Sheep or Goats?

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right (the sheep), 'Come, you who 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 drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 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? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'

"Then he will say to those on his left (the goats), 'Depart from me, you cursed, 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 no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also will answer, 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, 'Truly, I say to you, 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

There are clear similarities between sheep and goats. They are both given as ‘clean’ animals by God, for sacrifice and for food. They pasture together and they are both cared for by the same shepherd. The Middle Eastern sheep and goats even look remarkably similar.

Yet there are distinct differences too.

Sheep are compliant and easily handled, they are trusting and easily led. Sheep love to follow the shepherd, and will even follow an irresponsible one. When fed properly in a lush green field, sheep will lie down in an attitude of submission and trust. They have a strong flocking instinct, can seem distant and aloof, yet will recognize a familiar face, both human and sheep. They become agitated if separated from their flock, as they know their only protection from predators is to band closely together. If a predator is threatening the flock, sheep do not act independently!

Sheep are not likely to be where there is agitation and discord; they are skittish in those situations. 

Goats, on the other hand, are by nature pushy, independent, headstrong and self-sufficient. They do not graze, they browse; a little here and a little there, they wander. They are naturally curious. They easily revert back to a wild condition if given a chance. They are naturally quarrelsome and have short tempers. They rear and butt to establish dominance. They would rather lead than follow. 

Most of us probably have some characteristics of both sheep and goats. But at the heart, we are really either one or the other. Do we follow the Shepherd and His way, trusting completely in Him for our physical and spiritual care? Or do we follow only somewhat, preferring to blaze our own ultimately self sufficient trail of re-interpretation and independence?

We know that we cannot please God without faith. Faith is trust in Him that is actively lived out in our daily life: in our thoughts, in our words, in our actions. The faith/trust must come first; our actions are acceptable to Him only when they flow from trust in Him. So it is well worth considering just how much and how far do we trust Him? Are we sheep…or goats?