It is not very comforting to imagine that God compares us to the rather unimpressive sheep that seems to have little intelligence. We, too, seem to forget our Shepherd.
A book copyrighted in 1970 by Phillip Keller (A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23) has some enlightening words regarding how we deal with leadership. Here are some:
"Now as we turn to the human aspect of this theme we will be astonished at some of the parallels. As mentioned earlier, it is no mere whim on God's part to call us sheep. Our behavior patterns and life habits are so much like sheep it is well nigh embarrassing.
First of all Scripture points out that most of us are a stiff-necked and stubborn lot. We prefer to follow our own fancies and turn to our own ways. "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way" (Isaiah 53:6). And this we do deliberately, repeatedly to our own disadvantage. There is something almost terrifying about the destructive self-determination of a human being. It is inexorably interlocked with personal pride and self-assertion. We insist that we know what is best for us even though the disastrous results may be self-evident.
Just as sheep will blindly, habitually, stupidly follow one another along the same little trails until they become ruts that erode into gigantic gullies, so we humans cling to the same habits that we have seen ruin other lives.
Turning to "my own way" simply means doing what I want. It implies that I am free to assert my own wishes and carry out my own ideas. And this I do in spite of every warning.
We read in Proverbs 14:12 and 16:25, "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death."
In contrast to which Christ the Good Shepherd comes gently and says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:6). "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly" (John 10:10).
The difficult point is that most of us don't want to come. We don't want to follow. We don't want to be led in the paths of righteousness. Somehow it goes against our grain. We actually prefer to turn to our own way even though it may take us straight into trouble.
The stubborn, self-willed, proud, self-sufficient sheep that persists in pursuing its old paths and grazing on its old polluted ground will end up a bag of bones on a ruined land. The world we live in is full of such folk. Broken homes, broken hearts, derelict lives and twisted personalities remind us everywhere of men and women who have gone their own way. We have a sick society struggling to survive on beleaguered land. The greed and selfishness of mankind leaves behind a legacy of ruin and remorse.
Amid all this chaos and confusion Christ the Good Shepherd comes and says, If any man will follow me, let him deny himself daily and take up his cross and follow me (Mark 8:34). But most of us, even as Christians, simply don't want to do this. We don't want to deny ourselves, give up our right to make our own decisions-we don't want to follow; we don't want to be led.
Of course, most of us, if confronted with this charge, would deny it. We would assert vehemently that we are "led of the Lord." We would insist that we would follow wherever He leads. We sing songs to this as far as actually being led in paths of righteousness is concerned, precious few of us follow that path.
Actually this is the pivot point on which a Christian either "goes on" with God or at which point he "goes back" from following on.
There are many willful, wayward, indifferent, self-interested Christians who cannot really be classified as followers of Christ. There are relatively few diligent disciples who forsake all to follow the Master.
Jesus never made light of the cost involved in following Him. In fact He mad it painfully clear that it was a rugged life of rigid self-denial. It entailed a whole new set of attitudes. It was not the natural, normal way a person would ordinarily live and this is what made the price so prohibitive to most people...
2. Instead of being one of the crowd I am willing to be singled out, set apart from the gang.
Most of us, like sheep, are pretty gregarious. We want to belong. We don't want to be different in a deep, distinctive way, though we may wish to be different in minor details that appeal to our selfish ego.
But Christ pointed out that only a few would find His way acceptable. And to be marked as one of His would mean a certain amount of criticism and sarcasm from a cynical society. Many of us don't want this. Just as He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, so we may be. Instead of adding to the sorrows and sadness of society we may be called on to help bear some of the burdens of others, to enter into the suffering of others. Are we ready to do this?...
7. Instead of choosing my own way I am willing to choose to follow in Christ's way: simply to do what He asks me to do.
This basically is simple, straightforward obedience. It means I just do what He askes me to do. I go where He invites me to go. I say what He instructs me to say. I act and re-act in the manner He maintains is in my own best interest as well as for His reputation (if I'm His follower).
Most of us possess a formidable amount of factual information on what the Master expects of us. Precious few have either the will, intention or determination to act on it and comply with His instructions. But the person who decides to do what God asks him has moved onto fresh ground which will do both him and others a world of good. Besides, it will please the Good Shepherd no end."
Could it be that our leaders have failed? When the Bible says "all" does it give us the option of excluding politics? Or, are we, like sheep, thinking we have a better way? It seems so right to compromise in just this case. Is that God's direction?
We deserve to be compared to sheep, don't we?
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John 21:17 The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you." Jesus said, " Feed my sheep .
Yes, three times Christ repeated this simple statement. It was important to Christ. It was simple and straight-forward. This was spoken to Peter and we all consider this written to us as well.
What is wrong? Today, instead of feeding the sheep with the living bread of God's Word as we were instructed, we choose to groom the sheep with our own ideas of how we should improve our lives.
Lessons are taught in churches to improve our lives that utilize only one or two scriptures for support. The 30 minute lesson can use a single scripture and we embellish it with our own thoughts.
We do not feed with God's food. We could be getting great meals of excellent sustenance yet we settle for lessons that make us feel good, essentially only grooming us. We may look healthy but we find ourselves starving as we perish.
God's Word is our spiritual food. Nothing else. Nothing. Scripture calls itself our sustenance and living water.
As another analogy, the outer appearance, of course, does not show the true inner health. Inner health requires good sustenance, only from God's Word.
When we see a trophy catch or hunting trophy, we see a shell of an animal. Clearly dead in the inside but looks good outside. Are Christian leaders today acting as taxidermists? Don't we hear messages that are like NutraSweet®? They have sweet messages but contain absolutely no nutritional value. The leaders groom the sheep as a taxidermist may prepare a trophy, which is of far less significance than receiving a nourishing meal of God's Word.
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May the current leaders (God's anointed shepherds) avoid the following comparison that may, once again, be fulfilled prophecy.
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Ezekial 34:1 The word of the LORD came to me:
2 "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: `This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock?
3 You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock.
4 You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally.
5 So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals.
6 My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered over the whole earth, and no one searched or looked for them.
7 "`Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:
8 As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, because my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered and has become food for all the wild animals, and because my shepherds did not search for my flock but cared for themselves rather than for my flock,
9 therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:
10 This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.
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God removed the worthless shepherds and replaced them with David (Christ) who is looking after the flock. That is still true today, our leaders often just get in the way.
Many of our leaders today are too busy with their own (theoretically well-meaning) agendas than to push Christ's perfect agenda. They push their ministry's "resources" to help pay bills, theoretically as a service-although a lesser one. We dilute the scripture's meaning when we pontificate on our own. Unfortunately, this becomes a self-indictment on this web site.
Instead of pushing us to a deeper knowledge of the scripture and to more prayer (everyone already has a Bible and can pray- nothing to sell), we choose to discuss ways to hold marriages together that include no fear of God. Is it no wonder the Christian marriages fail as often as non-Christian's? If we fear God, we know better than to do wrong. Only God's Word is needed to save us from our problems.
God's Word is our nourishment. Feed the sheep.
The lesser shepherds are merely distractions. If we lack such nutritious meals, we are doomed to destruction, following those who cannot lead.
As a "Shepherd", are you a distraction? We sheep want to know.
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