Disciples and Lemmings

        “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.  For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.  For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?  For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to his deeds.”  Matthew 16:24-27

     Are you a disciple?  Do you choose to be one?  Are you certain of what being a disciple means?  Jesus called for us to be disciples.  Not only that, but to “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19) Still, what does it mean to BE one?  Mr. Webster defines a disciple as “someone who accepts and helps to spread the teachings of a famous person”.  Did you see that?  Not only accepts but, SPREADS the teachings.  This is Jesus’ instruction to us: “Spread my word.”  If we are not spreading His word, and I mean ALL of His word, doesn’t it stand to reason that He WILL hold us accountable for our negligence to obey Him? 

     Instead, many choose the way of the lemming.  Now, there is nothing extraordinary about a lemming.  It’s just a furry, little rodent.  What is notable about these critters are their mass migration habits.  A few start heading off in one direction, the ENTIRE herd follows, regardless.  Because of this “blind following” the term has further been used to describe people that choose to go with the flow.  The Urban Dictionary uses terms, as: “A person that has no opinion of their own.  They only act like other people in their group because they think that if they act like themselves, they will lose their ‘friends’ …” and “those that mindlessly follow the actions and behaviors of the masses.” 

     I am quite certain that many will argue, at this point, that they are NOT like lemmings.  They base their actions on their OWN thoughts.  Still, I would attest that their thoughts, are just following the popular thoughts of society so, just how “self-minded” are these thoughts?  Those people are still just following the popular opinion of the crowd.  People are voicing that it is perfectly fine to engage in premarital affairs, void the sanctity of marriage between man and woman, make excuses for neglecting personal and family responsibilities, or choosing to speak out for the crowd and be silent when it comes to the word of God.  These are not individual-based thoughts.  These issues are what society chooses, as a whole. 

     I am amazed at how people can speak up for those that willfully commit a life of sin.  We hear “Jesus accepts us for who we are” and “It’s not my business to intervene in their affairs”.  However, Jesus says to INTERVENE and to FOLLOW HIS TEACHINGS.  Isn’t it time that we stop the saying “Society changes, so must God” and start saying “I will answer Jesus’ call”?

     Disciple or lemming?  What choice will you choose?