Galatians 6:3 For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
We live in an age trained to inflate the self. Be something. Brand yourself. Build a platform. Assert your worth. Curate an image of strength and competence and independence. Scripture moves in the opposite direction. The Bible’s preferred image for God’s people is not the lion, the eagle, or the warhorse. It is the sheep.
Sheep are not impressive animals.
Sheep are one of the most vulnerable, helpless, and weak animals out there. No scales. No shell. No claws. No horn. No bite. No bark. No wings. No sting. No spray. No speed. No might. No cunning. Not even safety in numbers.
They graze. They wander. They follow. They panic. Left alone, they are vulnerable to almost everything. Yet, in both Testaments, God looks at His people and says: Hey, this is you.
Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray.
Psalm 100:3 We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
John 10:11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
So every time a person thinks they are something, they should remember what Scripture insists we are: sheep.
We need this image to wound our pride. We need this metaphor to offend our egos. We would rather be lions or wolves—symbols of power, dominance, independence. We want metaphors that flatter us.
The Latin phrase memento mori or remember you will die was used to humble kings and generals. It reminded them that power and glory decay.
There is another reminder worth carrying: Memento ovem or remember the sheep.
Not as an insult but as a confession when ego swells.
Praise be to the good Shepherd who knows His sheep by name. He goes after the lost one. He binds the wounded. He lays down His life for the flock.