“Well, almost everyone agrees, so it must be right.”
Ever heard this one? It’s the group think mentality that hinges all decisions on whether or not a majority of the (given) group believes it.
This one has a close cousin statement as well that goes something like this, “I don’t want to lose all my friends (i.e. rock the boat, cause waves, get anyone upset, etc) so we’re just going to go with the flow.”
But, are either of these good and godly ways to make decisions? Can the majority ever get it wrong?
No, and yes. No, they’re not godly methods of decision making—they’re worldly and foolish. And yes, the majority often gets it wrong.
Exodus 23:12 says, “Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd,” (NIV)
Of course they’re not godly (or even smart) ways for believers to make decisions. Decisions for the believer should be based on truth—a far less allusive thing than most might think. And truth is not even related to a number, or majority—in any way. How many people believe in a given idea or statement has absolutely zero impact on its truthfulness—none whatsoever.
And what about my second question above? Can the majority ever get it wrong?
Seriously?
Of course, they get it wrong all the time. Perhaps some examples would help.
• Hundreds of years ago, the “majority” believed the world was flat.
• The ugliness of racism could never exist outside of a society that operated on a majority, group think mentality.
• Several years ago I remember reading somewhere that in the early 1900’s the “majority” of people believed that 15 miles per hour would eventually be the top speed at which cars could go without endangering the lives of the passengers; it was thought that the human body would just implode—blood boiling and brains rupturing! Okay, that seems (and is) ridiculous today but we still fail to understand the most important lesson from this: namely that the “majority” is often wrong in matters of opinions! Perhaps that’s why people so often refer to the “majority” mentality as a “herd” mentality.
• During WW2 millions and millions of Germans believed Hitler’s version of truth that said the Aryan race was superior to all others and that doing away with supposedly inferior people was just a necessary means to an end. And, if a tiny minority tried to point out the insanity and wickedness of Hitler’s ideas and philosophies, they would find themselves “silenced” in a variety of unhealthy ways. Question? If 10,000 Nazis tell one small Jewish family that they must die for the good of the third Reich—does that make it right? Can you imagine the Jews saying, “Well, we really want to live but when we look at how many believe your way verses little ole us, I guess the only ‘right’ conclusion is to march right into the death camps and take whatever abuse rightfully comes our way.”
NUTS, right? Of course it is. Hindsight is 20-20 and the whole world (minus Ahmadinejad) can now see how insanely wrong the majority really was in 1940’s Germany.
• 20 years ago, a majority of Americans believed that homosexual marriage was wrong. They agreed with the Bible to the tune of more than 80 percent—that marriage should only be between a man and a woman.
What about today? The latest polls indicate the majority has changed their minds—now they think it’s ok. So, my question for you the reader is, can this shift in the numbers cause a magical morph to truth?
No, God does not change, and God doesn’t have to correct his missteps—He doesn’t have missteps. So even 100 percent could agree with the statement that ‘same sex marriage is okay’ and it wouldn’t change God’s mind in the least. He still says it’s wrong. And so it is.
But the most disturbing examples can be found in what “the majority” constantly did to Jesus—in deciding what to do with Him, they were downright schizophrenic.
Here’s a One Week snap shot
1. “Let’s make Him king!” they shouted as they cheered for Him in a huge parade held in His honor (It’s known as Palm Sunday).
2. “No! Let’s crucify Him!” They yelled a week later.
Well which is it? Did they want to follow Him or kill Him?
Answer = BOTH. It all hinged on what their leaders could sway them (The majority) to do from one day to the next and never once hinged for any of them, on the truth of who Jesus was and what He came to do. Well, I shouldn’t say “any of them” truth is, there was a minority who did end up doing what was right in the midst of the chaos. By my count there were about six.
Yep, six. Joseph of Arimathea, Mary Magdalene, Mary (Jesus’ mother), the ‘other Mary’ (as the gospels often refer to her), John, and possibly Nicodemus.
Disappointing? It can be, but tomorrow I’ll show you how to push through that disappointment to a better and more vibrant relationship than ever with Jesus and others!
“What?! Pastor Rob, are you actually saying that there’s a part 2 to the part 6 of a 7 part series?
Yep.
And it’s worth the wait.