Every fortnight people from a farming background, or who have a heart for the countryside in the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, offer a personal reflection on faith and rural life. They hope that you will be encouraged by it.

One Christmas, my family bought me a board game called ‘Herd Mentality’. Like any board game, there is plenty of healthy (and noisy) competition. The aim is to get some of the other players to think the same way as you, which I confess to finding rather appealing - – perhaps you do too?

‘Herd Mentality’ is something that farmers like us can easily understand, as we see it so often. In a herd of cows, one follows another. One eats; they all eat. One roars; many will join in the din! ‘Herd Mentality’ is also alive and well amongst people.

Although we may not like to admit it, even the most independently minded of us, are, to some degree, influenced by others. The influences that other people have upon us can be positive, or negative. So, as we begin a new year, I would encourage us all to be very careful in terms of who we listen to and follow.

often. In a herd of cows, one follows another. One eats; they all eat.

placeholder image — often. In a herd of cows, one follows another. One eats; they all eat.

Jesus sounds the same word of caution. When He lived on planet earth, it was the unfaithful religious leaders who led people astray. Jesus warned His disciples about them saying, ‘“Let them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”’ (Matthew 15:14)

Whose teaching or opinions shape your outlook and your life? Are they reliable and trustworthy guides? Will they lead you in the right direction, day by day? Will they clearly point you to Jesus and the forgiveness for our sin that only He can bring? For Jesus plainly tells us that He is the only way to God, “‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’” (John 14:6).

We can also add the danger of building our lives on the whims of contemporary culture, which are as fickle as the weather. If we aimlessly follow ‘the herd’, we will have no sound or solid direction. We will be lost - now and forever.

Not only are we responsible for our own decisions and direction in life, but some of us will be people whom others look to for wisdom and guidance. Perhaps your family, your friends, your neighbours, or your work colleagues, seek your advice. They might be moulded and shaped by the example that you set. So, may I ask you to please pause and think: are my words and my life pointing those I love most in the right direction - or in the wrong direction?

Faced with this enormous responsibility, both for our own lives and also for those we influence, what are we to do? I would warmly encourage you to trust your life into the hands of Jesus.

Why? There are many good and compelling reasons, and here is one: Jesus, God’s Son, humbly and generously, came into the world, not for His benefit, but for ours. Jesus said of Himself, ‘“For even the Son of Man did not come to serve but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many”’ (Mark 10:45).

Are you trusting in Jesus, the only One who is always completely out for our benefit, sacrificing Himself for our eternal good? Surely Jesus is the One to follow. While, if you already follow Jesus, then you can commend Jesus, with complete confidence, to everyone who matters to you.

‘Herd Mentality’ - be careful who you follow.

Rev Kenny Hanna is the Presbyterian Church in Ireland’s first Rural Chaplain. Growing up on the family farm in the Kingdom of Mourne, he began serving in parish ministry in 2001 in Glenwherry. Prior to his appointment as Rural Chaplain, he was minister of Second Dromara Presbyterian Church for 10 years. He continues to farm part-time.

If you would like to talk to someone about any of the issues raised in this article, please email Kenny at [email protected] or call him on 07938 488 372.