The Danger Of Normal

Carl Pollard

One of the most dangerous things about the wrong road is that it rarely feels wrong. And in Matthew 7:13, Jesus warns, “For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.”

Why is the broad road so dangerous? Because it feels normal. It’s wide. It’s comfortable. It’s crowded. There’s plenty of room, and nobody has to change very much to travel it. You can carry your pride, your bitterness, your greed, lust, selfishness, and your own version of truth. There’s plenty of room for all of it.

That’s why the broad road is so popular.

Imagine two hiking trails. One is wide, paved, and crowded with thousands of people. Along the way are signs saying, You’re doing great. Follow your heart. Live your truth. Do whatever makes you happy.

The other trail is narrow. It’s steep and rocky, and relatively few people are walking it.

Which trail naturally feels like the right one?

Probably the crowded one. There’s something reassuring about looking around and seeing thousands of people going the same direction. We think, Surely all these people can’t be wrong.

Jesus says they can.

Popularity is a terrible test for truth.

There were more people outside Noah’s ark than inside it. There were more Israelites worshiping the golden calf than standing against it. Most of the spies believed Canaan couldn’t be conquered. And when Jesus stood before Pilate, the crowd shouted for Him to be crucified.

Truth has never depended on a majority vote.

Yet we’re still deeply influenced by what everybody else is doing. Social media has only amplified this. An opinion gets 500,000 likes, and suddenly it feels authoritative. A behavior becomes accepted by everyone around us, and eventually it starts feeling normal.

And once something feels normal, we can stop asking whether it’s right.

That may be one of the greatest dangers Christians face today. We can become more concerned with being normal than being holy.

Paul warned in Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this world.” The world is constantly trying to press us into its mold. The frightening part is that we can conform so gradually that we hardly notice it happening.

Maybe we need to ask ourselves a difficult question, If everybody around me completely agrees with the way I live, which road am I traveling?

Following Jesus will eventually make you different. Not strange for the sake of being strange. Not rude. Not arrogant or self-righteous. Different because Jesus is different.

The narrow road won’t always feel normal. It won’t always be popular. There may be moments when you look around and wonder why so few people seem to be traveling with you.

But the size of the crowd has never determined where a road ends.

Jesus tells us where it ends.

The broad road leads to destruction.

The narrow road leads to life.