The Good Undershepherd

Once upon a time there was a shepherd. He was called an Undershepherd because he did not own the sheep, he reported to the Great Shepherd who owned the sheep. The Undershepherd did not work alone; he worked with other Undershepherds who also cared for the sheep. They all loved the sheep very much and they all worked very hard to take good care of them.

To make sure the job was done right, the Great Shepherd wrote out His instructions. He taught them exactly what to feed, and how to care for, the sheep. The Great Shepherd held his Undershepherds accountable for following His orders and delivered to them rewards or punishment based upon their performance.

The Undershepherd worked hard to memorize and follow the Great Shepherd’s instructions. There were the ordinary problems associated with caring for sheep. The sheep got sick, the sheep strayed, and the sheep were sometimes stubborn and did not want to go where they should. There was one more thing that was a danger to the sheep – wolves.

The Great Shepherd ordered the Undershepherds to feed the sheep a strict diet of grass, grain, and water. The Great Shepherd ordered the Undershepherds to keep the sheep moving toward the Kingdom. And the Great Shepherd ordered the Undershepherds to teach the sheep to recognize wolves and stay away from them.

The weird thing about these sheep was, they wanted to decide which orders their Undershepherds were to follow. They also wanted to decide which orders were to be taught to them.

The sheep liked to know where to eat the best grass, grain, and water. The sheep liked to hear about the Kingdom and what was waiting for them at the end of the trail. But the sheep became mad and irritated when the Undershepherd tried to teach the sheep about the danger of wolves, how to recognize wolves, or to stay away from wolves.

Do sheep need to learn about wolves? Do sheep need to recognize danger from wolves in sheep’s clothing? Should the Undersheperd obey the sheep or the Great Shepherd?