Yeah, I’m a sheep. But I’m not your sheep!

This article isn't about mask/no mask, conservatism/liberalism, republican or democrat. Nor is it aimed at racism, gender identity, climate change, science, or immigration issues. As challenging as these cultural debates may be, the disease they conjure is an even more significant threat to our global society. The archaic virus, no, the pandemic of bullying, persists in destroying lives. 

      With the tidal waves of clinical research and information, warnings, and admonitions about bullying, you might think this barbarian treatment of others would be breathing its last gasp. Yet, here we are in "Woke-2022" with more bulldozing, browbeating, berating, intimidation, arm-twisting, and agree-with-me-or-pay-the-social-price than any other time in history. I've personally tasted this poison enough to discern that some of the most self-proclaimed tolerant, "wolk-folk," you know, are only so until you disagree with them.

     Through the abuse of influence, words, and power, the destructive demoralization of bullying has exploded beyond the callow battleground of our schoolyards and hallways. Its roots of brutality have grown deep and broad into the soil of every community on our planet.

As a race bent on getting our way, we've advanced our malevolent methods by honing the skills of cyber-bullying. Whether it's name-calling, spreading rumors, or threatening text, we can now diffuse our venom on a global scale through the World Wide Web.

  Like many, I've had my share of being made fun of and called hurtful names. Growing up with bad hair, a bad complexion, and wearing my sister's hand-me-downs, I was an easy target. 

Mama's Boy. Idiot. Stupid. Fool. White Trash, and much worse. As I've grown older, the bullies have become more sophisticated, and the names they call others are far more degrading with targeted intent. What I've experienced lately has been more than enough to summon these unwelcome memories.

A few years ago, I had a passionate exchange about the integrity of the Bible with a fellow racquetball player. As I was conveying my viewpoint, with one corner of his mouth turned up sharply and a slow wag of his head, he snorted out, "You're nothin' but a sheep!" 

His effort was to shame me into silence. To insult me as one who blindly follows another; in this case, ignorantly following God and His Word.

His attempt failed miserably. He didn't realize he was tagging me with one of the highest honors he could afford me. 

"Yeah, I may be a sheep." I quickly replied, "But I'm not your sheep!"

With pursed lips and furrowed brow, he stood staring, waiting for a clever rebuttal that never arrived. At length, the best he came up with was to greet me with a sadistic smile and a "baa" each time he saw me at the gym. Eventually, he moved to a different city.

Illusions of Control

"We have to pray for bullies, Arthur." My dad unsuccessfully tried to explain to me when I was a kid.

"Why?"

"Because on the inside, they're terrified."

Being so young, I didn't understand how a cruel, rude, and often excessively loud, never-let-you-finish-a-sentence person could be afraid of anything. I've grown to realize that bullies on the playground, in the church, on the internet, in the office, or wherever you may find them, live in perpetual life-shaping fear. Their behavior has little to do with their target. It's more about their perception of the world, which is: "I have to control you to feel safe."

This snag is the crux of the matter. God did not create a single one of us to be controlled by other humans. We were born with innate independence and to govern our own lives under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Even apart from a relationship with God, every human has a deep-seated awareness that we are each individual and are entirely responsible for our own hearts, minds, and bodies. We're divinely designed with a gut instinct to only yield to the One Who made us. 

One of the essential documents in the history of the United States of America is the Declaration of Independence. One sentence, in particular, stands out in the context of my concern: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." (U.S. Congress, July 4, 1776)

You can give up your free will by criminal behavior or willfully share it with another through the beauty of matrimony. Other than these exceptions, no one has the right to take away your God-given gifts of freedom and personal choice. 

It may seem paradoxical, but this freedom is a fundamental benefit of yielding your heart to Jesus Christ. When you choose to surrender your will to His, all brutes and bullies lose control of your life. Let's walk this out a bit further.

Yes, I'm a sheep. I'm a passionate follower of my Shepherd, Jesus Christ. But for someone to say, "You blindly follow God!" is untrue, naive, and grossly disparaging. The exact opposite is true. I was blindly following a tyrant, an other-worldly bully. But by God's grace, Jesus came to my rescue, opened my eyes, and saved my life. I'm exceptionally honored and thankful to follow Him with my eyes wide open.

  Eyes wide open? Here's what I mean.

Both of my parents were earnest ministers of the Gospel. They also lived godly lives in private. I watched them handle toxic gossipers in the church. I listened and learned as they graciously worked out disagreements between themselves. I was on the ship as they skillfully navigated troubled waters agitated by bullies.

