Stumble

All my close friends are watching for me to stumble.

 - From Jeremiah 20

It's a wonder Jeremiah had any friends at all. He even calls them "close" friends. They are not helping him. They do not appear to be defending him. They are not protecting or standing up for him. They are not encouraging him.

They're just watching him. 

It occurred to me, to think about the entire narrative of Scripture, from Genesis 1:1 to "Even so, come Lord Jesus." Is there an example of a massing crowd, circling and ganging up one a single person, that is in the process of doing God's will? 

Does God ever command a crowd to form, so that it can mock and ridicule one person that is harming nobody? Is the paradigm of life in Christ ever to join up with an angry throng? Or is it more likely that we must prepare to stand up, as one against many?

Sure . . . you have the people of Israel taking over Canaan . . . but that was part of a military campaign. God's people are never required to build up a mob in unity and overwhelming numbers, in order to humble and humiliate others. Terrorism, violence, intimidation . . . these are never God's way. 

As my Great Aunt Mae Turnbow would say "For the truth, I'll stand one to a hill."

We glamorize the idea of the lonely warrior - the majority of One - the courageous David standing up to Goliath. But in reality, our culture prefers massive groups of people, crowding downtown areas, tempting themselves with the violence they may do, and get away with it. 

I'd rather face a bully than a crowd. 

Jeremiah's friends are like all of us . . . even when our friend is being mocked, handled, shoved around, bullied, brutalized, tortured . . . we keep our distance and watch.

Maybe if Jeremiah (or, fill in your name here) folds and relents, it will be okay for me to do the same. I'll just watch. 

Massive crowds. Intimidation. Groupthink. Mob behavior. Even when peaceful, massive crowds of people are frightening. On the face of it, we have every reason to fear them. 

Jeremiah has been called "the weeping prophet." He cried as he saw his country brought low by scoffers and criminals. In June, 2020, I have seen more and more of our elders crying, as well, as they witness the destruction being visited upon the world's last great defender of free thought and free speech. We're not perfect . . . but at least we have those two precious principles as core values. 

To the reader . . . . take a moment now, and begin to bolster yourself, to stand up to the crowd, or at least, to defend others being mistreated by a mob.