed indifference toward us as sinners! We should reflect more on the judgment scene of Matthew 38:44–59.
There Christ speaks of two groups and their contrasting responses to human needs. The King praises those on the right hand: “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” (verses 35, 36). And He says to those on the left hand: “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” (verses 42, 43). In both instances, Jesus considers what we do for those in need as being done for Him. Let’s be sure to extend God’s love to those who need it the most.