Gangs and Bullies VI (RV)

 . . . He is high above all peoples.

 - From Psalm 99

Curious thing about mass movements (or crowds, or gangs, etc.).

There is no logic to their attitudes or beliefs. They seem to come together, based on an overwhelming emotion that they all share. As individuals, they crave affirmation from others, which for whatever reason, they have not received it from those closest to them. They are individuals that were not supported by their parents; they were overlooked for a promotion; they were jilted by a lover; they had a health, or economic setback. They've had a run-in with a bully . . . 

And of course their emotions get involved. 

It's so hard to do the work involved, and the discipline, to fix these disappointments in life. 

But it is easy to combine with others that are similarly off-kilter, emotionally. With enough numbers, we'll get back at the people that hurt us. 

No self-help guru, or purveyor of eternal wisdom, ever advised seekers to find solace in the arms of a mob.

The mobs affirm one another in their hate towards something, or some one.

They agree, with one another, that they actually fear something terrible, like the world coming to an end. 

And then they define their purpose in grand-sounding terms: "We are opposed to hate and fear."

A crowd, or mob, or gang . . . develops its own personality. It becomes something that the individuals within would never become, on their own: something vicious and random; an instrument of brute force to pursue an end that the mob doesn't even understand. 

In the backroom of a mass movement, is always some calm and collected Controller, pulling the strings . . . using the mob. 

The crowd was formed out of resentment at being at someone else's beck and call . . . and emerges as an even bigger force, at someone's beck and call.

So it is, that when God steps in, peoples tremble.

See that? Peoples, plural. Not just a mob. But a mob of mobs. When God steps in, it always is to get some handle on a crowd that is out of control. But the crowd trembles. Because crowds do not operate according to human calculations. Crowds respond instinctively, as a dog is instantly fearful at the sound of thunder. 

God handles bullies, yes. Usually, He handles them by getting them to repent and change. 

But He has special treatment for mobs, crowds, gangs. They need a sharp, swift jolt to their spirit. They need dispersal, so that He can reason with them. And reasoning happens, one-on-one. 

Judgment comes, and it is addressed to the mass of humanity. 

Let's be careful about joining up in the current movement du jour.