The Malicious Myth of the Greener Grass

Have you ever been mowing your yard, glanced over at your neighbors’ lawn, and thought, ‘Why’s their grass so much greener than mine?’ Then a few days later you walk over for a brief visit and notice that up close, their lawn doesn’t look any better than yours? It has weeds and bare patches, too.

 

This tendency to compare what we have with what we don’t isn’t limited to front yard greenery. A friend or coworker might drive up in a new car and suddenly you feel a pang of envy. Your six-year-old sedan or SUV, which has been running perfectly well, doesn’t seem as nice as it did just minutes before. Even if you’ve paid off your car loan while they now have a huge monthly car payment.

 

You go to church as see that picture-perfect couple again. They always look adoringly at each other, their kids are well-mannered, and they just seem to have it all together. By comparison, you feel that with your marriage and family, if you ever had it together you must have forgotten where you put it.

 

Some folks always seem to have it better off than we do. Maybe it’s a more exciting job, or a nicer house, a more prestigious education, or more extravagant vacations. The list could go on. ‘Why them, and not me?’ we might be tempted to ask.

 

This could be why the very last of the commandments God wrote on the stone tablets He entrusted to Moses to pass along to the Israelites – the Big 10 – was a prohibition against coveting: “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor” (Exodus 20:17).

 

Even if we don’t have manservants, maidservants, oxen or donkeys, that doesn’t keep us from casting an envious eye at other things that someone we know has. ‘Greener grass’ seems everywhere we look.

 

Interestingly, this tendency isn’t limited to the human species. Years ago, I teamed with my friend, Ken Johnson, to co-author a book, Pursuing Life with a Shepherd’s Heart, about experiences he and his family had in raising a small flock of sheep on their little farm outside of Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn. The focus of the book was to show how much sheep are like people – and vice versa.

Among the insightful illustrations Ken presented was what we could have called “The Case of the Greener Grass.” One summer the region where Ken lived was enduring a severe drought. His sheep had consumed nearly all of the grass in their pasture areas, so he and his family decided to build a temporary fence and let the sheep graze on the spacious yard beside his house.

 

After laboring all morning to make certain the new fence was sturdy and secure, Ken and his family went inside for lunch. Minutes later he looked out a window and saw all of the sheep lined up along the fence, their heads poking through it and straining for the ‘greener grass’ on the other side.

 

The grass just beyond their reach wasn’t any different from the grass they were standing on. To make matters worse, they were ruining the grass beneath their cloven hooves.

 

It seems one of the manifestations of what the Bible terms our “sinful nature” (Romans 7:25, Colossians 2:11) is our propensity to compare and covet what other people possess. Often to the detriment of ourselves and others.

 

Family counselor J. Allan Petersen termed this The Myth of the Greener Grass in his 1984 book, writing specifically about extramarital affairs – people ruining their marriages by the attraction of someone that seems more alluring and exciting. It’s a malicious myth, for sure.

 

Concerning this, in the midst of his sufferings and responding to his friends’ not-so-helpful advice, Job declared, “I have made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a young woman” (Job 31:1). Refusing to look and compare can prevent a lot of unnecessary pain.

 

What’s the best safeguard against being seduced by the myth of the greener grass, whatever the context might be? I can’t think of anything more fitting than the counsel of 1 John 2:15-16, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.”

 

This is excellent counsel. The alternative is to be like the sheep, trampling the healthy ‘grass’ right where we are – our marriages, families, careers, our very lives – in the pursuit of the ‘greener grass’ that’s beyond our reach.

Hearing the Right Voice in a World of Noise

Years ago, I used to watch a very popular TV show called “Name That Tune.” Contestants would be asked to identify a well-known song by as few of its opening notes as possible. They often could guess the correct name of the song after hearing just a handful of notes, even three or two.

 

The trick was that the songs were so distinctive and had been played so often, in some cases for years and years, naming them after just a few notes was almost automatic.

