Two years ago my hubby became an apprentice to a sheep herder. (I know, not the typical apprenticeship, but it was a wonderful experience for our family.) During this time the whole family was able to spend quite a lot of time working with and watching the sheep. One of the things I noticed is that sheep are not unintelligent (as I used to think), but they are complete followers.
If one sheep runs one direction, they all want to follow. The funniest part is that none of them want to be the leader. They all want to be followers. I think one of the most frustrating parts of working with the sheep is trying to get the first sheep to go somewhere. Once you have one, they all will go.
In view of all this, it sure has been eye-opening that people are repeatedly compared to sheep in the Bible. Other than our helplessness (which really is a whole other topic), I can’t help but see what followers we really are. If we can find how someone is able to successfully do what we are striving to do, we try to copy their technique.
I do it all the time! Before discovering the world of blogging, I used the internet to primarily research whatever I needed to learn about at that time. Whether natural remedies to common ailments, different homeschooling techniques and curriculum, or how-to’s for household tasks, I was able to “copy” how others were able to complete these tasks.
It may be fun to run after the new fad or product, but many times we are just following the crowd. Something in us wants to be like everyone else. We want to fit in. When we hear there is something that everyone else is excited about, we just have to know more about it.
Although following after the crowd isn’t always a bad thing, we must be diligent to be sure we are not following after the things of the crowd that are not Godly. Striving to be like someone who does a good job guiding their house is one thing, but following after someone who does not care well for their family, but puts themself first is not a good idea.
Paul said we are to follow after him, as he followed after Christ.
“Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 11:1
So the next time you find yourself following after someone, ask yourself if they are leading a Godly life or a selfish one.
