"SIDING WITH THE MANY!"

Exodus 23:1-3                                (ESV)
"1 "You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with a wicked man to be a malicious witness.
2 You shall not fall in with the many to do evil, nor shall you bear witness in a lawsuit, "SIDING WITH THE MANY", so as to pervert justice,
3 nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his lawsuit".



Doing the right thing......does it ever get any easier?  When the "majority" is expressing to go one way, or your best friends are leaning in a direction, or a spiritual "elder" has a desire to make something happen, and the Holy Spirit is leading you to stand alone on a matter only HE can receive glory on, what do you do?  Before you say the noble thing and proclaim that you would do what the LORD was leading you to do, please know that often HE will place you in a situation to demonstrate your obedience rather than proclaim your obedience!  Crossing the Red Sea after the LORD has completed supernaturally holding back the waters doesn't require the same faith as while the walls of water are actually being held back!

An online Bible Study that I frequent on occasion offers these words:

Bottom line -- God is our Shepherd, and we as His sheep are to fully follow Him in this life and every single directive and command that He will be giving us along the way. The Bible tells us that we are to be led by the Holy Spirit in this life – not by our own wants and our own desires.

This directive sounds like a good piece of advice....until we have to put it into practice!  When the Holy Spirit is leading us to go against the tide and make a stand for what is right, it isn't always the easiest thing to surrender to.  Conversely, making certain that it truly is the Holy Spirit leading you to make a decision can be a tricky thing to accomplish.  Remember, the enemy is referred to as the "great deceiver" with plenty of credence (Genesis 3:1)!

GOD has a way of putting us into circumstances where we BELIEVE we stand on our own, where there is no one else who cares or supports us.  When you find yourself in a situation where only GOD can receive glory, a decision will be required of you.  Will you be "SIDING WITH THE MANY", or will you stand with the LORD and HIS PURPOSE?