MAINTAINING OUR IDENTITY

Matthew 10:16 Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

Sheep are an interesting group of animals. They have heightened sensory perception of sight and hearing, yet limited defensive potential. Their defence lies in their ability to flee, remain as a flock, or depend on the protection offered by guardians or shepherds.

Hence, the recommendation to borrow from the strengths of two other animals “the wisdom of the serpent and the innocence of the dove”. It was obvious that in the midst of ravenous wolves, the danger they faced was significant and “sheep instinct and traits alone would be no guarantee of survival”.

Here is the message “we are in the world, but not of the world” as Jesus said. Therefore, we need to acknowledge that the world has its own rules, systems and processes. We cannot live pretending they don’t exist because then we will become victims of the same. You cannot be surrounded by wolves and pretend they aren’t present. Hence, we have to also understand, know and tap into the wisdom that surround us. We have to be able to make the most of the systems.

However, in doing so, we ought to remember not to lose our innocence as doves: to not allow the environment we are in rob us of the value systems that characterize our divine nature. In a cut-throat society like ours, we can become so like-minded with our environment because there is so much going on around us.

But at the heart of it all, we are like sheep among ravenous wolves, allowed to borrow intermittently from the wisdom around us, but charged to maintain our allegiance to the chief shepherd we belong to.

#sly