At 20 years old, Wendy and I began our studies of God's Word. We've had the privilege of being led and taught, through precept and example, by men and women who genuinely feared God. Some of them had degrees and credentials. Others did not. All of them had faithfully and fruitfully walked with Jesus, many of them for longer than we had even been alive!

We learned promises from God like:

• "The sheep that are My own hear My voice and listen to Me; I know them, and they follow Me." ~ Jesus (John 10:27)

• "The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives." (Psalm 37:23)

• "For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God." (Romans 8:14)

• "You have an anointing from the Holy One [you have been set apart, specially gifted and prepared by the Holy Spirit], and you know [the truth because He teaches us, illuminates our minds, and guards us from error]." (1 John 2:20)

We took these, and many other promises, and grew in our comprehension and cooperation of following the lead of God's Spirit. He led us, fed us, and protected us as we joyfully served His people in pastoral ministry for 32 years. We haven't always been right, and we certainly have a lot of growing yet to do. But, we've learned a few things about how we arrive at decisions in our lives. 

All of this to say, respectfully, at 58 years old, I simply can’t ignore all that has been seeded and invested into my life, to follow after opinions of others often formed within the last 72 hours. 

I settled my surrender to Jesus Christ, His wisdom, and His ways was long before others decided I'm a fool for the decisions I make with which they disagree. In addition, I'm not responsible for following what others think God is telling me to do or not do. I'm accountable for what I believe God is directing in my heart and life. 

No one else has done for me what Jesus has. I owe Him my trust and my obedience; I owe Him everything!

I cannot and will not take the risk of following others' opinions, ideas, and agendas when I have sound convictions, the fruit of decades of learning to hear and follow God's voice. Nor would I expect anyone to heed my opinions or ideas. Only follow me if you see, in your understanding, that I'm following Jesus.

"But Art, you're not considering the science...the professionals...the facts." 

Here's a complicated reality: Like the many professional, educated, and influential people you may have on your side of the argument, the other side has just as many. In our day, you can't simply follow data, figures, and influencers. Because our access to information is copious, it's often copiously confusing. All at once, we hear ideas, facts, opinions, propaganda, beliefs, agendas, and so on. Most of us don't have the means to discern which is what. Add to that; some voices have developed their skills of deception in taking information for a compelling spin.

What are we to do?

My heartfelt recommendation is to yield your heart and trust to the God Who made you. He's eternal, He's good, He's unchanging and reliable. He already sees the end of everything and has promised that He has an exceptional plan for those who will trust Him. As He has faithfully led many young and old, rich and poor, fathers and mothers, sons and daughters before you; He's faithful, able, and willing to guide you, too.

If you've already given your heart to Jesus Christ, trust His Word and wisdom. Listen for and follow His precious and powerful voice. Pray so that you don't become easy prey.

Of course, if you decide to go through life without His counsel and help, that's the privileged use of your freedom of choice. Respectfully, however, a large number of our generation are pleading with you to not mock, run roughshod over, or strong-arm those who have decided to follow Jesus Christ as the Lord of their lives. Don't expect us to turn our backs on God and His Word to make your decision more comfortable for you. Through intense trial and challenge, many of God's sheep have found Him to be the most reliable, understanding, and kindhearted Friend they've ever known. They would rather die than deny His work or Word in their lives. 

Even though I don't agree with your choice to exclude God from your life, I respect it. Likewise, I appreciate you respecting my decision to follow Him as the Shepherd of my life.

New Heart

"Let's me and You conquer the world!" I remember self-importantly declaring to Jesus. 

"Let's Me and you conquer you." He replied with a smile.

Jesus has already overcome the world. He now works in Christian's hearts to conquer their selfishness and pride and rid them of all personal agendas, including the desire to retaliate against those who belittle them. 

One of the most basic directives God gives His sheep is to imitate Jesus. Even to the point of declaring, "It's no longer I that live, but Jesus Christ lives through me." 

He's our Standard, our Mark of being called out of the darkness. Meaning to the best we can, we are to have not only His mind but also His mouth. Both are notably on display for us in Isaiah 53, as the Lamb of God hung willingly and sacrificially upon His cross.

"He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth [to complain or defend Himself]. Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before her shearers, so He did not open His mouth." (Isaiah 53:7 AMP)

  Because their torture didn't produce the dramatic resistance they craved, some of His executioners lost interest while others gambled for His clothes. When He finally spoke, what He said wasn't politically correct, trendy, or pliant drivel. As it turns out, what He said has proven to be one of the most powerful sentences ever spoken by a Man in all of human history.

