Whose voice are you listening to? The christian life really comes down to it…
It’s either the voice of the crowd or God. That’s always been the struggle from the beginning. Jesus constantly fought with the religious leaders of the day because they were listening to the voice of the crowd more than God. 
“But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” Matthew 21:26These religious leaders chose not to answer Jesus’ question honestly because of how they might appear to the crowd. In other words, they are playing politics. And God hates it! 
There are times when we have to say the right thing knowing that it will condemn us. As a matter of fact, Jesus said that if we are following Him, we WILL be persecuted. Why would we be persecuted if we are always doing what pleases the crowd? But listening to the voice of God will sound crazy, narrow-minded, foolish, or offensive to the crowd.
Some examples:

•  When you correct people (purported Christians) on their lifestyle, you will hear, “You shouldn’t impose your view on others!” from the crowd. [Know that they are imposing their view on you when they say that]
  

• You are tempted to say, “I can’t tell you what to do. You should make your own decision.” Would Jesus ever say that? Did God give a choice to Adam and Eve as to which tree they could not eat from?? 
  

•  You refuse to increase your standard of living as you earn more. Rather, you increase your standard of giving. This will make others around you uncomfortable. 
  

Jesus listened to the voice of His Father that He didn’t give a whip about what people thought of Him. As a matter of fact, He was bringing out all their sins in their vileness by prodding them and offending them until they decided to kill Him. 
Perhaps we are too soft? Perhaps we love the crowd too much? 
Let’s speak the truth in love. (Eph 4:15)
PH