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“Shepherd My Sheep”
A shepherd was put in charge of some of his master's sheep. He was given one hundred to watch over. His master warned him to be sure to watch out for the wolves. So day and night he vigilantly watched for any wolf that might try to sneak into the flock. Yes, he was determined not to lose one sheep to the wolves. And he was proud and boasted to other shepherds of his perfect record—not one lost!Sometime later his master came to check on the flock, and the shepherd reported, "not one lost." But his master was perplexed because there were only fifty sheep in the flock. What happened to the other fifty?
"Well," the shepherd said, "there were a few problems."
"What problems?" the master queried.
"Let me explain," said the shepherd. "There were a few times I thought I spotted a wolf in sheep's clothing among the flock (it surely didn't look like the others) so I killed it. Well, it wasn't a wolf after all. You see, when one of the sheep got dirt on it, it didn't look like the others who were clean and white, and I mistook it for a wolf in sheep's clothing. But I can confidently say 'not one sheep was lost to wolves.'"
His master asked, "Surely, you didn't mistakenly kill fifty sheep."
"Oh, no," replied the shepherd.
"Well, what happened to the others that are missing?" inquired the master.
The shepherd replied, "Some of the sheep complained about the lack of good food and went off looking for greener pastures. I was sorry to see them go, but it's much quieter without them. Also, when some of the sheep that were 'high maintenance' wandered off, I didn't go after them because I had to protect the flock against the wolves who might devour some of the flock while I was away. Anyway, the workload is much lighter without them."
"So you just let them wander off and didn't go after them?" the incredulous master asked.
"The Lord had a number of followers who turned away, so I guess it's the same today—nothing new under the sun," replied the shepherd matter-of-factly.
"Let me look at the sheep that remain in the flock," demanded the master.
"Okay, but let me warn you, there is another problem, and I am at a loss to explain," warned the shepherd.
The master gasped! "They look terrible, and many of them are near death! Look! Some are actually dead. What happened? You said it definitely wasn't wolves. Then what could it be? Some kind of disease? Maybe something they ate?" On closer examination it became apparent that the problem was the sheep were suffering from improper care and malnutrition.
The master turned to the shepherd and asked, "What have you been doing?"
"Listen, I didn't have time to properly feed and care for them. I was too busy keeping the wolves away. Yes master, I can confidently say 'not one sheep was lost to wolves.'"
"Shepherd (tend) my sheep" — is the responsibility of all those who have been given charge over some of the Lord's sheep. And, those members who are well cared for and well-fed need to appreciate the work of the shepherds.
[AUTHOR'S NOTE: I wrote this article years ago while I was serving as an elder. It was written at a time when erroneous teachings were circulating in the area. I wrote it to help me remember that keeping false doctrine out of the church was important, but not to the exclusion of other duties. My responsibilities included making sure His sheep were well-fed and cared for as well as being protected from wolves.]
