Fathers—wake up! If you’re handing your 12-, 13-, 14-year-old unrestricted access to social media, you’re basically throwing them to the wolves and walking away. Would you hand your kid a loaded gun and say, “Have fun, be careful”? No? Then why hand them a phone filled with predators, pornography, and pressure they can’t possibly handle?…Your kids don’t need a cool dad who looks the other way. They need a shepherd-father who smells like the sheep, who knows the danger, who is willing to be the bad guy if it keeps them alive.

“Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? You have not strengthened the weak, 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.”

— Ezekiel 34:2,4

Sheep Without a Shepherd

Sheep are among the weakest of all creatures. No claws. No fangs. No speed. Left on their own, they scatter and wander. And when sheep scatter, wolves feast.

That’s the picture Ezekiel paints. Israel’s leaders were called shepherds, but they weren’t shepherding. They fattened themselves while the flock starved. They lived in comfort while the sheep bled out in the field.

It’s a picture that cuts close to home. Too many men today abandon their post. Fathers distracted by work, phones, or hobbies. Husbands who refuse to lead spiritually. Leaders who prefer their own comfort over the good of those entrusted to them.

When shepherds are absent, sheep suffer. And the wolves circle closer.

The Shepherd Who Shows Up

But God does not leave His flock in ruins. Ezekiel 34 pivots from judgment to promise:

“For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them… I will rescue them… I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak.” (Ezekiel 34:11,16)

When human shepherds failed, God Himself came. In Jesus, the Good Shepherd stepped onto the field. He does not run when wolves appear. He runs toward them. He lays down His life for the sheep (John 10:11).

Every scar He bore was proof of His love. Every wound on His body was the Shepherd fighting for His flock.

This is the Shepherd we follow.

Shepherds in the Home

If you’re a father, husband, or leader, God has entrusted you with a flock. Your home is your pasture. Your wife and children are sheep God has placed under your care.

The wolves are real. They aren’t always obvious, but they are relentless. They show up in the form of lies, addictions, despair, division, and temptation. They show up in the constant pull of distraction that keeps you from paying attention to the hearts in your home.

And let me stop right here and say this as plain as I can: your kids should not be on Snapchat. Period.

I don’t care if every kid in their class has it. I don’t care if they promise they’re “just doing streaks.” I don’t care if they whine about being left out. Listen: Snapchat is not harmless. It was built for secrecy. Disappearing messages? Private images that vanish? That’s not for innocent fun—that’s for hiding sin and destroying lives.

And it’s not just Snapchat. A lot of these kids have two accounts. They’ve got the one you see—the “clean” one they show mom and dad—and then they’ve got a fake account where they post the garbage. That’s where the wolves are circling. That’s where they’re being hunted.

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