Moses told the children of Israel not to follow a crowd to do evil (Exodus 23:2).  As God’s children, we must not worry ourselves with trying to be popular with the majority.  Never forget, as sad as it is, the large majority of people in this world are lost.  Jesus spoke this truth in His sermon on the mount.

Matthew 7:13-14 (ESV)
¹³  “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. ¹⁴  For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

This is one of the saddest passages in the Bible, but we must learn from it.  If we do what is popular, we will be going the way that leads to destruction.  We must resolve in our hearts to be different.  We must determine not to conform to this world.

Romans 12:2 (ESV)
²  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

This is not always easy.  It can be difficult for some to do what others might frown upon or even think is strange.  Many have lost their way simply because the desire to be popular with others was too strong to resist.  Do you remember the blind man who Jesus healed in John 9?  When his parents were asked about their son’s healing, they had a curious response.  They knew that Jesus healed their son, but they pretended they didn’t (John 9:18-21).  Most parents would have been so excited that they would have told anyone who would listen about it.   Why were they so different.  John tells us.

John 9:22 (ESV)
²²  (His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.)

Being Jews, it is very likely that they were familiar with Exodus 23:2; still, they did the very thing Moses admonished them not to do. They followed the crowd.  The crowd did whatever the Pharisees and chief rulers of the synagogues wanted them to do because no one wanted to lose the privilege of association in the synagogues.  Whenever we put social standing ahead of doing what is right, especially knowing that most people in society do what is displeasing to God, we are heading in the wrong direction.

To conform to the world is to put ourselves under the bondage of the devil.  Paul called him “the god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4).  We must avoid this at all costs.  Let us determine to walk after the Spirit by living according to the principles of God’s Word (Galatians 5:22-26), and not living and acting like the world.  To choose the world is to eliminate God from our lives, not only now, but through all eternity.  

1 John 2:15-17 (ESV)
¹⁵  Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶  For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. ¹⁷  And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.   

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.