Have you ever found yourself in a crazy situation and wondered, “How in the world did I end up here?” When I was in middle school, I hung out with some crazy guys who had a fondness for destruction. We TPed the same girl’s house every weekend for six months. We forked yards, egged cars and carried out other adventures of moderate destruction.
One night I found myself miles away from home, lying prone in a farmer’s field in the dead of winter as a spotlight scanned the field a few inches over my head. Why was I there do you ask? Well, my friends thought it would be a good idea to light a roll of 500 fire crackers and toss it into some guy’s satellite dish. Afterward we ran like cheetahs until the aforementioned spotlight forced us to the frozen earth.
It was in that moment that I asked myself, “Self…How in the world did you end up here?” Then, lying there, teeth chattering, I clicked my heels together and repeated, “There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home.” Turns out that doesn’t work.
But for real, how did I get there? I was following the crowd. I was doing what everyone else was doing. I didn’t know it then but it was the Law of Magnets.
PILATE AND THE MOB
Throughout the Jesus story there are crowds. Jesus was extremely popular and crowds followed him everywhere. They were usually for Him. But in one crucial moment, they were violently opposed to him.
Near the end of his life, Jesus was betrayed by one of his own disciples and handed over to the religious leaders—guys who hated him and wanted him dead. Not having the power to execute Jesus themselves, they took him to Pilate who was the Roman governor of the region. They accused him of leading an insurrection. Pilate investigated the accusations and found that Jesus had done nothing wrong. But then things got ugly.
“You brought this man to me, accusing him of leading a revolt. I have examined him thoroughly on this point in your presence and find him innocent… I will release him.”
Pilate isn’t a bad guy. He’s a government official trying to do the right thing but then the Law of Magnets got him.
Then a mighty roar rose from the crowd, and with one voice they shouted, “Kill him, and release Barabbas to us!” (Barabbas was in prison for taking part in an insurrection in Jerusalem against the government, and for murder.) Pilate argued with them, because he wanted to release Jesus. But they kept shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”
For the third time he demanded, “Why? What crime has he committed? I have found no reason to sentence him to death. So I will have him flogged, and then I will release him.”
But the mob shouted louder and louder, demanding that Jesus be crucified, and their voices prevailed. So Pilate sentenced Jesus to die as they demanded. As they had requested, he released Barabbas, the man in prison for insurrection and murder. But he turned Jesus over to them to do as they wished.
THE LAW OF MAGNETS
This story blows my mind because Pilate wasn’t a bad guy. Jesus was 100% innocent and yet a crowd, influenced by the religious leaders convinced Pilate to release a known murderer and execute an innocent man. It just doesn’t make any sense. It doesn’t make any sense, that is, unless, you understand the Law of Magnets.
The Law of Magnets has everything to do with crowds because crowds are powerfully magnetic. They have a way of influencing people–magnetically pulling them toward the will of the crowd. Maybe it’s because we are afraid of what they think or that we want to fit in. Whatever the reason, crowds powerfully influence the way we think and act.
This is what happened to me with the firecrackers and the satellite dish and this is what happened to Pilate in Jerusalem. This happens to you too. I’m sure you can think of times in which a crowd magnetically pulled you into its orbit and you joined in with whatever it was doing.
Maybe it was with words. It was degrading but everyone was doing it and suddenly you threw in an ugly but hilarious one-liner and everyone was doubling over with laughter. Afterward you thought to yourself, “Why in the world did I say that?” It was the Law of Magnets.
Maybe you were at a friend’s house and one minute it was video games and the next it was, “Hey let’s watch this, or smoke this, or drink this and you were like shocked but the crowd was doing it so you joined in. It’s the Law of Magnets.
HOW’S YOUR CROWD?
I have a question for you: Who is your crowd? Who is the group that influences you? Maybe it’s your circle of “besties,” your team, or the cast from the musical. Who is your crowd?
Here’s an even better question: How is your crowd? Where does your crowd pull you? Does it pull you to a healthier place or does it pull you in a darker place? Is your crowd leading you closer to Jesus or further away? After spending time with your crowd do you find yourself regularly asking, “How in the world did I end up here?”
Take a good look at your crowd. Is this the direction you want to be pulled? The Law of Magnets says that the more time you spend with them the more you’ll become like them. That’s just how life works. Maybe it’s time to evaluate who is influencing you. Maybe it’s time to pay attention to the Law of Magnets.