 

I’ve discovered we can do the same with prominent people whose voices have been preserved in history. Recently our pastor gave some examples, using audio recordings of leaders giving some of their best-known messages. We heard Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his declaration after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, “This day shall go down in infamy.” We listened to John F. Kennedy’s inaugural exhortation, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” 

 

And then there was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, which included, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” 

 

Interestingly, all three are known not only by their distinctive voices but also by their initials – FDR, JFK and MLK. We hear those letters and almost immediately, we make mental associations with them.

 

Can you think of others whose voices you could identify instantly when you heard them? Jesus said His should be among them.

One day, after having the audacity of healing a blind man on the Sabbath, Jesus was confronted by religious leaders. They were clearly more concerned that a traditional law had seemingly been violated than that a man who’d been blind since birth had miraculously received sight.

 

Jesus used the opportunity to distinguish between His true followers and those who trailed after Him either out of curiosity or annoyance. Using the familiar image of a shepherd and his sheep as an analogy, the Lord declared, 

“The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice” (John 10:2-4).

 

He built on this metaphor, observing that even simple sheep know enough not to follow a false shepherd. “But they will not follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice” (John 10:5).

 

Then Jesus closed His story by announcing, “I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me – just as the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay down my life for the sheep” (John 10:14-15).

 

Today we’re living a noisy world filled with a multitude of voices, each of them clamoring for our attention and allegiance. Some of them sound very good, appealing to our egos and fleshly desires. But as the apostle Paul warned his protégé Timothy, “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear” (2 Timothy 4:3).

 

This raises an important question: How can we distinguish the genuine from the counterfeit, truth from the words of those whose intent is to “tickle our ears”? The very first entry in the book of Psalms offers some excellent guidance:

“Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night” (Psalm 1:1-2).

 

When we spend time in the Scriptures, not reading it as a daily chore but studying it, meditating and dwelling on what it says, the words of our Shepherd become familiar and comforting. Then, when we hear the seductive messages resounding around us that would lure us away from the Lord and His truth, it becomes increasingly easy to disregard them.

Just as light and darkness can’t coexist, God’s truth can’t abide with the lies and deceptions of our culture. The mark of a true follower of Christ, one of His “flock,” is being one who knows Him and responds to His voice. When He calls, we need to be able to “name that tune.” 

A Sheepish Symbol That Strikes Fear in No One

National symbols say a lot about the countries they represent. For example, Russia’s national symbol is the bear. In England, it’s the lion. The symbol for the United States, of course, is the American eagle.

Each of these evokes specific imagery. The bear and lion are imposing, powerful, and potentially fierce. The eagle is majestic in flight, and in pursuit of its prey, becomes a formidable, relentless predator. Fitting images for nations in which military power has held historic prominence.

Do you know the symbol of Christ followers? The animal most commonly referred to in the Bible for describing God’s people is…sheep. Not quite as fearsome as a bear, lion or eagle, right?

The image of sheep isn't one Christ's followers would
prefer, but it is God's choice.

Sheep are virtually defenseless, having no claws or fangs. Male sheep – rams – may be able to butt rivals with their horns, but that’s the extent of a sheep’s aggression. They may be wooly, but not particularly wild. Nevertheless, we see the sheep analogy employed throughout the Bible.

For instance, Isaiah 53:6 states, “All of us, like sheep, have gone astray.” Anyone who’s been around these animals much understands how wayward sheep can easily get into trouble. This is why Matthew 9:36 tells us Jesus, “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

As we observe society today and its continuing drift from Judeo-Christian values, some of us within the body of Christ would prefer the imagery of the bear, the lion, or even the eagle. Some of us often harbor a desire to fight back – to take back “territory” that’s been lost. But the idea of wandering, helpless sheep doesn’t inspire mobilizing, or taking the offensive.

