The other day, to my surprise, I started singing, “Baa Baa
Black Sheep.” It rolled off my tongue
like it was my favorite song to sing. In
fact, it was a nursery rhyme taught to me by my mom when I was just a kid
running around barefooted, wearing hand-me-down shorts, and bare-chested with a
potbelly.
I asked Siri what she had to say about the song. I read that “Baa Baa Black Sheep” is an
English nursery rhyme, which was printed around 1744.
If that wasn’t interesting enough, I then read that in the
English language, “black sheep” is an idiom that describes a person that is a miss-fit
and different from the rest of those in a group, or family member who is
regarded as a disgrace that doesn’t fit in.
The latter definition gives me pause to liken it to someone
struggling with a decision as to which side of the fence to set up camp. Stagnating in thought, they sit atop the
fence-of-indecisiveness with one leg dangling on one side, while the other leg
is on the opposite side. It’s called,
“straddling the fence.”
Let us imagine, for a moment, that God is on one side and
Satan is on the other…good vs. evil. In
my mind, I imagine that this undecided, undisciplined individual may feel like
a miss-fit in most everything they set out to do. They are wishy-washy in their thinking, while
living in a confused state of existence.
It could be that they struggle in their attempt to hold onto
one side but are afraid to make a lasting decision of which side to choose. Perhaps they think they may be missing out on
something good on the other side that they are not on.
Spiritually speaking, God would have us either hot or cold
and not lukewarm in our spirit and decision making. In (James 1:8), the Bible is specific
when it says: “…he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”
I believe this to be true when people face spiritual battles
of trying to decide between right and wrong, while riding the fence. They could very well be considered a black
sheep, with regards to the definition.
I wonder who the first black sheep was in the Bible? It must have been Cain, who slew Abel. They were the sons of Adam and Eve.
Consumed with jealousy and hatred for his brother, Cain
allowed himself to become unhinged in judgement and became the miss-fit of his
family. He yielded to an impulsive act
of uncontrolled rage and killed his brother.
Later in the Bible there was another man that by today’s
standard of weirdness, this man would probably be considered a black sheep. Allow me to speculate. I believe people in his day also perceived
him as being peculiar in his thinking and certainly bizarre in his actions,
because of the overwhelming task that he was undertaking.
His name was Noah.
This man is known for building a huge ark that took approximately 120
years to build.
To give you some insight as to the reasons why, God regretted
that He created mankind, because the earth was corrupt and full of violence. He decided to destroy all living things, but
Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord, because he was a righteous man.
The great flood that God referred to would cleanse the earth
and eliminate sin when humanity perished…everyone except Noah, his wife, their
three sons and daughters-in-law. God
also directed Noah to prepare for many animals that would board the ark at its
completion—two of every sort.
The Bible states that the windows of heaven opened, and it
rained 40 days and 40 nights, nonstop.
Before the flood became fact, people must have asked Noah what he was
doing as he built the ark. He, no doubt,
told them what God was going to do.
I believe he warned of the unprecedented event that was going
to take place regarding rainfall and emphasized that a great flood would cover
the earth and wipe out all living things.
No one listened, because it sounded absurd to them. Afterall, creation’s green life was watered
by the morning dew and springs of water, before rain ever happened. People probably asked, “Rain? What’s that?”
They then went about their worldly lifestyle as though Noah was crazy
and a miss-fit, the black sheep of his family.
Slurs and negative comments from people must have been hard
for Noah and his family to hear. But he
obeyed God and continued building the ark despite what people called him and
the things they murmured behind his back.
No doubt he was thought to be a lunatic and out of sorts with
reality for building an ark on dry land.
As I see it, his persistence must have troubled those in his family,
which strained relationships with everyone concerned.
If the truth were really known, they probably thought he had
a screw loose and was indeed a black sheep that lacked good sense. Again, this is me speculating and allowing my
imagination to soar.
Remember what the English definition of “black sheep”
was? This was me when I was running from
God—a miss-fit, to put it nicely. In my
reckless thinking, I chose the wrong side of the fence to roam, because I could
romp and play with sin as I pleased with no one telling me what I should or
should not do.
Sad to say, I became the black sheep of my family and to
those that loved and knew me best. I
wasn’t like Noah who obeyed God, on the contrary, I was at the other end of the
spectrum, disobeying God’s statutes.
In that I chose to be on the wrong side of the fence, I soon
realized that this ungodly side failed to provide lasting satisfaction. I was lonely, full of heartache, and double
minded in all my ways.
Listen, anyone that sins can tell you that sinning is not all
it’s cracked up to be. It repels
everything that is good and will cause a person to become lost in a whirlwind
of calamity.
The very act of sinning detracts from happiness for those
running from God. In fact, being on the
wrong side of the fence is miserable in every sense of the word, especially
when a person pillows their head at night and recalls the disgusting day they
just had. There is only momentary
pleasure at best…nothing lasting.
It was most ugly when I was on that side, but my praying
parents, siblings, and other Christians that knew me were praying for my
salvation. I can positively exclaim that
prayer changes things!
I found grace in the eyes of the Lord. I am no longer on Satan’s side of the fence,
nor do I straddle the fence. I live on
God’s side where there is joy and peace that passes all understanding. I am no longer the black sheep, because I
have been saved by the Lamb of God. His
name is Jesus, God’s Son.
In that Noah suffered ridicule for obeying God, Christians
are sometimes perceived as black sheep, because of their obedience to God in
sharing the Good News to sinners that God forgives sin, and that Jesus is
coming back in clouds of glory to receive Believers unto Himself.
Like the people in Noah’s day, they say, “I don’t believe
this will ever happen.” But some listen
and are saved, whereas others go their way and continue doing what they want to
do without regard to the unprecedented event that will, assuredly, take place.
Just like the flood that came, Jesus is coming back. He is our ark of safety—our hope. We need to get on board with Him, while there is yet time.
Written by,
Papa Boyd
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