Group Blame

“For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed. Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows: for every one is an hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.” (Isa 9:16-17 AV)

There is a duel responsibility in the dynamics of a group.  The leader is to lead unto righteousness and godliness.  The people are to follow.  But when there is a breakdown, who is to blame?  Is the leadership to blame only?  What about those whom they lead?  Do they also bear some responsibility?  We want to blame our leaders for the poor leadership provided, but do we bear some responsibility in the condition of the whole?  To what degree?  Above, we see the LORD rebuke the leaders of the people for leading the people into error.  However, note carefully the LORD considers all; both leaders and the people; as hypocrites and evildoers worthy of judgment.  In other words, just because we are led does not mean we are obligated to follow.

The animal kingdom is a great example.  The group acts as a group for the saving of the group.  The group has no concept of individualism.  They must act this way for the survival of the herd as a whole.  A few weaker individuals are sacrificed for the survival of the whole.  Therefore, the whole group will follow the leader, even if it means the death of all.  A great example is the casting out of legion into a herd of pigs.  They all ran off a cliff.  This herd mentality works to the hunter’s advantage.  In fall turkey hunting, the method is to find a flock of turkey and scatter them.  Then set up near where they were scattered and wait for them to reassemble.  We, as people, will do the same.  If there is a strong leader with a personality to match, we will follow.  No questions asked.  Don’t get me wrong.  Refusing to follow at all is also very wrong and dangerous.  We are instructed to submit and follow to those whom God has placed as leaders among us.  The idea of rejecting all authority didn’t work in the book of Judges and it won’t work today.  This mass uprising and resistance; which is nothing more than a renaissance of the sixties; is not what the LORD designed.  We are to follow our leadership.  But that does not mean we need to follow in every detail.  If something is wrong, it is wrong.  Regardless of who the leadership might be.

Don’t ever forget the biblical privilege of right of conscience.  Independent Baptists call this individual soul liberty.  It was and should still be a core value of the founding of our nation.  The right to follow our conscience no matter what the majority say or think.  This right is slowly being eroded to the pleasure of the whole.  I, for one, desire God’s hand on our nation.  But that will never happen so long as we go the opposite direction on moral (and not political) issues at hand.  So long as we tolerate the murder of the pre-born or support legalized sodomy, the LORD is not in it.  No matter what the opposition says, these positions are not biblical ones.  Our leaders have led us down that road.  But we are to blame as well.  When we allow their poor leadership to influence what we think and what we support, we are just as much to blame as those who led us that way.  God has not changed His mind.  These two moral issues (which are not political issues) have never changed.  Among others, God will judge according to His standard on these points and not what leadership or the people think.  Unless we stand true to the word of God and pray God would send revival, we are in the same boat as the leaders we like to blame.  Time to ignore poor leadership when and where it might be poor, and stick to the bible!