It is agonizing to witness videos of university students passionately protesting in favor of terrorists and spewing hatred toward Israel. Some are chanting, “We are Hamas!” “Free Palestine!” and even “Death to America!” In this week’s article, I offer three insights regarding the turmoil that is overwhelming college campuses and inciting racial hatred throughout America.

Youth, Like Sheep, Are Easily Led Astray

Young people are impressionable, and interviews of the young protesters reveal that many lack a clear understanding of what they oppose. The Bible says, “All we like sheep have gone astray.” Like sheep, many youths are quickly propelled by the heat of the moment, allow emotion to take over, and endorse causes without full consideration of opposing views.

Historically, this is not a new phenomenon. The Bible recounts a time in Ephesus when the city was economically dependent on the cult of Artemis, including sales of small statues used as idols for worship. As Christianity flourished in the city, local artisans felt the threat to their livelihood and incited a riot against Paul and other disciples. The Book of Acts, Chapter 19, describes how the mob stirred the entire city into an uproar, and they stampeded into the theater at Ephesus. In a frenzy, they incessantly chanted for two hours, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians! Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” despite many not knowing the cause of the uproar. Acts 19:32 notes, “…Most of the people did not even know why they were there.”

While many of today’s collegiate demonstrators cannot articulate why they are protesting, the protests are far from innocuous. Many of the protesters’ rhetoric is vehement, and some demonstrations have turned violent. Such racist and incendiary behavior is dangerous and echoes the antisemitism prevalent in 1940s Germany.

Where Are the Shepherds?

However, it is not only the students who are culpable. I greatly disdain the authorities who fail to guide and safeguard the youth. Jesus felt compassion for such leaderless masses because they were “like sheep without a shepherd.”

So, where are the shepherds today? Where are the parents with a God-given responsibility to nurture children with moral and logical principles? Why are they financing college educations at institutions that undermine those values and discourage sound reasoning?

Where are the university leaders and professors tasked with imparting knowledge and guidance toward truth? Why do they overaccommodate emotion and subjectivity at the expense of fact or reality?

Where are the politicians sworn to uphold the Constitution and the rule of law? Why do they accommodate violent demonstrations and blatant criminal behavior? King Solomon, one of the wisest men ever, analyzed the matter correctly. “When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, people’s hearts are filled with schemes to do wrong” (Ecclesiastes 8:11). What a verse for our times!

Christian Shepherds Cannot Remain Lukewarm

In recent years, many pastors have avoided preaching about significant cultural issues such as sexual immorality, abortion, etc. They reason that those issues are politically divisive, and calling them sins that are subject to God’s wrath might sound political and offend potential converts. However, the Apostle Paul admonished his understudy to “Preach the word…in season and out of season…” (2 Timothy 4:2).

Christian leaders are given a sacred duty to provide for and protect God’s flock. Today, there are so many people in the world who are easily confused and led astray. They say things, do things, believe things, and don’t even know why. Leadership expert Pat Williams wrote that true leadership helps to navigate ambiguity:

“If you know everything there is to know about a situation, there’s no decision to be made–just an obvious conclusion to be drawn. Leaders make decisions precisely because the best course of action is not obvious. You don’t need leaders to point out the obvious; you need leaders to point the way through confusion.”

We need Christian leaders to guide and protect God’s flock through a sinfully confused culture. A sinful culture is not limited by a separation of church and state, and its consequences can negatively impact millions for generations.

God warned His leaders of impending judgment for failing to lead correctly. “…’ This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? … You have not strengthened the weak, or healed the sick, or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally. So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals’” (Ezekiel 34: 2-5).

When God commanded Israel to take the Promised Land, Joshua, their leader, challenged them: “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshipped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:14-15).

Christian leaders, now is not the time for feigned neutrality or cowardly pacifism. It is a time for God’s shepherds to lead His flock decisively and courageously.