My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. - John 10:27

As some shepherds from the country of Turkey were enjoying breakfast one morning, they were shocked to watch as one of their sheep jumped off a forty-five-foot cliff to its death. But the sheep weren’t done. One by one, the rest of the flock—1,500 sheep— followed. The only good news was that the last 1,000 were cushioned in their fall by the growing woolly pile of those that jumped first. Four hundred and fifty sheep died.

Did you know that the Bible refers to people as sheep (Psalm 100:3; Isaiah 53:6; Matthew 9:36)? We like to follow the crowd. Sometimes we do stupid stuff just because someone else is doing it.

But that’s not all. The Bible also talks about sheep in a good way. For instance, Jesus himself said, “I am the good shepherd. . . . My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:14, 27). It’s a good idea to follow Jesus, the shepherd.

What kind of sheep are you? Do you follow other sheep who do dumb things? Or do you listen to the voice and direction of the Good Shepherd—Jesus?

That would be a good question to ask yourself every morning before you start your day. It’ll help you avoid a dangerous leap.