As sheepish as it seems, this representation wasn’t an oversight on God’s part. The biblical words aren’t mistranslated. The Lord didn’t run out of symbolic options. Calling us His “sheep” was deliberate and purposeful. Because sheep must rely completely on the shepherd, and He wants us as His sheep to rely totally on Him. That’s emphasized repeatedly in the Scriptures.

In the well-known “shepherd’s psalm,” which many of us have heard from childhood, we’re told, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters” (Psalm 23:1-2). God is our provider, our protector, our guide.

In a prophetic Old Testament passage, pointing to the coming Messiah, Isaiah declares, “He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom.” This describes a kind, compassionate Shepherd, keeping diligent watch over the sheep under His eternal care.

Jesus used this metaphor to affirm He was the Messiah, the promised shepherd of God’s flock: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep…. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” (John 10: 11-27).

Why is this important? Because the idea of self-made Christians is an oxymoron; only God can make us the people He wants us to be. When circumstances in our lives spiral out of control, as they often do, He desires that we turn to Him in faith, unwavering trust and absolute dependence. Just as flocks of sheep do with their earthly shepherds. Independence is a sure ticket to calamity.

So, “sheep,” if you happen to be a part of a congregation called the Church of the Good Shepherd, or Good Shepherd Chapel, there’s good reason for that name. While you’re there, let the Good Shepherd restore your soul.

It’s All in the Name – or Is It?

Have you noticed the recent surge in the use of hyper-aggressive, vicious-sounding names? (I’m not referring to the Presidential race, by the way.) We hear them on TV, the radio, newspapers, the Internet, in conversations in the break room at work. Because we’re immersed in another football season, when Giants and Titans roam the land, Bears and Bengals snarl at foes, Cowboys ride the plains, Panthers and Jaguars stalk their prey, Broncos run wild, Steelers flex muscles, and Buccaneers and Raiders gather the spoils.

The Rams, in case you’ve been wondering where they went, have changed addresses from St. Louis to Los Angeles, poised to challenge fearsome opposition on the West Coast. Yes, it seems names are all important if you’re engaged in a hard-hitting, violent activity like football.

Would you root for the Los Angeles Lambs?
Would you expect a decisive win from them?

Is it any wonder, then, that no teams have adopted nicknames like Puppies, Guppies, Kits…or Lambs? Being called a Lamb isn’t likely to strike fear in an opponent’s heart, right? Imagine this announcement: “The Wolves are taking on the Lambs in Sunday night’s featured clash!” Any idea which team would win that one?

And yet, that is precisely one of the names ascribed to Jesus Christ: the Lamb of God. At first glance, that doesn’t sound very imposing, does it? The Bible does refer to Him as “the Lion of Judah,” which sounds much more forceful. But other than Jesus’ proper name, “the Lamb” is the most common reference for Him in the Scriptures, being used more than 25 times in the book of Revelation alone.

How come? Why is the One the Bible proclaims as the victorious, all-conquering Son of God called “the Lamb of God,” since we know – or have been told – that sheep are fairly stupid creatures that can’t keep out of their own way when trouble comes near? Lambs are even more clueless. Hence the need for an ever-watchful, ready to respond shepherd.

Not that the term “lamb” is necessarily negative. Occasionally we hear someone describe another as, “he’s such a lamb,” meaning gentle, unimposing, perhaps even harmless. But somehow that doesn’t seem appropriate for Jesus, also known as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Light of the World, the Bread of Life, and the Word of God.

But from God’s perspective, Lamb couldn’t be more fitting. In the Old Testament we see numerous examples of lambs being central to ceremonial sacrifices, designed to vividly demonstrate the need to atone for the sins and rebellion of God’s people. As Hebrews 9:22 states, “the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”

A part of us wants to say, “Poor lambs! They didn’t do anything. Why should they have to pay the penalty?” And that’s exactly the point. Even when they repented, the people of Israel had no means for atoning for their own sins. Specially appointed priests performed specific rituals to represent the process for forgiving the people’s egregious sins.

