YOU ARE SHEEP!
The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. (Psalm 23:1)
Fight: Sheep have neither offensive nor defensive weapons. No fangs, no claws, no shell, no spray, nothing. On the upside, they do come equipped with about 8 pounds of Velcro all over their body, so you can grab them pretty much anywhere and drag them to the ground
What about flight? For starters, they’re slow. Their eyesight is just as poor as their hearing. They have little strength, less stamina, and no sense of direction. Best of all, they have an over-active startle reflex, and they don’t blend into anything. So even if they could run, they can’t hide.
Posture. Dogs bark, cats hiss, rattlesnakes rattle… Sheep baaa. Baaa! That’s the barnyard equivalent of “Please don’t eat me, please don’t eat me, please don’t eat me!” Fearsome, yeah? Dogs raise their hackles, cats arch their back, rattlesnakes coil and lift their head to make themselves appear larger. What can sheep do? How do you puff up when you’re already fluffy?
Sheep know one trick and one trick only. They flock. We used to think flocking was complex behavior. We’d look at the precision of a flock of birds and imagine how hard it would be to fly planes that close together. We know how hard it is to get a hundred people moving in the same direction, but computer science has taught us that flocking is very simple.
We have no clue what we’re saying! Sheep are dumb, stubborn, and willful. Even when they have a shepherd around they’re not safe because they still get lost, get drowned, and get trapped. Pick another animal. Any other animal. A rat! Sure, they’re flea infested, disease-carrying scavengers, but at least rats are smart. But God says, “Nope. You’re a sheep.”
What does this mean for us? Three things.
First, when we see the phrase, “for his name’s sake” we need to pay attention. If it’s for God’s sake, it’s definitely for our benefit, but probably not for our comfort. All we want is a nice life: enough food, water, and shelter, no pain, no work, no danger. God isn’t satisfied with nice. God is good. Notice the very next phrase after for his name’s sake? “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.” Sound fun to you?
Second, be like the shepherd. Don’t push. Lead. Don’t yell. Call. Share your life and build trust so that when you speak, your people listen. You don’t need to influence everyone. You just need a little flock of people who know you, who trust you, because you know them. You get to decide whose opinion matters, and it’s not the critic.
Third, we are not nearly as tough, smart, or independent as we think we are. And neither is anyone else. I met a man once, a biker who gave his life to Christ, and he talked about what a relief it was not having to be in charge any more. He had spent a chunk of his life making sure that no one, no one, disrespected him or his crew. He had to be constantly aware, not just of what other people were doing, but what they might be thinking. The weight of it drove him to violence and addiction. It wasn’t until he accepted that he was not in charge that he was free to be himself without worrying what anyone else thought.
We are sheep in wolves’ clothing. Trying to be cool. Trying to be in charge and independent. Who are we trying to impress? Other sheep? We think hanging out on the fringes makes us cool. Actually, it makes us dinner. Smart sheep stay close to the shepherd.
http://revsmilez.com/2010/04/28/sermon-23rd-psalm/ Accessed: 19-02-2014
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