Pigs and Sheep are Opposites

Pigs don’t follow a shepherd. Instead, if you want them to go somewhere, one farming website suggests that  “Gentle, steady pressure should be applied from behind to encourage forward movement.” The same website about pig herd behavior shows they have some interesting leadership/follower characteristics. “The dominant pigs, known as the leaders, establish their authority through physical displays. Lower-ranking pigs submit to the leaders’ dominance and follow their cues in various activities.” The Farming Insider

Sheep are the opposite of pigs in many ways. Their diets are different from the pig’s diet. They like green pastures and not the mud that pigs seem to enjoy. Sheep will follow a shepherd, but I don’t think I have ever seen pigs in that context. You might say that a pig and a sheep are opposites in many respects.

One other thing I have noticed is that pig parts dominate the refrigerated and frozen sections of the grocery stores. Pigs wind up slaughtered. Lamb is certainly offered as a meat, but it is a rare thing to see lamb chops on display. Rather, the sheep’s wool has value, but I haven’t seen clothing from the hair of the pig.

Opposite Choices Have Consequences

In life as well there are opposite choices that have consequences. Many choices can have a dramatic effect on our lives. These include a choice of a spouse, career choices, and choices about spending, saving and investing. When it comes to these, many follow the what the rest of the herd does. There is a reason for this. They lack guidance from a good shepherd. They have bad shepherds.

God has some strong language about bad shepherds in both Jeremiah’s prophecy and Ezekiel’s. For example, “’Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!’ declares the Lord.” Jeremiah 23:1 Why is the Lord judging the shepherds of his flock? “My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray, turning them away on the mountains. From mountain to hill they have gone. They have forgotten their fold.” Jeremiah 50:6

There is a Good Shepherd

Jesus declared, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” John 10:11 The opposite leader is not concerned about the sheep. Peter describes the opposite in 1 Peter 5:8: “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

We all have a choice, and the primary choice has eternal significance and consequence. You can choose from two extreme opposites: a shepherd or a lion.

How to Identify a Follower of Jesus

They choose to receive grace by faith and follow a Good Shepherd. Their walk and talk changes and their end is dramatically different at the end of their lives.

“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air (the devil or Satan), the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2:1-7

Five Minute Friday

This post is part of the weekly Five-Minute Friday link-up.

All scripture passages are from the English Standard Version except as otherwise noted.