Peer pressure.
That’s one reason for our mistakes. We listen to those around us, and we make decisions we wouldn’t otherwise condone.
Mob mentality is another term meaning much the same. We may have heard it as herd mentality, pack mentality, or even gang mentality. What it really says is that we are reacting on the larger emotions of the crowd, rather than relying on rational thought.
Instead of what we should do, we follow what it feels we should do, even if it’s an action we’d never consider under other circumstances.
We’ve seen it on television, otherwise law-abiding citizens breaking into storefronts, carrying things away, only to be shame-faced the next day, saying, “I don’t know what made me do it. It was the heat of the moment, I guess.”
Several years back, a high school student in North Texas was out for the night with two friends. They were underage, drinking, and driving. A siren and flashing lights encouraged them to run, resulting in a crash, leaving one of the boys dead.
This was from a normally safe driver. Alone, he probably would have taken the ticket. In a group, he was driving with the devil, and the devil won.
1 Corinthians 15:33 tells us to be careful of our company.
“Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company ruins good morals.’ ”
Who’s in the driver’s seat with you?
- A movie that’s not quite okay?
- That joke told in private?
- Getting even, because they deserve it?
- Skirting the rules, because no one will know?
Traveling this life with anyone but Jesus as our companion is a recipe for disaster. If we drive with the devil, we can expect to come to a bad end.
When Jesus is our co-driver, we’ll finish in first place every time.
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