With my bare hands and a 2X4

I heard the dog barking, saw blood dripping from a neighbor’s goat, and immediately was transformed from mild mannered Marc Bigelow to protector of the flock with murder in my eye.  I don’t say that lightly.  I was bent on killing those dogs with the 2X4 gripped so tightly in my hands.  I had reverted several layers down Maslow’s hierarchy and several centuries back in civilization. 

This morning I read 1 Samuel 17. 34 David replied to Saul, "Your servant has been a shepherd for his father's flock. Whenever a lion or bear would come and carry off a sheep from the flock, 35 I would go out after it, strike it down, and rescue the sheep from its mouth. If it rose up against me, I would grab it by its jaw, strike it, and kill it. 36 Your servant has struck down both the lion and the bear. This uncircumcised Philistine will be just like one of them. For he has defied the armies of the living God!"

Now I wasn’t facing a bear or a lion, but I think I could have killed one of those dogs with my hands had it been necessary.   Such is the protective urge inside of us.

For David, the height of his protective instinct was to strike down the Philistine because he defied the armies of the Living God.   I’m still in a bit of shock over my own reactions, but today I’m wondering if I would be as concerned about protecting the flock of God from a marauder.   I think about some elders and pastors I have known who have stood boldly against someone attacking the church and then I think of others who cave in to cynicism and agree with the critics of the church. 

I re-read Ezekiel 34 and Acts 28 today.  As church leaders, we are called to protect with our lives the flock God has entrusted to us.  It calls for calm at times, but it also calls for wild-eyed adrenalin pumping action at other times.    Shepherds know when to do both.  But remember, sheep need calm leadership, wolves need bold confrontation.