Two Different Shepherds

I am so disturbed by this subject that on one hand, I do not want to blog about it because I fear it will be too much to read and jumbled...on the other hand, I want to raise awareness to this horrible act that occured recently, October 8, 2009.

Last Friday night while watching Dateline NBC with Chris Hanson I saw this horrible story. A new age philosopher/so-called self help guru name James Arthur Ray decided to have a retreat for his followers.

Those individuals who could afford the nearly $10,000 attended a retreat in Arizona. Bottom lie, Ray facilitated a sweat-lodge type "cleansing" ceremony that ended in the deaths of participants Kirby Brown, 38, James Shore, 40, and Liz Neuman, 49, and injuries to 18 others.

During the "sweat lodge" spiritual journey, people were passing out and vomiting, and Ray continued to encourage and "coach" people to stay inside the sweat lodge.

After the deaths of 3 of his followers, Ray, did say he felt bad about the tragedy and but continued with his work, saying, "I, too, want to know what happened that caused this horrible tragedy." On October 15, 2009, there was a report that Ray conducted a conference call with some victims and during this conference call, a self-described channeler said that the deceased had communicated with them and they said they "were having so much fun" out of their bodies that they didn't want to return.

I was dumbfounded. This really happened. The popular book he has written that you may have heard of is called, "The Secret."

I kept thinking to myself this is an excellent title for our culture today.

Everyone has a conspiracy theory. So why not buy into the idea that there is a "secret" to be uncovered regarding spirituality? These people paid $10,000 to unleash this "secret." Secret to what? To a better life? To self fulfillment? To satisfaction in life? To self actualization? To happiness? To purity? To conquering the idea that life is more than a mundane rat race and each life actually has meaning and purpose-to commune with God?

I think these people were looking for all of these things. The sad part is that they sought after the wrong shepherd. Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." John 10:11 Not so with the hireling. See a hireling is a hired person that does't really care about the sheep. The hireling just wants to get paid. The hireling does not lay his life down for his sheep.

I was (and still am) so grieved by this tragedy. These people paid $10,000 for a glimpse at the answer to the "secret" of life...to the meaning of life. I am willing to assume probably ALL of these people had a Bible at their home. My point is this. They spent $10,000 for an answer to life's most profound questions when they could have found the answer for free. John 3:16 gives the answer. Jesus is the answer. Jesus is the Way the Truth and the Life. Not only did these people buy the wrong book, but they followed the wrong shepherd. For 3 of these people, they lost their lives forever. Oh my heart aches for their families.

It's amazing to me that people will believe the lie and follow a gimick rather than believing God and taking Him at His Word.

What can I learn from this? False teachers are real. False teachers get paid and they trample people along the way. May we be bold to share our faith with others. Our Jesus is free and available to all. He already paid the price. He is the answer to the secret of life...to the fulfillment of life...May we encourage our friends and family to watch out for false shepherds because even though it's 2010, they are still out there....they just want to get paid and if lambs are hurt, well that's covered by the signed disclaimer...anyway...

Pray for the families of those who died in this tragedy. Pray for James Arthur Ray to be saved and stop promoting this lie. Thank your Good Shepherd for protecting you from the lies of "self help" and for laying His life down for you.