Sheeple

Last night Nate and I were looking over a few of the words that are now officially part of the newest dictionaries. Nate loves words and using them in unusual or unexpected ways. Some of the words he and/or I already knew like tweet (from Twitter), rock (as in you rock!), buzzkill (someone/thing with a depressing effect), frenemy (friend you have frequent conflict with...Nate thought that one was spelled differently as friendemy).

The word we both liked a lot was sheeple. This is a noun meaning unquestioning followers (sheep + people). This made me think of God's use of sheep as a metaphor for His people. Sheep are dumb animals who definitely need someone to look after them. But the Bible also tells us that sheep know the voice of their shepherd - so maybe they are not so unquestioning after all.

Many people think Christians are unquestioning followers, weak people in need of a crutch and I'm sure there are some...especially those who follow and give to some of the televangelists out there. As followers of Christ, we are to search the Scriptures to see if what our pastors and teachers say is true. When Paul and Silas went to Berea, the people listened eagerly to them then they searched the Scriptures to see if what they heard was true.

Sheeple makes me think of all those religions across the world that have no basis in truth, that give their followers no hope. Maybe, if you're lucky, your good will outweigh your bad and the god(s) will accept you...maybe.

Sheeple also makes me think of peer pressure among teens and adults who conform to those around them at school or on the job even when they know something is wrong or dangerous. Being a loyal follower does not mean an unquestioning follower. A sheeple is something I do not want to be.