But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. (Galatians 2:11 ESV) I know nobody that actually reads this quiet time has ever been part of a group think dumbing, but as believers in Christ, we need to actively stand against it. If we don’t actively oppose it, we become part of the group think machine that will eventually be the ruin of us all. Here’s what I mean by that: last week, two political parties, and as a result, the masses of Americans out there began to group themselves into two parties (whom by the way, are not so disparagingly divergent in their moralized truth philosophies) and blow trumpets of ridicule and annoyingly unsound banter for and against the other political party’s candidate. Mostly, I stay out of the political commentary because it’s worthless rhetoric, and today I am just using it as an example of what happens when group-think becomes an accepted part of your ideology. That is to say that when are not vehemently opposing group think (questioning it) we allow ourselves become the manipulated tools and consumers of bad reasoning. Peter (also known as Cephas) was victim to that same frame of reference. He allowed himself get caught up into group-think and betrayed what he really believed for groupthink peer pressure against an exploited people group. He had forgotten that his people were exploited and ruled over by the same thought and logic the Jews were ridiculed by. (In the first century Roman Empire, the Jewish religion was considered barbaric and lowly– mostly because the monotheism). Peter was disassociating himself with his Greek Christian brothers because what they ate! Paul, stood against Peter. He stood against Peter not only out of principle; but because God, in the form of Christ, came to radically alter how people live. He took conformity to the culture and power of this world and broke the hold it had on our individual lives. Peter knew this. Paul knew Peter knew this. Let’s fast forward to our lives: are we allowing other people’s thoughts conform us away from the radical love and grace of Jesus? Are we simply “Republican” or “Democrat” because categories say we are? Aren’t we freed by Christ, first and foremost? If the answer is “yes,” then why are we simply falling in line with group think and not opposing it? Doesn’t our salvation warrant a response against how things operate in this world? Paul thought so, and I’m sure Peter remembered again after Paul’s pep talk.
No responses yet