Ramblings from Retirement – Don’t follow the flock!

Ramblings from Retirement – Don’t follow the flock!

By Retired Pastor Lee Hemen

April 7, 2021

I was watching a small flock of sparrows in my backyard this morning as they hopped and fluttered around the feeders we have out there and how they would all move at once together. In fact when a raucous blue jay flew in, because it was much larger and scarier, the entire flock took off in a flash of feathers and tweeters. As soon as the blue jay left, they all came back at once. This made think of how a lot of people respond to the world around them; they only react as the rest of the crowd reacts. If it is in fear then they are fearful, if it is to follow some convoluted idea they willingly swallow it, and if the rest of the group does it then they will as well. My mother would ask us as kids when we ignorantly followed the crowd, “If your friends jumped off a bridge would you follow them?”

Now I know that God created a natural instinct in those little sparrows to protect them from predators but how does this explain some of the spiritual stupidity in humanity?

We see it in the crowds who were more than willing to follow Jesus as He fed them, healed them, and gave them a good show to watch but as soon as the authorities and spiritual leaders of the day turned against Jesus they fled away like a flock of frightened sparrows. Those flocks of fickle followers who once joyously cried out “Hosanna!”, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”, and “Blessed is the King of Israel!” would soon cry out “Crucify him!” at His trumped up trial.

Interestingly this is nothing new because we see it with Peter when he vehemently tells Jesus that he would never betray him and yet does three times and he was one of those who ran like the wind into the bushes when the guards showed up to capture Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. We find it with the crowds who cry to Moses “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.” Before he heads up to receive the commandments do an about-face when Moses stays too long up on the mountain conversing with God and lament to Aaron “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don't know what has happened to him.”

How sweet to learn that it was Jesus would talked about the fear sparrows have and yet how God takes care of them anyway: “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. (Luke 12:6-7 NIV)”

So which are you? Are you the sparrow who flits and flies at the least little thing that frightens you or are you the sparrow who is held gently in the hands of a loving Savior? Do you follow the crowd out of fear of being rejected by them or do you rest in the hands of Jesus? Don’t follow the frightened flock; follow the one who holds you safely in His hands.

This article is copyrighted © 2021 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.