Shepherd Over Sheepdog

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.” - John 10:11-15

We’ve heard the story of the sheep, the wolf, and the sheepdog as described by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman in his book *On Combat*. This story has become an ethos for law enforcement and the military alike. However, this message, although uplifting to those who serve their communities through military and police service, is self-focused and flawed. The sheepdog is a large breed of dog that emerged in England from early types of herding dogs. One obsolete name for the breed is the Shepherd's Dog. While the sheepdog’s qualities of watchfulness, courage, kindness, and intelligence are promoted by enthusiasts, it is the aggressive nature and propensity for violence against the antagonist wolf that most law enforcement officers find their draw to the breed. While there are breeds of sheepdogs that fight wolves to protect the sheep, it is rare. Former Minister of European Affairs and Professor Rocco Buttiglione had this take:

“I have been for a long while a professor at an Italian university located in wolf country (Abruzzi). I have had occasions to talk to naturalists and shepherds, and this is what I learned. Wolves and dogs are not gladiators who fight to the death in order to determine who is stronger. They are rather professionals with a clear mission: the wolf wants to grab a sheep, and the dog wants to defend the sheep. The game has one prize and three players. The prize is the sheep; the three players are the wolf, the dog, and the shepherd. The wolf approaches the flock, the dog detects it and barks—that is, calls the shepherd for help. From that moment, the wolf knows he has only a limited amount of time before the shepherd arrives, possibly with a gun (but also a good shepherd’s staff can easily shatter the skull of a wolf).”

As we see, the difference between the common sheepdog story written by Grossman, Buttiglione’s account, and scripture is clear; the identity of the sheepdog and the role of the Shepherd. In Grossman’s account, the sheepdog is the ultimate protector of the sheep, although, as Grossman states, “The sheep generally do not like the sheepdog. He looks a lot like the wolf. He has fangs and the capacity for violence.” Grossman’s account attributes absolute safety from the wolf to the sheepdog and the sheepdog only, adding:

“If you want to be a sheep, then you can be a sheep and that is okay, but you must understand the price you pay. When the wolf comes, you and your loved ones are going to die if there is not a sheepdog there to protect you. If you want to be a wolf, you can be one, but the sheepdogs are going to hunt you down and you will never have rest, safety, trust, or love. But if you want to be a sheepdog and walk the warrior’s path, then you must make a conscious and moral decision every day to dedicate, equip, and prepare yourself to thrive in that toxic, corrosive moment when the wolf comes knocking at the door.”

This belief that the sheepdog will hunt the wolf, that the sheepdog's performance alone is what ensures the safety of the sheep, and that the sheepdog is not liked by the sheep due to its similar characteristics to the wolf, is an example of a “god complex” defined by Harold Kaplan and Benjamin Sadock as an unshakable belief characterized by consistently inflated feelings of personal ability, privilege, or infallibility (*Sensitivity Through Encounter and Marathon*). In Grossman’s account, there is no mention of a Shepherd. In fact, the sheepdog takes on the role of both sheepdog and Shepherd.

Buttiglione’s description from an actual shepherd aligns with what our actual role towards the sheep, the wolf, and the Shepherd consists of. At the first instance that there may be a threat from a wolf toward the sheep, the sheepdog barks. The bark serves as a deterrent to the wolf and a call to the Shepherd for help. This should be our action as it relates to the Good Shepherd, Jesus. We sheepdogs, as the scripture above describes, are mere hired hands. While we care for the sheep, our care comes with human limits. Even in Grossman’s account, he’s already deduced that the sheep “don’t like” the sheepdog. Further, if our appearance is similar to the wolf, as described by Grossman, and our focus is not on the characteristics of watchfulness, courage, kindness, and intelligence, but ONLY on our propensity for violence, how different are we? If we separate ourselves from being sheep that belong to the Shepherd, believing that they will die without us even under the Shepherd’s care, and regard ourselves as hunters of the wolves, then whose are we? Who protects us? From whom do we get our strength, endurance, and love? Who replenishes us? Who is our protector from the wolf?

To be a sheep is not weak. To be a sheep in the care of the Shepherd, absent of the sheepdog, is not a death sentence. In fact, being in the care of the Good Shepherd is the only guarantee of safety.

Is it wrong to be a sheepdog? Absolutely not. However, a sheepdog acting on its own will, more focused on hunting wolves than protecting the flock, and not under the direction of the Good Shepherd, is just a stray dog."

-Dr. DeAngelo K. Brown