But even those sacrifices were merely a picture, an illustration, of the ultimate sacrifice the Lamb of God would perform. Romans 5:8 tells us, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Like the little sheep that had done no wrong deserving death, in an even more profound way the Lamb of God willingly gave His life to pay the price for wrongs He did not commit.

Quick question: How many sins had you personally committed by the time Jesus died on the cross as the once-and-for-all atoning sacrifice for sin? Of course – none. You hadn’t been born yet, and wouldn’t be for a long time. So if you ever wonder whether there’s a sin you could commit that could not be forgiven, the answer is, there is none.

As Romans 6:10 states, “The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.” But that’s a deep theological topic, perhaps for another day.

Getting back to why Jesus is referred to as the Lamb, we are told He was the complete fulfillment of God’s divine requirement for forgiving sins. In 2 Corinthians 5:21 we see the principle being expressed this way: “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

If God had so chosen, He could have taken the football approach, acting as a militant Spartan, or Knight, or Trojan, or Fighting Irish. Instead, in the person of Jesus Christ, He came as a Lamb, humbly and without complaint taking on a debt He did not owe to pay a price we could not pay.

As incongruous as that might seem to our limited, human capacity for understanding, that’s exactly what He did – as the Lamb of God. “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:10).

Be Careful Who You’re Following

Sheep have an annoying tendency for not watching where
they're going, as well as for leading others astray.

Recently I read a brief account about some really stupid sheep in Istanbul, Turkey. In 2005, one sheep in the flock decided to jump off a cliff, and nearly 1,500 others subsequently followed. Approximately one-third of the sheep died, and I’m sure at the very least each of the others must have been wondering, “What was I thinking?”

This seems like a crazy happening, and you’re probably wondering if it was just a rare occurrence, an aberration in the history of sheepdom. But it wasn't. Years ago my friend, Ken Johnson, and his family devoted more than a decade of their lives to raising sheep on their “hobby farm” outside Minneapolis, Minn., and they witnessed abundant examples to prove dumbness is not a trait exclusive to Turkish sheep.

Early one morning Ken was cleaning up in front of the barn where his sheep were housed. As he let the animals out for the day, he went to the door and held the handle of his hoe in front of the first sheep as it came out. He just wanted to see what it would do. Without hesitation, the sheep leaped over the hoe and casually strolled into the pasture. Ken pulled the handle away, but when every sheep exiting the barn reached that point, they proceeded to replicate what the lead sheep had done, leaping as if the hoe handle were still there.

So apparently to a sheep’s way of thinking, jumping off a cliff because the one directly in front did it makes perfect sense.

Why bring this up? Because the Bible uses the sheep metaphor extensively, in both the Old and New testaments. In fact, the prophet Isaiah wrote thousands of years ago, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way…” (Isaiah 53:6). The problem is, as anyone that has spent time with sheep can attest, when one sheep strays, many of the others are likely to follow – sometimes to their doom.

This is why in Israel and other parts of the Middle East, as well as countries like New Zealand – where sheep actually outnumber the populace – shepherds are important, even though they have little social status. Shepherds not only protect their flocks from predators; they also protect the sheep from themselves.

In Ken’s book, Pursuing Life With a Shepherd’s Heart, which I had the privilege of co-authoring, he offers numerous other illustrations. But the point is this: As Isaiah declared, in many ways we are indeed like sheep, prone to be misled and get into all manner of mischief. We desperately need a shepherd – the Shepherd – to guide us, watch over us and care for us.

The 23^rd Psalm is beloved for its poetic style, but it also communicates enduring truth:

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures,

He leads me beside quiet waters,

He restores my soul.

He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil, for You are with me;

Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies,

You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

Each of these verses could be discussed individually and applied to our lives and circumstances. But collectively they tell us one thing – we desperately need the Shepherd, and He’s promised to faithfully provide for our needs as we follow Him.

