Numbers impress humans.
One murder is sad – but just a mention in passing-
a thirty-second note on the evening news – unless the victim was famous or the crime was particularly heinous.
Not something to stop for, really.
But mass murder,
that gets our attention.
Big numbers are big news – worthy of several days of headlines – maybe even a photo tribute in People magazine.
It works in the other direction as well.
If one person has a counter-cultural idea or philosophy – well, he’s a nutcase, a radical on the fringe
pay him no mind.
But if that one person can convince another
and that number grows to include the majority
well, that idea now carries weight with humans – in fact, it becomes the acceptable norm.
Sadly, we have this notion that this only happens with worthy ideas,
even though we teach our children not to go along with the crowd,
to stand up for what’s right even if they stand alone,
to know that mob rule is a danger
and we’ve all read Lord of the Flies
but we forget history as quickly as Google changes its theme.
We forget Hitler,
Stalin,
Pol Pot,
Kim II-Sung,
Mao ZeDong.
Time is the friend of evil forces because humans forget so quickly.
These monsters were only men, single individuals,
who couldn’t have carried out historic destruction alone.
But, they didn’t have to, did they?
They convinced entire majorities of people to assist them in executing horrific crimes against humanity fueled by the deceptive ideas conceived in their twisted minds.
Our country was founded on the idea of majority rule
and that has merit as long as the majority are informed by the truth.
But what about the day
when the majority chooses to believe a lie?
What about the day
when the air is so laden with deception
like an ozone layer of falsehood
that only those with the proper armor against mass delusion
can see the truth?
What then?
We kid ourselves if we think that majority rule offers some kind of protection against God’s judgment.
Remember Noah, saved alone with his floating family?
Remember Lot and his daughters, saved alone while God set off fireworks back in Sin City?
Remember Joshua and Caleb, set apart from an entire generation of Israelites forced to wander the desert for forty years, alone allowed to enter the Promised Land with a new generation?
Can all these intelligent, reasonable, normal-looking people,
neighbors, friends, coworkers, loved ones, rulers, teachers, policy-makers, and law-enforcers
can all of these people be wrong?
Yes.
Yes, they can.
And it’s dangerous to believe that truth is found in numbers.
Truth is not a simple equation: Majority minus minority = Truth.
Truth is a Word problem – God’s Word.
Truth is found in Jesus Christ – the Living Word.
Anything that opposes the truth found in God’s Word or made flesh in Jesus Christ – is a lie.
No matter how many people believe it.
This post may not matter to you today
but bookmark it
the day is coming when it may just save your eternal life.
“ For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment;
if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others;
if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;
and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless
(for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)—
if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.” 2 Peter 2: 4-9
Thoughts?
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Amen!
Right now I’m battling my frustrations with fellow Christians who would rather remain silent. I’m not about instigating arguments, but God’s Word is the truth, whether we believe it, trust it, like it, or not.
My purpose is to ground myself in the Truth and share the Truth in a world who needs it.
thanks for these words today, as you can tell, I NEEDED them!
Mitzi
Ezekiel 3
I may be one of those fellow Christians you’re frustrated with. There are people and places where I’m afraid to say ANYTHING in opposition to the majority because I am afraid of being eaten alive. I don’t debate well, and someone disagreeing with a point I hold strongly usually leads me to saying nothing but, “Duh-uh-uh-duh . .. ” And I feel this way even with some fellow CHRISTIANS!
I was just speaking with someone about this today, and we were saying how it’s of the utmost importance to stand on God’s truth. It’s the only real foundation we actually have for anything. But it isn’t popular, and that makes those who speak it unpopular. The fact of the matter is, we’re bound to Him and Him alone and obedience is key. Not always easy to swallow… but true!
Harder and harder all the time.
Did God said anything about homosexual?
I don’t really know.
It is a fact that same sex marriage is legalized in some states,
and the number of people supporting this marriage equality is
growing. Are they wrong? According to the Bible. Or are they right?
Because God us as we are.
I am totally confused in this issue, one, I think it is unnatural, because I am not one of them, but at the same time, I am thinking it is their right because God created them that way. Wonder what is your thought on that, totally confidential.
This is a deep question, anonymous. I believe that through Jesus Christ, we can all be saved, loved, accepted. We are all sinners. We all fall short. And when we come to Jesus, we receive grace none of us deserve. When we enter that grace, we receive His love and it transforms us – changes our actions. We are not held accountable for our temptations but for our actions – gay or straight. None of us is free to do whatever we want but must align our choices with His will. This is a broad answer, I know.
God did say, in several verses, Old and New Testament, that homosexuality is wrong. That is clear. He also said, in even more verses, old and new, that we are to love and have compassion on everyone, especially those different from us, or those with whom we disagree.
God created people in certain ways, and certain people tend to certain things- bike riding, stealing, music, violence, incredible works of art, incredible atrocities, amazing devotion, attraction toward men, and toward women. The fact that people are born tending toward a certain behavior does not make a case for its morality one way or another. We are to act and believe and be as the Bible tells us to be, not as we feel compelled by our sinful nature.
My view: marriage ‘equality’ is a bad thing, because it normalizes and promotes a behavior that is sinful. On the other hand, I believe stable, two-parent homes should be endorsed, if the alternative is non-stable, non-two-parent households. Long story short, homosexuality is wrong, but the real-world, political and legal response to marriage equality isn’t so cut and dry.
I believe the government should treat everyone equally but that people of faith should not be mistreated because they disagree with the lifestyles of others. If the “state” approves same-sex marriage, that’s on the state. But the church should not have to wear a gag in matters of obedience to God’s word. Good response, Nate.
But when the church follows the lead of the state, rather than God’s word, I tremble for the day of judgment.
Thanks for articulating the Truth, Lori.
Thank you for spreading the word about the truth.God Bless. xxx
You’re spot on, Lori. Very timely!
Thank you, Jeanne, Carolyn, and Cathy!