THE MULTITUDE CAN BE WRONG

• DAY 35
• Fear File: Israelites
• Scripture: Numbers 13:30-33

Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. 

NUMBERS 13:30-32

As we continue our study of this text we look into the response of the people to the report they received. And what baffles me is that they went with the report of the majority. Somehow it felt more believable to them that they were grasshoppers than that they were men backed by the might of God. 

Ain’t it funny how we can be so easily convinced by the majority? For some reason, we believe that the larger crowd cannot be wrong. This principle is manifest in every stratum of society, including social media. For some reason we trust businesses with more followers than those with fewer, we believe that the numbers validate their expertise, product, or quality of service but this is not always the case. And we see that here.

Another thing that happens with the crowd is that the more people buy the opinion the more other people will join and the crowd keeps growing until it begins to intimidate the minority through social pressure. The minority begins to have defectors because they don’t want to be the odd one out. But in case you haven’t noticed, popularity doesn’t mean accuracy. You can stand with a million and still be on the wrong side. But all this began with a wrong self-image.

The Same Kind

This scenario is a living example of the saying, “birds of the same feather.” We see that the majority was only able to attract their own kind. Let’s face it these people were always a weak bunch (no offense). They were all too ready to quit at the slightest inconvenience.  They have lived like grasshoppers, jumping from faith to fear and God to idols. 

Could it be that you are easily convinced because something in you resonates with that opinion? Is fear latching on to you easily because you haven’t seen yourself as God sees you? Are you so easily persuaded because you were in disguise all along and the real you is with the majority?

Beloved, fear easily entices those who know not whose they are. Insecurity befalls the mind that isn’t mirrored by THE WORD. Anxiety grips the heart that is unaware of the foundation on which it stands. The majority can only make you afraid when you believe their report over the report of the Lord.

Resolve today that let all men be liars but let God be true.

Shalom

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