“To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. - 1 Peter 5
I know Dr. Bronner talks about this somewhere on his famous soap bottles, but I don’t have the quote handy so I’ll paraphrase based on my own experiences. Still working out the details on a day-to-day basis, but it goes something like this: if you know the difference between right and wrong, between living a good life and a bad life, then it’s basically you’re responsibility to live a good life - not just for yourself - but also to act as an example and set the pace for other people who don’t know the difference, who haven’t been exposed, who have misunderstood the teachings - I guess you could say.
What I’m talking about, I guess you could say, is being a shepherd. For years, I’ve been fascinated by the fact that certain breeds of dogs have it naturally built into their biochemistry to go and round up groups of animals, to watch over them and to protect them. While you can train these dogs instincts and hone their skills to become useful working animals, the fact remains that certain dogs are just good at it - they’re built for it somehow.
I realize that I am one of those dogs.
And I always have been. I remember being a child, in maybe 2nd or 3rd grade it started: the teachers would pair me up with one of the “bad kids,” in an effort to have my goody-two-shoes-ness rub off on them. The influence often worked both ways though, as my charge would also expose me to the “bad side” - or at least as bad of things as kids can get into. This partnership morphed but never really diminished over time, as in high school I found myself constantly hanging out on the “bad side” of the cafeteria, with the dirt bags, the smokers, the musicians, and the hackey-sackers who were cutting class and doing all kinds of bad stuff that I never really engaged in, but there it was. Then, when I dropped out of college after a year, I immediately after started working as a tutor and teaching assistant at the same institution, before getting picked up by a technology training company to teach - to shepherd - adults who’d lost their jobs how to become ace web developers. Or that was the idea anyway.
And now the wheel has turned again. Many years later, having suffered through many trials and ordeals as a person, I find myself in the same spot. I find myself with a deeply-rooted wisdom, tempered by life experience, of what constitutes “the good life.” While I do my best to live it (God knows it’s not always easy and there is little thanks for it), I see others around me floundering in confusion and chaos. I see wayward sheep and I want to run after them and make sure they’re okay. I’m beginning to believe - or maybe beginning to actually live according to a long-standing belief - that there may be no higher calling in this life than to care for your fellow man, to stop looking out for only yourself, and to share what goodness you’ve accrued in your life, and to be an example.
Being an example, God, it sounds like a lot of responsibility. And responsibility, after years and years of playing the fool, is not a word I look on with much love. But it’s not an outward responsibility, it’s not some phony social obligation that you have to do because culture or society tells you it is so. It’s the kind of responsibility that you know is real only because it lives in your heart and continues to burn there regardless of what happens in your outward life. It is, I guess, the same sleepless watch, the same quiet thankless vigil, that nomadic shepherds have kept over their flocks since man and animal first learned how to work together for some common purpose. So, here goes…
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7 Comments
There are actually two types:
Flock guardians and herders. Flock Guardians are big molloser types like a Great pyranees. They are big and lazy but really powerful and quick when they need to be.
They are often white like the sheep they protect. They bond with the sheep. Their movements are rythmical and relaxed s they calm the sheep.
When wolf comes to the fold they spring into action.
The other type are herders, like border collies. Small and hectic. They intimidate the sheep with strong eye contact. The sheep percieves them as wolves. They are more wolf like than the flock guardians. The flock guardians display neotony. Basically a big strong baby Huey that thinks its a sheep, but is tough enough to kill a wolf.
The two types don’t get along. A flock Guardian will g ofter a border cllie and grab it by the neck and through it to the ground if it tries to herd the sheep.
Maybe human shepherds have to be both.
The top dog is a flock guardian(100-200 lbs) the austrailan shepherds in the middle are herders. (30-50) lbs.
I don’t know what the bottom ones are probably Central Asian sheepdgs. (flock guardians)
I think you are meant to be a shepherd, Tim. I told you you seem like preacher, from that Youtube video.
Your whole pysiognomy, says “Look to me, I am here to help.” Not like “look at me, I want attention” but rather “look to me” I have guidence to offer.
As for me, I am a Dingo
“Maybe human shepherds have to be both.”
And have a sense of humor. We had a German Shepard (from Germany) who was like a stand up comedian. He knew his jokes were funny and had perfect comic timing. (You had to be there.)
Thirty years later I saw a documentary about dog behavior and saw that playfulness was considered a survival skill. The dog confuses and defuses the preditory instinct in the attacker. He thinks he’s dealing with a puppy. One of the dogs got rid of bears like this. He just would not stop aggresively inviting these bears to play. Very brave.
“What is the good man but that bad man’s teacher, what is the bad man, but the good man’s student?” Good and bad being open to vastly differing level of interpretation of course.
Being “good” is simply better for you, and for everyone, but it takes courage a hard work. The world needs more people who are willing to take up this burden of being proof to others that living the good life works better than any other way of living. Of course, it’s not actually all that heavy of a burden, once it’s picked up.
The heavy lifting goes on mostly before you pick it up, because once you pick it up, other people rush over to help you and the burden becomes lighter, and if not lighter, then at least shared…
Lighter and lighter until it lifts you up to the sky. That’s what I think.