Not By Popular Vote
“The voice of the people has been said to be the voice of God; and, however generally this maxim has been quoted and believed, it is not true to fact. The people are turbulent and changing, they seldom judge or determine right.” ~ Alexander Hamilton
“Well, what is everyone else doing?” That question has been asked by many people throughout life. I am certain that question has been asked by ourselves many times as well. It seems, that from a very young age, we have somehow come to the conclusion that the majority is right. While that might be a correct statement a great amount of time, it isn’t always the case. Sometimes, the majority can get it wrong.
Jesus was up against that thought often. There are several times in the Gospels where He stated, “You have heard it said … what I say to you is …” In other words, the majority has come to the conclusion that this is the proper way to live, to worship, to treat one another, et cetera, but what I say to you is that you have been doing it all wrong.
Following others can get us in a heap of trouble. That was why our parents, God love them for trying, used to tell us, “If everyone jumps off a cliff, are you going to as well?” That was their general statement encouraging us not to follow the crowd just because “everyone else is doing it, everyone else is going, or everyone else will be there.”
We knew that they were right when they were calling us out, didn’t we? We knew that they were right but we wanted to follow the crowd nonetheless. Failing to do so would get us ridiculed or ostracized, we feared. And yet, when we followed the crowd, how many times did we fall flat on our faces because it was the wrong thing to do?
The crowd, or a mob mentality, exerts great influence upon others. However, just because many people are on board with a crowd agenda doesn’t make it right. The crowd mentality would have us take the lives of others — abortion, euthanasia, doctor-assisted suicide, capital punishment and the like — or have us restrict the privileges of others because they do not think the same way.
That crowd mentality is fueled by the world. Remember, the world is not steeped in the values of the Kingdom of God. The world is steeped in sin and, by its very nature, is off course. Don’t be led by the world. Don’t be led by others even if they are in the distinct majority. Rather, be led by Jesus who teaches us what is right and just.
FAITH ACTION: Pray for those who have fallen astray because they embrace the ways of the world rather than the values of Christ..