All We Like Sheep?

"I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob; I will surely bring together the remnant of Israel. I will bring them together like sheep in a pen, like a flock in its pasture; the place will throng with people."
Micah 2:11-13

Newspapers are dying.

Newspapers are dying because as the medium changed, they didn't know how to make it work for them. When the internet boomed, they stuffed their ears with newsprint, refusing to adapt. It is an old medium, printed on paper, and "by god," they say, "it can only be that way."

So they chose the route that doomed so many industries before them, and around them. The automotive industry refused to respond to changes in the market, and ended up mindlessly producing gas-guzzling clunkers only the government was willing to buy. The airline industry saw no other choice but to pack 'em in small spaces, as American butts got wider, and charging everyone a different price.

And they continue their unchanging ways.

When faced with a new venue like the internet, most newspapers, accustomed to running an advertising business augemented by news, suddenly didn't know what their product was. They started to give away the news stories free. What they should have done is banded together and figured out how to turn the internet into an opportunity, instead of an electronic version of the same old stuff.

And now, I look at the Church. Falling prey to pop culture, it started to create superstar ministers, instead of genuine, God-inspired teachers. It has forgotten what it's product is.

Nowadays, you say "Church," and most of society will start to deride Christianity as a bunch of conservative, closed-minded, hateful people gathered together like sheep. Why? Because we have let our faith be cheapened into bad, dated televangelism, and supported it with our money.

I read the salaries of the head people at TBN last week, and was absolutely sickened by what these people were raking in. I don't mind people producing something good and doing well, but when they work selfishly to destroy the reputation of my faith, and take millions of dollars doing it, I am washed over in nausea.

I don't know about you, but I don't feel like a sheep. I don't consider myself hateful to anyone. I prefer to think of myself as open, caring, compassionate, and loving. I am not flawless. I have done some dumb stuff... and that stuff is the standard by which I get measured by some. But on the whole, I try to live to help people, and write to inspire and motivate.

The Bible frequently refers to the faithful as sheep. Sheep go astray. They go their own way, and follow anything, if left to their own devices. They often make mistakes. But when they are called to be mindful by a good shepherd, and led in they way they should go, their lives become much better. No longer snared by wolves, snagged by thorns, or distracted by people who want a lamb for dinner, they can live full lives giving wool and grazing peacefully.

The church, and by the church, I mean us, need to become mindful. We need to stop supporting the bad, and start speaking up. We need to quit singling out certain types of sin, while celebrating others in our own lives. We need to be humbled in moral character, instead of "proud of our morality." We need to be smart, and kick out the bums. Quit following those that want to use us for their own desires.

We need to speak up for Christ daily, as loving, caring people. We need to be mindful, not mindless sheep.