Herd Immunity?
You may remember a few weeks ago I wrote an article referring to a book given to me by my daughter Clarissa. We had just returned from a visit to Kentucky where I observed her tireless efforts trying to raise a flock of sheep with all the difficulties involved in such an enterprise. This is especially true for a novice without experience raising animals or managing a farm. I admire the work she does mostly because of her determination to make every encounter with her animals a learning experience that will teach her in some way a lesson about her relationship with the Lord.
The book she loaned was A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by W. Phillip Keller. I remembered saying in the first article that I might return to the book for more insight from this man who took his experiences raising sheep to help exposit the 23rd Psalm. While searching for bulletin material, I decided to open the book again not expecting to find a few sentences that seemed congruent with the exact political and moral climate of today’s life in America. I kept in mind that the book was written in 1970 and my gleanings from his thoughts were probably more than he intended. I am sure he would agree that truth is timeless and human experiences do not radically change no matter how much time goes by.
With this introduction, what is the thought that arrested my attention? I quote: “Our thoughts, our ideas, our emotions, our choices, our impulses, drives, and desires are all shaped and molded through the exposure of our minds to other people’s minds. In our modern era of mass communication, the danger of the ‘mass mind’ grows increasingly grave. Young people in particular, whose minds are so malleable, find themselves molded under the subtle pressures and impacts made on them by television, radio, magazines, newspapers, and fellow classmates, to say nothing of their parents and teachers.
“Often the mass media that are largely responsible for shaping our minds are in the control of men whose character is not Christlike, who in some cases are actually anti-Christian. One cannot be exposed to such contacts without coming away contaminated.”
Since most of you probably have not read the book and do not know the context of this quote, what is the thought that immediately crosses your mind? How is this relatable? We can excuse the references to radio, magazines, and newspapers since time and technology have mostly erased these forms of communication to be replaced with social media apps and many others that I am too old to know or care about. I resist being political, but I could not escape how the media has shaped the public mind on vaccines, Black Lives Matter, LBGTQ++++, women’s rights, etc. We truly have succumbed to the “mass mind” referenced in this book. The public is molded in the direction of the liberal media by the unrelenting repetition of anti-Christian themes. In this satanic disposition, a new mass morality arises (rather, the same old human nature). It is immoral not to be vaccinated. It is immoral not to believe critical race theory. It is immoral not to accept that all white people are inherently racist. It is immoral not to acknowledge the personal pronouns of perverted people. Amazingly, it is immoral not to kill babies when caring for them would be quite bothersome to career choices.
The indoctrination is unceasing, and the herd apparently has no immunity. Our society is spiritually infected with worms and scabs and every pestilence that plagues a shepherd trying to raise a healthy flock. The enemy of this “mass mind” is the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the only salve that will heal the sin-sick mind. The Lord asks, “Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there?” The question is rhetorical. You are here today to hear the answer. Be thankful you are privileged to hear truth that is unchanging and yet long since obscured by those playing a dirge for the spiritually dead. Change the channel! Delete the apps! Open your Bible to hear the only message that will grant immunity to those who have too long listened to the mass media that preaches to the mass mind. Though this herd in this church is much smaller and of lesser influence than them, we serve the Lord whose morality saves us eternally.
Pastor V. Mark Smith