If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:1-3)

In 1978, President Jimmy Carter borrowed  Frederick Donaldson's Seven Social Evils in his eulogy at former Vice President Hubert Humphrey’s funeral services. They warned against: 

• Wealth without Work 
• Pleasure without Conscience 
• Knowledge without Character 
• Commerce (Business) without Morality (Ethics) 
• Science without Humanity 
• Religion without Sacrifice 
• Politics without Principle 

As we reflect on the realities of our current times, how much does society reward those that create wealth without work, or that pursue all kinds of pleasures without conscience? Have we accepted the accumulation of knowledge without developing a strong, principled character, or normalized doing business that is devoid of morality and ethics? Do we push to advance science but fail to serve humanity, or do we embrace the piety of religion without sacrificing for our fellow humankind? Finally, have we welcomed politics without principles or a higher value system? 

How many of these seven social evils are now the norm of today? 

When we look at what we’ve achieved, God will ask us what we have done for the “least of these” — the people without power, those that pass away unnoticed, those whose rights are taken away easily. 

God will ask us what have we done for the least of them. We may object to some of their life choices that got them to where they are, but God calls us to love them unconditionally and treat them as we would treat Jesus himself. 

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.’ (Matthew 25:40). 

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