“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”  Hebrews 10:23-25

Birds of a feather stick together can be a term we view positively or negatively.  Negatively it connotes a sense of unwillingness to socialize with anyone that doesn’t fit into a personal norm of acceptable relationships.  It can be confining and rigid, preventing one from enjoying the richness that diversity can bring into life.  In the negative sense, the term speaks to a sense of exclusion, privilege and snobbery.  Yet there are positive benefits of staying within a group of like minded individuals.

In terms of the Christian faith, we are encouraged to “stick together”, not to bash other groups of people or to be close-minded about others but to strengthen our faith, to spurn one another on towards good deeds, to hold each other accountable in regards to our faith walk.  Without other Christians around us, our human nature is to slip back into lifestyles that were leading us on a path for eternal destruction.    Taken in the context of what it means to be a Christian, a Christ follower, our “flock” should be that group of believers that encourages us to carry out calling and commission everyday, to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, care for the poor and needy, to encourage the discouraged to carry the Gospel everywhere we go.  This requires encounters with people that are not in our “flock”.  The “flock” can be a source of protection from attacks from the enemy, the devil, but the “flock” cannot be the place where we hide out from the rest of the world that we are called to encounter boldly.

The flock of seagulls above were gathered together on a cool, windy spring Sunday morning.  They do this frequently where I live.  It appears to me that they do this because it may give them safety from the elements, safety from other birds but also is part of their social structure.  Many times I see individual seagulls flying around our area but they always manage to, from time to time, find themselves gathered in this manner.  They squawk, they walk around, they bathe in puddles, they preen one another and they even get into little squabbles over things that are not obvious to the human observer.  It is in this setting that I observe so many similarities between them and us.  I see the positive aspects of sticking together and I am reminded of the verses above.

Consider who is in your “flock”. Do they hold you accountable?  Do they have your back in times of trouble?  Are they encouraging you to grow in faith and good works?  Conversely, do they lack diversity? Do they insulate themselves from the world?  Do they consider loyalty to the flock is more important that loyalty to God?  Do they shut down any aspects of your spiritual growth?  It may be time to find a new “flock”.  You may be a bit of a loner, but remember, even the birds know they need to stick together from time to time…we do too.