Have you ever heard the term: "dumb sheep"? Being a city boy, I can't really say whether or not sheep are actually "dumb", but the image they call to mind is a group of little, white, fuzzy (and witless) animals that do nothing all day but graze on soft rolling hills of green... just waiting to be eaten by Wile E. Coyote!
The Bible refers to Christians as sheep and in many ways we are just like those little animals: we must be led from place to place and, being defenseless, we must completely trust in Another, the Good Shepherd, for protection.
But, did you know that BLIND faith is very bad thing? Solomon said: "The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going." (Prov. 14:15) Luke said the worshippers at Berea "...were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so." (Acts 17:11). Who were the Bereans "checking-up" on? The apostle Paul! Paul had been teaching that this Jesus was the promised Christ and that He, of necessity, was to have died and rose again. Remember, the Jews had been expecting the Messiah in the form of a king.
As the Berean believers, we should not automatically accept everything we hear from the pulpit, or from any other "authority", as fact unless it agrees with the authority of scripture.
Real Christianity is not blind devotion to a Jim Jones, "creed" or cause; it isn't naive trust in the unreliable. It is, rather, OPEN-MINDED devotion and commitment to and personal relationship with Jesus Christ Himself.
"Ponder the path of thy feet, and let ALL thy ways be established." (Prov. 4:26-emphasis added.) Solomon here tells us to consider ALL our ways (not just those of a "spiritual" nature). We are to exercise good judgement, common sense, and seek wise counsel when needed in handling the everyday affairs of life. We need not be an easy "mark" for those willing to prey on the unsuspecting.
Jesus Himself said: "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves." (Matt. 10:16)
Dumb sheep? Not a chance!
oOo
-Al Stephens
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