I love when things line up perfectly.
As many of you know, I like to begin my day with my quiet time (reading God’s Word and time in prayer). I’ve been using the same tool for this for over 30 years–The Word of Life Quiet Time Diary. Every five years or so it takes you through the entire Bible. Right now I’m in the gospel of John–as in “Divine!”
Today I read John 7:14-24. Here it is,
14About the middle of the feast Jesus went up(S) into the temple and began teaching. 15The Jews therefore(T) marveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning,[d] when he has never studied?” 16So Jesus answered them, (U) “My teaching is not mine, but his(V) who sent me. 17(W) If anyone’s will is to do God’s[e] will,(X) he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I(Y) am speaking on my own authority. 18The one who speaks on his own authority(Z) seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. 19(AA) Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law.(AB) Why do you seek to kill me?” 20The crowd answered,(AC) “You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?” 21Jesus answered them, “I did(AD) one work, and you all marvel at it. 22(AE) Moses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but(AF) from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. 23If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken,(AG) are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man’s whole body well? 24(AH) Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”
Look at that last verse again. It’s the key to the whole section of scripture here. What was Jesus trying to get the people to stop doing? What did He desperately hope they would break away from?
Group think.
You see, these people were falling into a dangerous trap in mass. They were learning to simply repeat the party line about Jesus instead of really seeing Jesus for Who He was. In the end this group think would get so bad–the people so fickle, they would move from wanting to make Him king at the beginning of the week to wanting Him dead at the end.
Wy would anyone do this? Why would anyone follow the herd right off a cliff when the way to safety and joy is right in front of them?
One word…
Relationships.
After going through a pretty tough year in ministry I was spending time with a pastor friend of mine who has seen this over and over and over again in His more than 30 years of ministry. He had this to say about this highly dangerous behavior that has even infiltrated Christian ranks…
“When it comes to making right choices, protecting the Bride of Christ–even doing right verses doing what is clearly wrong–sadly, relationships trump everything.”
I’ve come to know that he is right. But I’ve also determined to redouble my efforts in teaching the body of Christ @ Southbrook Church how to avoid this trap–because it’s bad. Real bad.
Consider this a moment with me. Group think has lead to some of the worst injustices in history like, the cruel reign of Hitler, the rise and devastating rule of China’s first emperor, Communism in the former Soviet Union (more than 30 million died under the cruel rule of men like Stalin and Lenin), the Ku Klux Klan, Black Panthers, Terrorism, etc. Cults like Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witnesses. And the biggest groups of all participating in this dangerous sharing of a brain–Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus and other major world religions (including Christianity if we’re referring to the ‘Wimpy” variety of ‘Christian’ who simply takes the name but owns nothing of the person of Christ). There’s also what I deem the, ‘Can’t beat’m so you might as well join’m’ crowd. Group think rules here as well with things like, evolution, political correctness, ‘we were born that way,’ and so on.
But perhaps the single most dangerous thing about group think is that almost no one ever realizes they are in the early stages of recruitment until it is too late. Some even live at a junior varsity level of this their whole lives without ever breaking out. Sure, they may not be signing up as one of Hitler’s Youth, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t followed a smaller herd into sin without ever considering the truth. All of us have done this–every last one of us.
And we learn to master it at an early age.
Wanna learn how to break free?
Warning: If the herd gets wind of this they won’t be happy. Better decide right here and now who it is you are living for. A huge audience of your family and peers or an audience of ONE. They aren’t always the same.