Don't follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd. Exodus 23:2 NIV Bible
I enjoy reading the Bible from cover to cover, a little each day, and then rereading it again, and again. One of the reasons I enjoy this so much, is that it sets a very positive tone to my day, but also, because there are passages like this one that don't seem related to my life, but have a way of giving me a personal message anyway.
Although, I don't relate to the lawsuit portion, I do relate to standing in a crowd and hearing them laugh at others, and condoning their behavior by joining their laughter. Whether that was laughing at or talking about others who were heavy, disabled, or different ethnicity, or different in some other way, it was still WRONG!
Actually, I didn't feel like joining in and didn't agree with whatever they were laughing at or talking about, because I knew what it felt like to be laughed at. I knew what it felt like to be talked about, but it wasn't easy bucking the crowd. Having been heavy a big portion of my life, I didn't want to stand out, and just wanted to fit in with the crowd, for once, but was it worth it? No, because it lowered my opinion of myself, and was so against what I stand for. I wasn't being the person that Christ wanted me to be. I wasn't showing empathy for the one laughed at or talked about, and I wasn't being a part of stopping that behavior! Although I still find it difficult to buck the crowd, I trust the Lord to show me how to convey to them, "It's not nice to make fun of others. You wouldn't like it if they did that to you!"