From His place of unspeakable love, He prayed, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34)

A strong indicator that someone's heart has been yielded to Jesus and is free from tyrants of any kind is the God-given strength of love empowering them to bless and not curse; to respond in grace rather than satisfy the fleshly desire of revenge.

  In Matthew 5:39, Jesus says, "Do not resist an evil person [who insults you or violates your rights]; but whoever slaps you on the right cheek, turn the other toward him also [simply ignore insignificant insults or trivial losses and do not bother to retaliate—maintain your dignity, your self-respect, your poise]."

Don't believe for a second that the reason your Christian friends don't fight back when they're bullied is that they're sheepishly afraid or that they don't have anything to say. No, meekness is most certainly not a weakness. Their calm and quiet composure is likely because they've chosen to follow the voice and example of their Shepherd boldly. 

Refusing to revile abusers or vindicate themselves isn't the same as cowering to intimidation. They're employing their freedom of choice to take the higher road, walking in love and yielding to the One Who governs their hearts.

  2 Timothy 1:7 reminds His sheep that, "God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control."

A Word to Bullies

If your catnip is other folk's weaknesses or the strengths of your peers threaten you, please consider this tried-and-true caution found in 2 Corinthians 10:12, "In all this comparing and grading and competing, they quite miss the point." Another translation of this scripture says, very simply, "comparing yourself to others is unwise."

When you compare yourself to everyone else, the point you're missing is the gift of your uniqueness. God created you in His image and likeness with divine intention. I encourage you to value your one-of-a-kind-ness. Being better, richer, smarter, or righter than everyone else will never meet the longings of your soul. The only thing that will ever satisfy that sacred craving is intimately knowing your Creator and the unique purpose and plan He has for your life.

When you're constantly assessing your value based on how you measure up with everyone else, you've relegated yourself to living within one of two dispositions. Either the white-hot spotlight of always having to be better than others or, in the skirting shadows of doubt and intimidation, convinced you'll never be enough.

Take God at His Word. You'll find that He's good and cares about you and who you're becoming, far more than you've ever realized. 

A Word to the Bullied

"You deserve it!"

"Who are you to think you belong here?"

"Keep your opinions to yourself! Nobody cares!" 

These and many other destructive decrees have flooded your soul if you're like me.

My friend, absolutely silence those inner voices, once and for all! God never intended anyone to live in shame, ridicule, and fear. Through Jesus, He's paid a high price for you to be forever free of all who would endeavor to oppress you. 

Whether anyone recognizes it or not, you are a gift from God to your family and generation. Your ideas matter, viewpoints count, and your words carry the potential of strength and virtue. 

Pray for those who try to push you around, intimidate you, and silence your voice. Pray for them but don't cower to them. Respond instead with courage, dignity, boldness, and grace. Endeavor to see them through the love of God, filling your heart. On the inside, they're exceptionally fragile and need God's saving power as each one of us does.

God's Word gives many commands and directives to His people. They "are all summed up in the one command that says, 'Love others as much as you love yourself.'" (Romans 13:9)

"Be merciful as you endeavor to understand others, and be compassionate, showing kindness toward all. Be gentle and humble, unoffendable in your patience with others. 13 Tolerate the weaknesses of those in the family of faith, forgiving one another in the same way you have been graciously forgiven by Jesus Christ. If you find fault with someone, release this same gift of forgiveness to them. 14 For love is supreme and must flow through each of these virtues. Love becomes the Mark of true maturity." (Colossians 3:12-14)

"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Romans 12:21

Final Thoughts

  It shouldn't surprise us when people disagree with us. Can you imagine what our world would be like if we all thought and spoke exactly the same? The joys of discovery, deep discussions, and personal distinction would be all but non-existent. We're all aware of the risks of engaging with others, especially those we don't entirely agree with. We also understand that it's well worth it so our lives and world may continue to move forward.

No one, not friends, family, church, government, nobody, should expect you to follow blindly. I never had to teach any of my children to ask questions. It didn't matter what was happening, who was there, or where we were going.

"Why, daddy?"

"When?"

"Who?" 

"How?"

And then, "Why?" again!

We're humans. We're alive, vibrant, awake, and intentional. We ask questions! It's what we do. Our curiosity, hunger for knowledge, and desire to learn and grow are all in our divine design. We can't shut that down in other humans any more than we can stop them from breathing. Asking questions is intrinsic to our progress, both personal and global. 

Rather than being threatened by the questionings and potential disagreements, let's take the opportunity to offer to others the respect and the dignity we expect from them.

Give people the space and grace to follow their hearts, even if that means they walk a different path than you've chosen. It could be they've made their decisions with their eyes wide open. 

 Yes, I'm a sheep. But I'm not your sheep.