March 10 - Mass Hysteria

Democracy is the highest ideal in our society. A democratic government is ruled by the people and for the people. The will of the people reigns supreme and the minority has to submit to the majority. Within a democratic society, there are checks and balances so that power would not go into the hands of a few. Absolute rule is not acceptable in these modern days any more.

As Christians, we must reconsider the value of democracy. In the time of the Exodus, the people of Israel tried to take the law into their own hands, rebelling against the leaders and against God. They thought that if everyone could join together as a force, they could do anything they wanted, even going against God’s will. God is not dead, He heard them and He intervened. At the end of the day, the minority of Moses and Aaron, Joshua and Caleb prevailed against the majority. The reason why they won was because they were under God’s authority. It was not democracy but theocracy for the people of God.

It is so easy for a whole group of people to be aroused. Crowd psychology tells us that there is power when people are together, they may do something they otherwise would not do individually. Dark forces can easily infiltrate the crowd to cause riots and destruction of property. The Nazis used such psychology to move the otherwise peace loving German people towards war and destruction. The Hutus and the Tutsis in Rwanda were gentle peoples living side by side in peace and harmony, until they killed one another when under the sway of a mass demonization.

There were opposition parties within Israel. The ten unbelieving spies used their words to persuade others. Then all the congregation began to raise a loud cry and wept all night. They grumbled against Moses and Aaron for taking them out of Egypt. They challenged the Lord and made a death wish about dying in the wilderness. So they wanted to choose a democratic leader to take them back to Egypt. Democracy is actually a rebellion against God, despising His authority and rule. All democratic forms of government within the church are not biblical, the church is to be ruled by the Head, Jesus Christ Himself.

It was the intercession of Moses that saved the lives of these rebellious people but they would not be able to enter the Promised Land. Democracy is an outward sign of an inward rebellion against God and is rooted in self-centeredness and individualism. Pause now to rethink your belief in democracy and self-determination. Are you the captain of your own ship? Are you the owner of your life? Do you have a need to voice out your mind? Have you been grumbling about spiritual authorities? Do you want to do things your way? Bring all these to Jesus now and ask Him to be the King of your life again.