This is why Jesus made what might have seemed a bold declaration when He told His followers, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep…. I know my sheep and my sheep know me – just as the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay down my life for the sheep…” (John 10:11-18).

In that simple statement Jesus was assuring us that He is our true shepherd, He knows us personally, and at that moment was foretelling the sacrifice He soon would provide atonement for our sins and offer redemption to each of us.

The question we each must answer, one no one can answer for us, is who are we following? Today there are countless “leaders,” many voices calling out and offering to serve as our “shepherd.” Sadly, all but one is leading toward a cliff and too many are blindly, mindlessly following them.

More than 35 years ago I made the determination that the Lord is indeed my Shepherd, and true to His word, I have never been in want. My needs have always been met, sometimes in ways I could never have imagined. And I’ve resolved to follow Him ever since, even though at times I’ve lapsed into my foolish, sheep-like ways. Thankfully, although at times I’ve looked away from Him, Jesus has never looked away from me.

What about you? Who are you following today?

He Knows Your Name

The story is told of a fellow, let’s call him Joe, who had such an engaging, magnetic personality it seemed everyone was his friend. Everywhere he went, people would see him and excitedly call out, “Hi, Joe!” “How are you doing, Joe?”

One day Joe and several friends decided to tour some countries in Europe, and one of the places they chose to visit was Vatican City. On the day they arrived, the Pope was making a public appearance. The friends were standing among the throng of thousands in St. Peter’s Square waiting for the Pope to appear and address them. Suddenly uniformed men approached Joe, spoke with him briefly, and then led him away.

Joe’s friends looked at each other wondering what had happened, whether Joe was in some kind of trouble. A few minutes later the Pope appeared on the balcony accompanied by another man. A peasant in the crowd looked up, pointed, and said, “Hey, who’s that up there with Joe?”

One of the distinctives of sheep is they know their
shepherd and respond uniquely to his voice.

Silly story? Sure. But wouldn’t it be something to be known like that? To be instantly recognized and welcomed, whether by someone like the Pope, the President of the United States, a mega-wealthy businessperson like Bill Gates, Warren Buffett or Oprah Winfrey, or perhaps your favorite athlete or entertainer?

You go to a ball game and Lebron James spots you in the crowd, smiles and waves you down to the court. Or you’re standing alongside the red carpet prior to the Academy Awards, and Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock or Morgan Freeman points to you, strides over and gives you one of those big, longtime-no-see hugs. Your friends standing nearby can only let their jaws drop and stare. Wouldn’t that be something?

You’re probably thinking, “In your dreams!” But there’s something even better. Much better.

If you’re a Christ follower, the Bible declares He knows you – and as with Joe in the story above, He knows you by name. Jesus used the metaphor of sheep to describe His relationship with His followers:

“The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep…the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out…. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice…. I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me” (John 10:2-14).

Knowing the President personally, whether you’re in agreement politically or not, would be impressive, wouldn’t it? If you went to a concert by an iconic musician like James Taylor, Steve Wonder or Eric Clapton, and you received first-class treatment just because they knew you, that would be incredible, right?

Well, consider that God, the Creator of the universe knows you in that way. Even with the billions of people in the world, not to mention those who have died, He knows you – by name. Not only that, but the Scriptures state He did something unbelievable, unprecedented, for each of His children. After declaring, “I know my sheep and they know me,” Jesus adds, “just as the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay down my life for the sheep” (John 10:15).

Even if I knew the President personally, or a famous actor or athlete, none of them could claim they had given their life on my behalf. Jesus makes that startling, bold, even audacious claim – and the Bible teaches us that it’s true. It’s not a myth, fairy tale or allegory, but truth supported by the witness of history, as well as countless lives that have been transformed as a result.

In spite of our warts, our flaws, our sins, the Lord of all eternity knows us – and He’s not ashamed to admit it. Now that’s amazing. We might even call it…amazing grace.