By Douglas Lay May 7, 2023
One day, a sheep from a very well-known shepherding institution got the courage to approach the lead shepherd with a disturbing situation:
“Lead shepherd, I’ve gotten word that 1 of the 100 sheep under your care is lost. No one can find her. It is believed that the gate was left open partially last night, and this sheep got out. You must go look for her.”
“Now now, my little sheep. You know how rumors spread around here. In fact, just last week another sheep was complaining that the pen was not secure enough. But we all know that he was just mad that I had to use the rod against him. Don’t listen to the gossip of a few.”
“But lead shepherd, you know her by name. She has been with us for many years. You must go and look for her. She is vulnerable out there. She is alone, possibly hurting and afraid. You must go and look for her.”
“My dear little sheep. You know that she often tells tall tales about others. She is always exaggerating things. And besides, when she first came here, you also know she was quite troubled. Don’t worry about this allegation of being lost.”
“But again, lead shepherd. She is lost. You must go and find her. She has been gone all night.”
“Now listen my little sheep. You don’t understand my contract. When I was hired by the Shepherding Board, I was mandated to care for all 100 of the sheep. If I leave now to find the one that is only .01 of my flock, what might happen to the other 99? I must think about them also!”
“But lead shepherd The other 99 are not lost. They are secure in the pen. They have already been fed and watered down for the night. They are protected from the wolves, from the dangerous, rocky pastures where they could break a limb. But this 1 lost sheep does not have any of those protections now. You must go and find her.”
“But little sheep. We just don’t have the resources now to go off trampling through miles and miles of pasture land to look for a sheep who most likely is not lost, but is perhaps just hiding from you! And anyway, I just don’t have time right now. I am preparing to speak with several of our supporters about trying to raise money for our shepherding ministry.”
“But lead shepherd, if you won’t go, then at least ask the other shepherds to come and investigate where this lost sheep has gone, and also investigate why the gate was left open, who left it open, and did anyone know it was left open.”
By now the lead shepherd was getting angry. “Listen, those are serious allegations you are presenting. I check that gate every night. My assistant shepherds do also. We have already put into place some of the most advanced security measures in place: new cameras, training for all shepherds, and background checks for them. We are prepared to protect our sheep. We are also working on revising our security policies. You can trust us to protect you.”
“But lead shepherd. The more we stand here and go back and forth, the more time this 1 lost sheep is in danger. You must do something now!”
Before the lead shepherd could present his counter-argument, another sheep came rushing in and said, “You don’t have to worry about finding the 1 lost sheep. We found her dead along the path down to the valley; her neck was broken and she had been gutted. You were too late.”
Immediately, the lead shepherd shouted at the two sheep: “Under no circumstances are you allowed to share this unfortunate situation. News of this could greatly hurt our shepherding work.”
As the days and weeks followed, the 99 sheep in the flock stopped wondering about what had happened to the 1 lost sheep; they just wanted to know where their next meal was coming from.
Years would pass. The lead shepherd expanded the flock, purchased more pasture land, discovered new water sources, and built larger pens with sturdy, metal gates to protect the sheep.
All was well.
Except that no one ever found out what only the lead shepherd knew—the 1 lost sheep was devoured by a wolf disguised as another lead shepherd!