Baa Baa, Fellow Sheeple

            I heard something recently that bothered me in a way that I didn’t really expect. My husband and I were in store and a couple of women were talking to an employee about facial masks. The two women were not wearing masks and the employee told them she agreed with them; she did not ask them to mask up. And the women started going on about how wearing the masks is a “sheep mentality.” You just go with the herd, regardless of facts, and don’t pay attention to anything except fear. And I didn’t say anything to them (because I’m not that person in a store), but I thought of something in my head later. 

            We’re all sheep. We might belong in different parts of the pen, but we’re all sheep. 

            And I wonder what she might have said if I had thought of it then and if I had decided to say it out loud to her. My guess is that it would have started a conflict that ended with me crying tears of frustration in the parking lot later and it wouldn’t have actually changed either of our minds. 

            (Hear me: sometimes the best thing you can do is just not engage)

            But I thought about this sheep mentality that she indirectly accused me of having (because I was wearing my facial mask, along with everyone else in the store). I don’t enjoy wearing the mask (does anyone?) and even though I’m vaccinated, I intend to keep wearing my mask because I am a sheep. I am. So are you. 

            We’re all sheep. That’s what the Bible tells us. Is that not why we make a joyful noise in Psalm 100? “Know that the Lord is God. It is he that made us, and we are his. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.” Psalm 95 calls us the “sheep of his hand” and Ezekiel 34 warns the “false shepherd” that the Good Shepherd is coming to bring the flock together and feed the false shepherds with justice. Being a sheep means someone is looking out for me. Someone is invested in my welfare. Someone hopes I come home at night to the right pen. Being a sheep means someone leads me and occasionally nips at my heels when I need to change direction. 

            So what’s wrong with being a sheep? 

            I guess in the lady’s mind, being a sheep means being mindless. And yeah, sheep aren’t always smart. Neither are people, for that matter. But you know what being a flock means? It means we look out for one another and make decisions that are good for the group of us. If one part of the flock is in trouble, the whole flock is in trouble. We all need the Good Shepherd helping us hold together as one flock. I may occupy a different space in the pen then you do, and that’s okay. Not every sheep gets along. But we’re all important. We all matter.

            She can make her decision, and I’m not shaming her for it. What bothers me wasn’t her decision to not wear a mask, but her statement that the “sheep mentality” is a problem. And the more I think about, the more I am comfortable being a sheep. It’s not always ideal conditions, but I like knowing that the Good Shepherd watches over all of us. 

            So baaa baaa, fellow Sheeple. Be well. You are loved.


(couple of sheep from my friend's farm in Illinois)


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