Head Wagging
In my recent reading, for some reason this verse stood out to me and even more specifically, the “wagging their heads” part.
Mark 15:29 And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days,
This got me thinking, in that moment, perhaps they felt so confident that they were right and everyone was agreeing with them. Their idea, or at least what they were shouting with the mob, was going “viral”.
We are living in a “viral” culture (in more ways than one). So many on social media want to be the next big thing, and go viral. This is even spilling over, not just in social media, but in real life. Young people HAVE to do the next big trend brought on by the mob, so as to show they can fit in with the crowd and maybe even be in the spotlight and get their 15 minutes of fame.
But in all their “getting”, they don’t get anything for it. They are manipulated by the mob, controlled by advertisers, pressured by peers, and so on. Everything they think they are free to do, they are really just enslaved to the viral mob culture.
Looking back at that verse, the crowd was jeering Christ on something He had said He could do. Here’s a thought snippet from John Phillips in his commentary about this moment:
Even supposing that He had meant what they mistakenly, for all of their wiseacre head wagging, had taken Him to say, it would not have been hard for Him to build a temple in three days. After all, He had created a universe in six days!
The context of the verse is Christ’s crucifixion, but the condition of the minds of the people is not that different than the mob mindset today.
But we can choose differently. We may not be enticed to “wag our heads” at spiritual things, but are we at carnal things? Do we spend more time worrying about what someone might say about us or do we want to fit in so much that we are drawn to the soundbytes? I’m not saying social media, as a proper tool, is a bad thing. There’s a benefit in certain aspects, but like any tool, it can be misused.
My challenge then to you, and to myself, is what Solomon writes over and over in Proverbs:
Prov. 4:5 Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.
Prov. 4:7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.
Prov. 16:16 How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver!
When we have a clear understanding from God, we make better decisions. We live more fulfilled, and we have a peace that is not bound by our circumstances - or the next viral thing.