Physically, perhaps I look like a monkey. I had a beard at various stages. When I was a teacher, some of the kids called me a wolfman 😀.
However, I generally like to think in terms of how Jesus views us. And we are His sheep, if we believe in Him. Being sheepish is sometimes viewed in negative terms. .
I think of the Pink Floyd song Sheep, from the Animals album. It’s an excellent song, and they were an excellent group. But Roger Waters seemed a bitter sort of a guy. I think he hated the fact that people sheepishly followed the establishment. Perhaps he’d have preferred us all to sheepishly follow him 😀. I’d be more inclined to sheepishly follow his music than his politics
Maybe communism would work in theory if your country had no nasty people trying to control everyone. It’s often said that over 100 million deaths were caused by communist regimes through executions, repression, forced labor, and state‑induced famines.
I was into Leon Trotsky’s form of communism back when I was 18, shortly before I committed my life to Christ. And I was probably quite left-wing for a few years after. But soon I learned that the best aspects of communism or socialism have been adopted my mainstream politics in Ireland and most of Europe. Examples include opening up opportunities for all and helping those in need through the social welfare system. But if the incentives to hard work disappear, some people take advantage of the system, and they settle down living on the taxes paid by others, so it’s a matter of getting the balance right. It isn’t easy. I’d certainly like basic housing to be under the control of the state. Handing it over to the free market hasn’t worked well for many.
But the extreme left still live in the hope of their revolution or perhaps of getting into power and having their paradise come quickly and easily. And they hope that this time, their regimes will be nothing like the former communism regimes. I’ll believe it when I see it. But I don’t think I’ll ever see any ideal societies until Jesus returns. If feels very much like things are going downhill at the moment.
Anyway, I wouldn’t be happy to sheepishly follow politicians or even evangelical leaders, but I am happy to sheepishly follow Christ. The Lord is my shepherd. And Christ himself is compared to a lamb – the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And so many hymns touch on the metaphor of sheep and lambs. They are gentle creatures, who depend on the shepherd for protection against wolves. And the metaphor is used throughout the Bible. Abel is described as a keeper of sheep, and it’s thought that his sacrifice to God was a sheep. And in the final book, Revelation, Jesus is again compared to a lamb who sacrifice himself in our place.
John 10:11
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
John 10:27-30
27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”
Revelation 7:17
For the Lamb at the center of the throne
will be their shepherd;
‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’
‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
And here are some hymns and songs on today’s theme:
Hibernia Gospel 